Resorts World Las Vegas is allegedly at the centre of a federal investigation into illegal sportsbooks operating out of Southern California, ESPN said citing multiple sources.
With this, the saga involving former Resorts World Las Vegas president Scott Sibella continues weaving together years of allegations of allowing illegal gambling and failing to report suspicious activities.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has filed a three-count complaint against Sibella for failing to comply with MGM Resorts’ anti-money policy and internal company controls from when he was president of MGM Grand in 2018, the Nevada Independent reported.
Sibella pled guilty in January to a charge of failing to file a suspicious activities report regarding Wayne Nix’s illegal gambling business at MGM during that time period. He was fired from Resorts World three days after disclosing the federal investigation that led to those charges.
In terms of the federal investigation, the bookmaking operation headed by Mathew Bowyer, recently made headlines for facilitating bets illegally for Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter for the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani.
Bowyer frequently visited Resorts World Las Vegas, and the sources told ESPN Mizuhara would pay his losses to an associate of Bowyer who would then forward it to his marker accounts at Resorts World Las Vegas and Pechanga Casino in Southern California.
Bowyer and his associate would then withdraw the amount from the marker accounts in chips, gamble at the casinos, and if they won would cash out, the sources said.
Bowyer lost $7.9m at Resorts World between June 2022 and October 2023, multiple sources revealed.
Mizuhara has been accused of stealing $16m from Ohtani to gamble, racking up $40.7m in losses, but neither Bowyer nor his associate have been indicted on any charges at this point.
Sibella had been sued in civil court by gambler Robert Cipriani who claimed Sibella had knowingly allowed illegal bookmakers to gamble at Resorts World, though Nevada gaming regulators closed that investigation saying those claims were unsubstantiated.
Source: Fantini's Gaming Report
