Former Resorts World Las Vegas CEO Scott Sibella has lost his license to participate in the Nevada gambling industry, following a settlement with the state regulators. The agreement brings to a close an investigation into Sibella’s conduct by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) at the behest of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).
The investigation arose after Sibella pleaded guilty to the federal charge of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Sibella received only one-year probation and a $9,500 fine for his crime. However, the loss of his license is more consequential. Following his plea deal, Sibella expressed that he hoped to continue to pursue a career in the gambling industry. Although he may still do so, it will now not be in Las Vegas.
Before he held his position at Resorts World, Sibella had been President of the MGM Grand. The BSA violation he admitted to took place during that period and involved a customer named Wayne Nix.
Nix was involved in illegal bookmaking and Sibella admitted to having deliberately turned a blind eye to the source of his gambling funds. Under the BSA, MGM Grand staff had a duty to report Nix’s transactions as suspicious activity but Sibella admitted to having prevented this, knowing that the result would have been the loss of Nix’s business for the casino.
Sibella has also faced accusations from two sources about similar negligence at Resorts World Las Vegas. But although he was dismissed from his position there for unspecified “violations of company policy,” none of those accusations have stuck in a regulatory or judicial setting. The terms of his settlement with Nevada regulators preclude the possibility that any further action will come from them.
Why did Sibella lose his Nevada license?
On the basis of the federal charge, the NGCB accused Sibella of violating several regulations. Summarized briefly, those requirements were:
- To “exercise discretion and sound judgment” to avoid damaging the reputation of the state and its gambling industry,
- To avoid associating with “persons of notorious or unsavory reputation,”
- To comply with all federal, state, and local laws, and
- To operate the casino “in accordance with proper standards of custom, decorum, and decency.
In the settlement agreement, Sibella admitted to all those accusations and waived his right to a public hearing. As a result, his license has been revoked, retroactively beginning on December 27, 2023, the date of his plea deal with federal investigators.
He also agreed to pay $10,000 to cover the cost of the investigation and waived any right to sue the regulators in future. In return, he secured an assurance that there won’t be a follow-up investigation relating to his time at Resorts World.
Many questions remain as investigation ends
Activist gambler Robert Cipirani recently lost a lawsuit against Resorts World and Sibella, accusing him of similarly ignoring the presence of suspicious characters at the casino in his latter role. One of these, Robert Alexander, allegedly threatened Cipriani, whose suit was based on claims that the casino had failed in its duty to protect him from such actions.
Interestingly, the incoming Chairman of Resorts World’s newly-formed Board of Directors is Jim Murren, who was CEO of MGM Resorts during the time of Sibella’s admitted misdeed there. That pick has raised a few eyebrows and questions of whether regulators should look into how much Murren knew of what was taking place at the MGM Grand.
Between his post at MGM Resorts and the new position at Resorts World Las Vegas, Murren spent his time serving as a regulator for the fledgling gambling industry in the United Arab Emirates.
Sibella has also been under investigation by the Nevada regulatory bodies once before, for accusations made against him by another gambler, Brandon Sattler.
Sattler, who was indicted in 2023 for mishandling business loans, was one of the characters Cipriani claimed to have warned Resorts World about. Sattler’s accusations against Sibella came after he’d been banned from the casino and filed for bankruptcy. That timing may have damaged his credibility in the eyes of investigators. His allegations were also more colorful than those Sibella faced from others, involving drug use, sex parties, and a taco stand with links to organized crime.
Regulators agree not renew Resorts World investigation
That first investigation ended with no action by the regulators, who concluded that there was no indication of wrongdoing by Sibella during his time at Resorts World.
That verdict came under retroactive criticism after federal investigators uncovered his violation at the MGM Grand. However, to date, no allegations of anything that may have happened at Resorts World Las Vegas have stuck.
The fifth clause of Sibella’s settlement guarantees that if there are any new developments on that front from Nevada regulators, they won’t apply to him. It reads:
RESPONDENT and the BOARD further agree and acknowledge that, although the Complaint in this disciplinary matter, NGC Case No. 24-02, addresses RESPONDENT’s actions while President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM Grand Hotel, LLC, this Stipulation for Settlement also encompasses, and is intended to resolve, any responsibility attributable to RESPONDENT for his actions or inaction in relation to any potential violation of the Nevada Gaming Control Act and the Commission’s regulations during his employment by Resorts World Las Vegas, LLC (Resorts World).
Resorts World itself is currently under investigation, however.
- Read More: Timeline of the Scott Sibella saga
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