Resorts World will be paying a $10.5 million fine for failing to comply with Nevada anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The fine, which was the key part of an agreement the company reached with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), is the second-largest ever levied by the Board.
The beleaguered Strip casino got into hot water after allegations emerged that Matthew Bowyer, an unlicensed bookie, was gambling huge large amounts of money at the casino. Bowyer, who was a key player in the scandal involving MLB pitcher Shohei Ohtani’s assistant Ippei Mizuhara, was never queried by Resorts World about the source of his income.
Reverberations from the ensuing scandal went right up to Resorts World’s executive offices and ultimately cost the company’s former President, Scott Sibella, his job. Sibella is currently awaiting sentencing on federal charges of failing to report suspicious activity and is barred from working in the gaming business for five years.
The NGCB’s complaint against Resorts World painted a picture of a corporate culture that players fast and loose with AML regulations in an effort to whoa big-spending players. It’s alleged that Bowyer made a deposit of more than $1 million at the casino with no questions asked.
In a statement reported on by the Review-Journal, Sibella suggested that Resorts World wasn’t the only casino accepting Bowyer’s action saying, “The question is, are these casinos in Las Vegas going to be investigated? These bookmakers were given credit, wired money into their accounts and it should have been approved by compliance. It will be interesting to see what occurs now between those casinos and the Gaming Control Board and the federal government.”