Billionaire casino magnate Steve Wynn isn't impressed with the U.S. presidential election race.
He says he hasn't "given a dime" to Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, both of whom he describes as friends.
"I haven't decided who to vote for because I'm waiting for someone to have a responsible conversation and address the issues that affect the American people," Wynn said. "Is America so naive, so gullible as to believe a fairy tale that both of these parties are fishing up?"
The U.S. political process "seems to promote this kind of foolishness, this populist rhetoric, this claptrap of hot air," he said, complaining of an absence of serious discussion about the economy.
Still, the CEO of Wynn Resorts (WYNN) had positive words about both candidates: Trump has "accomplished some amazing things," he said, and Clinton is "a highly motivated, very intelligent woman."
"Any one of these people has the capacity of doing something intelligent and positive, but for some reason, the campaign doesn't allow that to emerge," Wynn said.
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Wynn, a Democrat, is notoriously outspoken and no stranger to controversy, so his refusal to take sides this time around may come as a bit of a surprise. (In 2011, for instance, he told investors that the Obama administration was "the greatest wet blanket to business, progress and job creation" in his lifetime.)
One of his biggest complaints at the moment is the fiscal and monetary policies in the U.S. and other Western countries, which he describes as "self destructive, short term and laughably immature."
The problem, he said, is "uncontrolled government spending" driving up debt, coupled with loose monetary policy.
Both Clinton and Trump's economic proposals have been forecast to raise the U.S. debt load. An analysis in June from the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found Trump's proposals in particular would increase the debt "massively."
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Wynn was speaking in the Chinese territory of Macau, the only place in the country where gambling is legal.
Like other big casino operators in the territory, Wynn Resorts has suffered from China's anti-corruption crackdown, which deterred many high rollers from visiting casinos. The industry also took a hit from new government rules limiting the number of tables on gaming floors. And growth in China, the world's second-largest economy, has continued to slow.
Despite these headwinds, Wynn is powering ahead with investments in Macau. The casino chain has sunk more than $4 billion into a splashy, new resort that's set to open next week.
Wynn said he still views China in the long term as a place of "opportunity and anticipation."
That's a lot more diplomatic than his criticism last year of regulations restricting the casino industry in Macau. He blasted them as "counter-intuitive and irrational" after his company's Macau division reported net revenue declines of nearly 40%.
--With reporting by Felicia Wong
