A former top executive for major Las Vegas casinos was given a year of probation Wednesday after admitting he allowed an illegal bookmaker to gamble millions of dollars at the MGM Grand and pay off debts in cash.
Scott Sibella pleaded guilty in January to violating federal anti-money laundering rules that required the casino to file reports of suspicious transactions. His sentence was handed down in federal court by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who also ordered Sibella to pay a fine of $9,500. Gee took into consideration that Sibella, 61, took responsibility for his actions, cooperated with investigators, and had no previous criminal history.
Sibella’s attorneys had asked the judge to consider probation. They submitted testimonial letters of support, including one from Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill, the elected head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The MGM Grand and nearby Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas previously settled a related case stemming from a U.S. Justice Department money laundering probe. The resorts agreed to pay a combined $7.45 million, submit to an external review and step up their anti-money laundering compliance programs.
Separately, Nevada casino regulators are considering revoking or suspending Sibella’s state gambling license and fining him up to $750,000. A complaint filed April 30 by state Gaming Control Board investigators has not yet been considered by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
The bookmaker central to Sibella’s case, Wayne Nix, is a former minor league baseball player who lives in Newport Coast, California. He’s awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in April 2022 to operating an illegal gambling business and filing a false tax return.
According to his plea agreement with the government, Sibella allowed Nix to gamble at MGM Grand and affiliated properties with illicit proceeds generated from the illegal gambling business without notifying the casinos’ compliance department.
Sibella told federal investigators in January 2022 “that he had ‘heard that Nix was in the booking business’ and he ‘couldn’t figure out how he had all the money he gambled with.’”
“I didn’t want to know because of my position,” Sibella told investigators. “I stay out of it. If we know, we can’t allow them to gamble. I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to know I guess because he wasn’t doing anything to cheat the casino.”
Sibella was president and chief operating…
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