Resorts World Las Vegas Gets Reprieve in 'Illegal Gamblers' Probe Involving High Profile Bookies, Poker Player

Resorts World Las Vegas has until next week to respond to a 12-count complaint (31 pages) the regulatory agency last summer alleging, among other things, the casino permitted individuals with known or suspected ties to illegal gambling activities to play with impunity at the property.

Genting Berhad, the Malaysian-based owner and operator of Resorts World Las Vegas, noted in a quarterly earnings report released last week that the company had a Dec. 9 deadline to file a formal response.

In a statement to the Review-Journal, the NGCB confirmed the deadline extension.

“Resorts World Las Vegas requested, and the Board agreed to, an extension of time in which it must file a response to the Board’s Complaint up to and including December 9, 2024,” the regulatory agency said in an email.

The Culprits

Among those said to regularly frequent the establishment, bookie Matthew Bowyer, 49.  He is accused of taking bets  from more than 700 bettors, including Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who recently pleaded guilty to  tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from a bank account belonging to Ohtani. 

A handful of other bookmakers, including a well known poker player, have reportedly been banned from Vegas casinos over the last year amid an active federal investigation into unnamed casino executives.

Poker pro Damien LeForbes is also believed to have been a frequent visitor at Resorts World Las Vegas.  LeForbes plead guilty to running an illegal sports betting operation with ties to Bowyer.

The complaint alleges that, over a nearly three-year period, LeForbes’ sports betting business brought in millions through illegal wagers across Nevada and California, with at least part of the business relying heavily on a Las Vegas casino, which was not identified in the complaint.

Scott Sibella, the former president of MGM Grand and Resorts World Las Vegas, received one year of probation and a fine of $9,500 for violating a federal law requiring casinos to know the source of their customer’s funds and file a suspicious activity report.

Sibella maintains he did nothing that benefited him personally.

“I was charged from the very beginning for not filing a SAR, accepted a plea, and have taken full and complete responsibility for what I did,” Sibella said in a statement distributed shortly after the sentencing by his attorney John Spilotro. “I want to reiterate that by, anything alleged, I gained no benefit – neither personal, professional or financial.”