Kazuo Okada nominates two candidates for Wynn Resorts board

LAS VEGAS -- Wynn Resorts Las Vegas co-founder and director Kazuo Okada has identified two of his proposed independent nominees for the Las Vegas-based casino company's board, to be considered at the Wynn Resorts annual meeting in November.

The Okada nominees, identified in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Wednesday, are Jonathan Macey, a Yale Law School professor who specializes in corporate and securities law; and accountant Fredric Reynolds.

Okada's filing said each nominee will be paid $50,000 one time for agreeing to be nominated. Wynn Resorts will hold its annual shareholder meeting Nov. 2 in Las Vegas.

Aruze USA is a subsidiary of Universal Entertainment Corp. It's unclear whether Okada still maintains the right to nominate board members.

Okada's shares, valued at $2.9 billion, were redeemed in February after an internal investigation alleged he gave more than $100,000 in payments and gifts to regulators in the Philippines and their families.

The Japanese billionaire filed a lawsuit in January against Wynn Resorts for blocking access to financial documents related to a $135 million donation by the company to the University of Macau Development Foundation.

Wynn Resorts shares rose $1.94, or 1.95 percent, Thursday to close at $101.55 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.