Clinton or Trump? CNN asks Steve Wynn, but he deflects

L.E. Baskow

Steve Wynn makes a point during his keynote speech opening the International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking at the Mirage on Tuesday, June 7, 2016.

By Ric Anderson

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 | 10:41 a.m.

CNN viewers who were hoping to find out which way Steve Wynn is leaning in the presidential election came away without an answer today.

During a short live interview with Wolf Blitzer, Wynn expressed support for Republican Senate candidate Joe Heck but ducked a question about which presidential candidate he favored.

"So let me ask you this: Based on what you hear tonight, you'll make up your mind whether to vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? Is that what I'm hearing you say?" Blitzer asked.

"Actually, Wolf, I think a more accurate way of putting it is that I'm hoping — and so far I've been frustrated — that the conversation is more substantive on the primary issue that affects Americans, which is out-of-control spending that will come home rapidly and terribly at some point in the future" Wynn said. "If tonight this debate deals with those issues substantively, then I think myself and a whole bunch of other Americans are going to get answers that we crave. But I think I speak for an awful lot of people when I say we're frustrated at the level of this campaign's conversation."

Wynn, a registered Democrat, has given indications he wouldn't vote for Clinton, and Fox Business reported in September that Wynn had been regularly advising Trump. But Michael Weaver, a spokesman for Wynn, said Wynn had been speaking with a number of candidates and that "His conversations with Mr. Trump have not been much different than his conversations with the other candidates.”