Former Casino President Scott Sibella Stripped of Gaming License

It’s official: the Nevada Gaming Commission has stripped the gaming license of former Resorts World and MGM Grand president Scott Sibella after a 3-0 vote. They concluded that he failed to comply with regulations pertaining to anti-money laundering. 

Additionally, he’s banned from the gaming industry in Nevada for five years. 

How This All Started

In April, a three-count complaint filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in April alleging that Sibella allowed former minor-league baseball player Wayne Nix, a person Sibella knew operated an illegal sports-betting business, to gamble millions of dollars at MGM Grand over a nearly two-year period from Aug. 2017 to Feb. 2019. 

Regarding Nix, Sibella had said, “When I first met Mr Nix, he had already been well established at MGM Resorts for three years. I had no idea he was a bookmaker.” 

Sibella skirted blame to MGM’s compliance and credit departments, saying he relied on their oversight. He also claimed to never receive any financial benefit from Nix. 

“I did not have an account with Mr Nix; I was not a customer; I did not procure customers for him and I did not authorize any comps that he did not otherwise earn,” he added. 

Pled Guilty in January 

In January 2024, Sibella pled guilty in federal court to violating the Bank Secrecy Act related to this allegation. Sibella was sentenced in May, just about a month after the NGCB complaint. He was sentenced to one-year probation and a $9,500 fine. 

“I recognize now that my failure to file a SAR was a violation of law and have accepted responsibility for that,” Sibella said regarding the sentencing. 

Per the agreement with the NGCB, he agreed to a fine of $10k.

Agreement Changed to Cover Resorts World

Initially, the complaint only covered MGM Gand, but there was an agreed change that would cover any violations during his time at Resorts World. 

Resorts World is currently involved in a 12-count disciplinary complaint in a separate case, the details of which have yet to be released. 

Resorts World has been the subject of multiple gambling scandals, including Matthew Bowyer, a California bookie who accepted wagers from Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.