Steve Wynn, the well-known casino mogul, was awarded some $20 million in his slander suit that was brought against Joe Francis, the creator of Girls Gone Wild. This award is said to be ten times the amount of gambling debt that started this altercation in the first place.
An LA County Superior Court jury determined that Joe Francis had indeed made statements that were false when he informed various reporters that Steve Wynn had threatened to have him (Francis) murdered because of a gambling debt that Francis owed to Wynn. The gambling debt was reported to be more than $2 million and was incurred back in 2007.
Wynn’s legal team had asked for $12 million. The actual total now owed by Francis to Wynn, including past defamation judgments and the original debt, is now estimated to be about $30 million. Wynn has been reported as saying that he will give whatever monies he collects above his legal fees to charity.
The latest trial took only four days of testimony and neither Wynn nor Francis was present in the courtroom when the jury came back with their verdict. National and international news agencies were all over the story as the decision was finally released to the public and to the press. Both men are known internationally.
The genesis of all of this began back in 2008 when Wynn personnel began filing suit against Francis to pay his gambling bill. Francis stated that he had been seduced into the prolonged gambling binge by prostitutes provided by Wynn’s associates. That statement caused Wynn to file the original defamation suit in Las Vegas court.
Then, in 2010, during a hearing in Los Angles, Francis stated that Wynn had made written statements in emails threatening his life. These emails were reportedly sent to music producer Quincy Jones and contained details of how the body of Francis would be hidden in the desert. Francis then repeated the same to media outlet TMZ. The TMZ announcement lead to yet another defamation suit that was subsequently brought by Wynn against Francis. Quincy Jones stated in court that he had not sent on any threats as stated by Francis.
As if this were not enough, Francis then went on the Good Morning America show and repeated the allegations. The presiding judge in the most recent hearing added that statement to the slander claim as well. This additional charge cost Francis $11 million alone. Francis has stated that he intends to appeal the decision. Further details concerning Francis’ plan to appeal have not yet been released.
While it may appear that this case is finally over, chances are good that it is not. As mentioned above, Francis plans to appeal the decision, and has yet to pay any substantial amount of money to Wynn to date. Whether or not Wynn will actually see any of the money that the courts says he is entitled to is yet to be seen. No information is available as to how Francis would be able to come with this settlement.