The Nevada Gaming Control Board has reached a settlement with Scott Sibella, the former president and COO of Resorts World Las Vegas, to revoke his license after pleading guilty for failing to report illegal gamblers playing at MGM Grand in 2018.
The complaint against Sibella was filed in April; in May, a federal judge sentenced him to one-year’s probation and a $9,500 fine on charges related to not knowing the source of a customer’s funds and failing to file a suspicious activity report.
In agreeing to the settlement with the Board, Sibella waived his right to a hearing. He also agreed to pay the $10,000 in investigative costs.
In a 41-page complaint, the Gaming Control Board filing cited Sibella’s guilty plea involving his role as president at the MGM Grand for accepting $120,000 in cash from Wayne Nix, who operated an illegal bookmaking operation from August 2017 until February 2019, the complaint said.
The Board alleges Sibella knew about Nix’s illegal bookmaking and allowed him to gamble at the MGM Grand and affiliated properties.
“Not only did Sibella and two hosts allow Nix to continue to gamble at the casino and affiliate properties, but they would authorize Nix to receive complimentary benefits at the casino, including meals, room, board, golf trips with senior executives and other high net-worth customers of the casino to further encourage Nix to patronize the casino and affiliated properties,” the complaint said.
Sibella suspected that customers of the MGM Grand placed bets with Nix, the complaint alleges, and that he “deliberately avoided” learning how Nix paid his $120,000 maker.
In April 2022, Nix pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal sports gambling operation and one count of filing a false tax return.
Following his sentencing, Sibella said he never benefited financially.
“I was charged from the very beginning for not filing an SAR, accepted a plea, and have taken full and complete responsibility for what I did,” Sibella said in a statement. “I want to reiterate that by anything alleged, I gained no benefit – neither personal, professional, nor financial.”
