"Girls Gone Wild" honcho Joe Francis just saved a TON of money ... without even switching to Geico ... 'cause a judge slashed the amount of damages he has to pay Steve Wynn by $21 MILLION, TMZ has learned.
Francis had previously been ordered to fork over $40 million in damages to Wynn for defaming the casino mogul ... after Francis told the media Wynn had threatened to have him killed and buried in the Vegas desert.
Now, a judge has reduced the judgment by $21 million -- ruling that Wynn wasn't really entitled to punitive damages after all.
According to the judge, punitive damages need to be based off the defendants net worth -- and Wynn failed to prove exactly how much money Francis has.
Wynn claims he couldn't come through with a number because Francis is hiding his assets ... but it didn't matter to the judge.
Francis released a statement to TMZ ... calling the ruling a "massive victory" ... and saying he plans to "aggressively appeal the remaining causes of action." Francis says, "Steve may have a winning record stealing the life savings away from working Americans in his safe haven of Las Vegas, but he will not be able to manipulate the California court system” [Read Joe's entire statement after the jump].
Wynn's rep issued a statement to TMZ saying Steve is still "delighted" with the verdict ... adding, "The court upholding the $19 million in damages confirms that Joe Francis made horrible, false accusations against Steve Wynn."
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