LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Another casino company is being fined by the Nevada Gaming Control Board due to illegal bookmakers operating at their properties.
Last month, I told you that state gaming regulators had fined Resorts World $10.5 million, the second-largest fine in Nevada gaming history, due to illegal bookmaking activities.
On Friday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board announced a proposed settlement has been reached with MGM Resorts International over similar concerns.
As part of the settlement, MGM Resorts International must pay $8.5 million to Nevada's General Fund and the property must be remedial measures in place, including enhancing the company's anti-money laundering program and additional training for employees.
The Nevada Gaming Commission is scheduled to consider approving the settlement on Thursday.
According to a complaint, former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix began operating an illegal bookmaking business in Orange County, California and that he frequently traveled to Las Vegas with illicit cash proceeds from that business.
"The cash typically comprised high-denomination bills, and, at times, Nix transported the cash in duffle bags, brown paper bags, or leather purses," the complaint reads in part. "Nix presented illicit cash proceeds to casinos and used illicit proceeds to place personal gambling bets at the casinos and to pay off markers at casinos."
The document also states that Scott Sibella, the then-President of MGM Grand, and two casino hosts were aware that Nix ran the gambling business and continued to allow him to use proceeds at the MGM Grand and other affiliate properties.
Workers at the MGM Grand had suspicions about Nix and where his money was coming from.
"Beginning in 2017, MGM Grand compliance personnel first became suspicious of Nix's source of income after Nix presented $50,000 in cash at the cage of an MGM Grand property because small denominations comprised more than $5,000 of the cash. MGM Grand compliance investigated Nix's business and determined that it could not substantiate where Nix obtained such a large amount of cash."
By 2020, MGM Grand had accepted $4,079,830 in cash in illicit proceeds from Nix's gambling business.
You can read the full complaint below.
During the investigation into Nix, NGCB officials also discovered that Mathew Bowyer was operating an illegal bookmaking business.
In March 2022, Nix entered a plea agreement with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and plead guilty to one county of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. He is still waiting to be sentenced.
Bowyer reached a plea agreement with federal authorities after admitting he lied to the IRS in his 2022 tax return stating he only made $607,897 in income when he really made $4,030,938, which was income from his illegal gambling business, including $3.8 million in wire transfers into one of his bank accounts.
According to the plea agreement, Bowyer will forfeit $257,923 and $14,830 in casino chips that were seized by law enforcement in October 2023. He has also agreed to fully cooperate with federal prosecutors and investigators. His sentencing was originally scheduled for April 4 but has since been moved to Oct. 3.
Sibella was president and chief operating officer of the MGM Grand for eight years. He was then named president of Resorts World Las Vegas.
He was dismissed as president of Resorts World in September 2023 after he "violated company policies and the terms of his employment."
In January 2024, he pleaded guilty to violating federal anti-money laundering rules during his time as president and chief operating officer at the property.
According to his plea agreement with the government, Sibella allowed former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix to gamble at the MGM Grand and affiliated properties with illicit proceeds generated from an illegal gambling business.
Sibella was given one year of probation and a $9,500 fine.