Former MGM Grand casino president sentenced to probation for not reporting bookie’s bets

The
former
president
of
the

MGM
Grand
casino
in

Las
Vegas
was
sentenced
to
one
year
of
probation
Wednesday
on
a
federal
criminal
charge
related
to
his
failure
to
report
millions
of
dollars
in
wagers
by
an

illegal
bookmaker
at
his
casino.

Scott
Sibella,
the
ex-MGM
executive,
also
was
ordered
to
pay
a
$9,500
and
another
$100
special
assessment
by
U.S.
District
Court
Judge
Dolly
Gee
in
Los
Angeles,
according
to
the
Associated
Press.

Sibella’s
probationary
sentence
was
in
line
with
the
sentence
recommended
by
prosecutors
and
his
defense
lawyers.

“You
will
never
see
me
in
your
court
again,”
the
61-year-old
Nevada
resident
told
Gee,
as
he
also
apologized
to
family,
friends
and
former
employers,
the
AP
reported.

Sibella
pleaded
guilty
in
January
to
one
count
of
failure
to
file
reports
of
suspicious
transactions
required
to
be
made
by
casinos
under
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act.
MGM
Resorts
owns
MGM
Grand,
and
more
than
a
dozen
other
Las
Vegas
properties,
including
The
Cosmopolitan
of
Las
Vegas.

The
sentencing
comes
more
than
a
week
after
the

Nevada
Gaming
Control
Board
filed
a
complaint
against
Sibella
with
the
state

Gaming
Commission
for
conduct
underlying
the
federal
criminal
case.
The
new
civil
complaint
is
seeking
a
a
fine
and
action
against
Sibella’s
gaming
license.

Sibella,
who
was
president
of
MGM
Grand
from
August
2017
through
February
2019,
admitted
knowing
that
a
patron
of
his
casino,
former
minor
league
baseball
player

Wayne
Nix,
ran
an
illegal
bookmaking
business,
according
to
the
Department
of
Justice.

“Despite
this
knowledge,
Sibella
allowed
Nix
to
gamble
at
MGM
Grand
and
affiliated
properties
with
illicit
proceeds
generated
from
the
illegal
gambling
business
without
notifying
the
casino’s
compliance
department,”
the
DOJ
said
in
a
press
release
in
January.

“Not
only
did
Sibella
allow
Nix
to
gamble
at
the
casino,
he
also
authorized
Nix
to
receive
complimentary
benefits
at
the
casino,
including
meals,
room,
board
and
golf
trips
with
senior
executives
and
other
high
net-worth
customers
of
the
casinos
to
further
encourage
Nix
to
patronize
the
casino
and/or
other
affiliated
properties,”
the
DOJ
added
in
the
statement.

By
2020,
MGM
Grand
had
accepted
more
than
$4
million
in
cash
that
was
illicit
proceeds
from
Nix’s
bookmaking
business,
the
department
said.

Nix
pleaded
guilty
in
April
2022
Los
Angeles
federal
court
to
one
count
of
conspiring
to
operate
an
illegal
sports
gambling
business
and
one
count
of
filing
a
false
tax
return.
He
has
yet
to
be
sentenced
for
those
crimes.

Sibella
became
president
of
Resorts
World
casino,
which
is
owned
by


Genting
Group,
in
2019.

He “was
terminated
by
Resorts
World
when
it
learned
of
the
investigation
of
Mr.
Sibella
regarding
conduct
at
his
prior
employer,”
Sibella’s
lawyers
wrote
in
a
court
filing. “Mr.
Sibella
is
currently
unemployed.”

At
the
time
of
Sibella’s
guilty
plea,
the
DOJ
also
said
it
had
resolved
an
investigation
into
alleged
violations
of
money
laundering
laws
and
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act
at
MGM
Grand
and
The
Cosmopolitan.
The
casinos
agreed
to
settlements
that
required
them
to
pay
a
combined
$7.45
million,
as
well
as
to
enhance
their
anti-money
laundering
compliance
program.

“In
their
respective
[non-prosecution
agreements]
MGM
Grand
and
the
Cosmopolitan
each
accepted
responsibility
for
laundering
Nix’s
illicit
funds
and
failing
to
properly
file
suspicious
activity
reports
(SARs)
on
Nix,
who
conducted
numerous
transactions
involving
millions
of
dollars
at
the
casinos
between
2017
and
2020,”
the
DOJ
said
at
that
time.