Wynn Resorts Founder May Join Bid for U.S. TikTok

^{Pictured: Steve Wynn, founder of Wynn Resorts}

Steve Wynn, the founder and former CEO of casino giant Wynn Resorts, is reportedly considering backing a bid to acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok, the American arm of Chinese tech conglomerate ByteDance. The Wall Street Journal broke the news, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, California-based mobile gaming company AppLovin has approached Wynn to help finance its offer for TikTok’s U.S. business.

Following media reports on the potential deal, AppLovin’s stock briefly surged by about 5%.

Wynn is a legendary figure in the American casino industry, having played a key role in the development of major gaming resorts, including Golden Nugget, Golden Nugget Atlantic City, The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, and Beau Rivage. In 2000, he sold Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand Inc., forming what is now MGM Resorts International. He later founded Wynn Resorts in 2002. For his contributions to the industry, Wynn was inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Hall of Fame in 2006.

Earlier, former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that a deal for TikTok’s U.S. operations must be finalized by April 5. Key contenders in the bidding war include Blackstone, Microsoft, Oracle, and billionaire Elon Musk. Amazon also recently submitted a bid for TikTok’s American division.

Notably, at the start of the year, streaming platform Kick — owned by Stake.com co-founders Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani — was also mentioned as a potential bidder for TikTok’s U.S. assets.