Ex MGM Grand president Scott Sibella is set to be sentenced on Wednesday, after the former executive admitted to allowing illegal bookmakers to gamble millions at his casino.
Sibella pleaded guilty at the beginning of the year to multiple charges, which included breaking anti-money laundering rules that his casino failed to report.
The former MGM Grand boss is now facing up to five years of jail time as well as up to $250,000 in fines for allowing illegal bookmakers to wager millions through MGM, in order to pay off cash debts.
MGM Resorts has already agreed to pay $7.45million back to the US government as well as conducting an external review and updating their compliance programs so no laundering can take place again.
Wayne Nix was the illegal bookmaker a the centre of this case – a former baseball player who is already awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to operating an illegal gambling business and filing false tax returns in 2022.
Sibella admitted to allowing Nix to gamble at the MGM Grand, while knowing his money came from illicit funding but he failed to report the activity to the casino’s compliance department.
“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 aware than Nix was in the bookmaker business and even admitted he ‘couldn’t figure out how he had all the money he gambled with,’ yet he still chose not to report the activity to the compliance department.
In addition to his potential jail time and $250,000 fine from the government, Sibella could also be charged with a $750,000 fine by Nevada casino regulators who are also expected to revoke his gambling licence.
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