Question of the Day - 22 January 2025

Amusing. Thank you.

Yes, Resorts World Las Vegas has had some issues in keeping its undergarments clean, as it were. In August, it got hit with a lengthy Nevada Gaming Control Board complaint that said, in essence, Resorts World had been blowing off its anti-money-laundering (AML) responsibilities.

The complaint centered on the activities of illegal bookie Mathew Bowyer and a circle of cronies, all of whom were regulars at the casino. You may remember that Bowyer was the bookmaker at the heart of the Shohei Ohtani scandal, in which Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, fleeced the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger of tens of millions of dollars to feed a degenerate gambling habit.

Well, some of that ill-gotten lucre made its way from Bowyer’s pockets into Resorts World’s coffers, as wannabe-high-roller Bowyer was a pretty lousy gambler himself. The casino was warned by several sources, both public and private, that Bowyer was up to no good and it needed to screen its clientele better. But big-time money was being made, so ... in the time-honored tradition of big money and casinos, the situation was ignored; a number of executives simply hoped that it would go away. 

That didn't happen. Instead, the feds took notice and the Internal Revenue Service and Homeland Security Department began probing the activities of Bowyer and his pals. Resorts World soon found itself on the receiving end of some uncomfortable screening. It was particularly discomfiting to the higher-ups at Resorts World parent, Malaysian-based Genting. But like Sgt. Schultz in “Hogan’s Heroes,” their official policy was that they knew nothing, saw nothing.

When that stance became untenable, out went Resorts World President Scott Sibella, to whose poor judgment Genting had deferred. Found to have violated company policy, Sibella was sacked in September 2023. It’s exceedingly rare for such a high-placed casino executive to be pushed so publicly under the bus. But Genting’s ploy worked. We don’t know if the higher-ups at corporate are cooperating with the feds (they probably are), but Resorts World, thus far, has been spared further G-man wrath.

The federal probe, significantly, originated in California and migrated to Las Vegas, as agents followed the money in best Watergate fashion. MGM Resorts International wasn’t as lucky as Genting. Sibella had been there too and both MGM Grand and the Cosmopolitan ultimately faced governmental fines for money laundering. Sibella pleaded guilty to one felony count and got off a year’s probation and a four-figure fine.

Enter — belatedly — the Nevada Gaming Control Board. It had egg on its face after board member George Assad had publicly “exonerated” Sibella of Cipriani’s accusations. Oops. The Control Board didn’t backpedal so much as sidestep the MGM affair to focus on Resorts World. It was to have imposed discipline last month, but Resorts World received a last-minute extension.

For now, the matter is in abeyance. We contacted the Control Board for an update and were frostily informed that no proceedings are scheduled at this time.

We'll conclude this answer in tomorrow's QoD.