A former top executive for a major Las Vegas casino was given a year of probation Wednesday after he admitted he allowed an illegal bookmaker to gamble millions of dollars at the MGM Grand and pay off the debt with cash.
Scott Sibilla pleaded guilty in January to violating federal anti-money laundering rules that require casinos to file suspicious transaction reports. He was sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who also ordered Sibella to pay a $9,500 fine. Gee took into account that Sibilla (61 years old) took responsibility for his actions, cooperated with investigators, and had no previous criminal record.
Sibella's attorneys asked the judge to consider probation. They provided letters of support with testimony, including one from Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill, the elected chief of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The MGM Grand and nearby Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas settled a related case arising from a US Department of Justice investigation into money laundering. The resorts agreed to pay a total of $7.45 million, undergo an external audit and enhance their anti-money laundering compliance programs.
Separately, Nevada casino regulators are considering revoking or suspending Sibilla's state gambling license and fining him up to $750,000. complaint Submitted on April 30 By state Gaming Control Board investigators, it has not yet been considered by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
The bookmaker at the center of the Sibilla case, Wayne Nix, is a former minor league baseball player who lives in Newport Coast, California. He is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in April 2022 to running an illegal gambling business and filing a false tax return.
According to his plea agreement with the government, Sibella allowed Nicks to gamble at the MGM Grand and its affiliated properties with illicit proceeds generated from illegal gambling businesses without notifying the casinos' compliance department.
Sibella told federal investigators in January 2022 that he heard that Nix was in the book business and couldn't figure out how he got all the money he bet.
“I didn't want to know because of my position,” Sibilla told investigators. “I'm staying out of it. If we know, we can't let them gamble. I didn't ask, I didn't want to know, I guess because he wasn't doing anything to cheat at the casino.”
Sibella served as president and chief operating officer of MGM Grand for eight years and then president of Resorts World Las Vegas until 2023.
His sentencing comes as the Justice Department conducts a wide-ranging investigation into illegal sports gambling operations in Southern California to launder money through Las Vegas casinos. The most famous case involves Ibi MizuharaLos Angeles Dodgers star Former translator of Shohei Ohtani. Federal prosecutors say Mizuhara transferred money he stole from the Japanese star in a scheme to pay off debts to illegal bookmakers.
Sibella held senior executive positions at the Mirage and Treasure Island casinos on the Las Vegas Strip before becoming president of the 6,800-plus-room MGM Grand in 2011. He left the company in February 2019 and joined Resorts World Las Vegas ahead of Malaysia-based Genting. . The group opened the 66-story resort at a cost of $4.3 billion In June 2021.
Sibilla was fired by Resorts World in September 2023 after the company said he “violated company policies and terms of employment.”
