UPDATE: Gaming Regulators Fine MGM Resorts $8.5M Over Illegal Bookmakers

Posted on: April 24, 2025, 07:50h. 

Last updated on: April 25, 2025, 09:16h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.
UPDATE: The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) on Thursday voted 4-0 to accept the $8.5 million proposed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) and accepted by MGM Resorts for its role in permitting illegal bookmakers to gamble at the MGM Grand and Cosmopolitan. Last Friday, it addressed the matter by issuing the following statement:
“MGM Resorts takes its compliance responsibilities seriously and cooperated fully with the Nevada Gaming Control Board to resolve this matter. The company has made substantial investments to build one of the industry’s strongest anti-money laundering programs — driven by executive leadership and supported by rigorous training and internal controls. We’ve taken additional steps to strengthen safeguards, increase accountability, and reaffirm our commitment to doing what’s right for regulators, guests, and stakeholders.”

EARLIER: MGM Resorts International agreed Thursday to pay Nevada regulators a fine of $8.5 million to settle the latest money-laundering complaint involving former MGM Grand president and COO Scott Sibella.

The MGM Grand was one of two MGM Resorts International properties in Las Vegas named in the current Nevada Gaming Control Board complaint. (Image: MGM Resorts)

That 10-count complaint, filed Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), alleged that Sibella allowed illegal bookmakers to gamble millions and pay off debts in unreported cash at the MGM Grand and Cosmopolitan, violating the Bank Secrecy Act, in 2018.

According to the Nevada Independent, which broke the story Friday morning, nine of the 10 counts in the NGCB’s latest complaint addressed gambling by convicted illegal bookmaker and former minor-league baseball player Wayne Nix. The 10th addressed gambling by a second convicted illegal bookmaker, Matthew Boyer.

“The complaint’s allegations center on the actions and failures of [MGM Resorts’] employees in relation to Mr. Nix and Mr. Boyer, as well as deficiencies within [MGM Resorts’] anti-money laundering program,” NGCB chair Kirk Hendrick wrote in a press release posted to X on Friday morning. “The proposed settlement also details numerous remedial measures implemented at [MGM Resorts] and its subsidiary gaming properties.

“The majority of the conditions and recommendations focus on enhancements to [MGM Resorts’s anti-money laundering program] as well as additional training and awareness of [anti-money laundering] requirements.”

Separate Actions

Scott Sibella was fired from Resorts World in September 2023, when the casino resort learned about the federal investigation into his ties to money laundering. (Image: deluxeversionmagazine.com)

In a separate agreement with federal prosecutors last year, MGM Resorts agreed to pay a combined $7.45 million in fines for the same violations.

Last month, Resorts World agreed to pay a $10.5 million fine — the second largest in Nevada history — to settle money-laundering charges brought by the NGCB for similar gambling by Boyer and another illegal bookmaker, Damien LeForbes, during Sibella’s tenure as president there in 2022 and 2023.

Sibella was fired by Resorts World in September 2023, and was stripped of his gaming license for five years last December. He pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act last year in federal court. He avoided prison time but received a year on probation and a $9,500 fine.

Even if the Nevada Gaming Commission accepts the agreement at its meeting next week, this may not be the end of the huge black eye that this scandal has given Las Vegas’ reputation over the past two years.

That’s because the NGCB said it still reserves the right to pursue further disciplinary action if federal authorities take action against Resorts World like they did against MGM Resorts.