Wynn, soft-porn maker do battle in slander trial

LOS ANGELES - Steve Wynn and soft- porn producer Joe Francis faced off before jurors Tuesday, with the casino mogul denying that he threatened to kill the "Girls Gone Wild" founder and saying the accusation is threatening his upscale casinos.

Jurors listened to varying accounts of whether Wynn threatened to hit Francis over the head with a shovel and have him buried in the desert, with Francis insisting he heard about the threats from record executive Quincy Jones. Francis testified that Jones told him Wynn made the threats in conversations and emails, but Wynn denies it.

"I've never sent an email in my life," the 70-year-old designer of casinos such as The Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore, told jurors.

Wynn is suing Francis for slander, the latest legal fight in battles between the two men that include gambling debt that Francis racked up in one of Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s casinos.

Wynn also testified that he has been repeatedly investigated by gambling oversight agencies and the FBI for a presidential commission appointment and wouldn't be allowed to run casinos if he made threats. "It would be a singularly self-destructive act - incredibly, incredibly stupid," Wynn said.

The billionaire was mostly poised throughout his testimony, his voice occasionally quivering when he discussed the potential downfall that Francis' claims could spark.

"I'm sitting here because Joe Francis decided he wanted to destroy my company because he didn't want to pay his marker," Wynn said, using a term to refer to a gambling debt.

Francis was at times jittery and combative toward Wynn's attorney - and argued with a judge who urged him to keep his answers succinct - but maintained Jones gave him good reason to fear Wynn. "He was trying to save my life," Francis said of the record producer.

He alleged Jones told him that Wynn was a gangster and a murderer who was the de facto head of the Genovese mob family. In deposition testimony read in court, Francis alleged Jones said about Wynn, "He's gangster. He's old Vegas. He doesn't play."

Jones, who is Francis' next-door neighbor and a friend of Wynn's, is expected to testify during the trial.

Wynn, who said he had never threatened anyone in his life, said he was concerned that Francis' allegations will hurt his reputation with his thousands of employees in Las Vegas and harm future casino projects.

Calling Francis "the most desperate, the most reprehensible" character he has met in more than four decades of work in Vegas, Wynn said he had to sue to protect his honor and business.