Vegas Casino Exec Scott Sibella Sentenced to 1 Year Probation

Scott Sibella, 61, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of failure to file reports of suspicious transactions. Sibella served as president of the MGM Grand from August 2017 until February 2019. On Wednesday (May 8) he learned his fate  A judge sentenced him to 1 year probation and he will have to pay a $9,500 fine.  Among those asking for leniency is none other than Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill per Dana Gentry of The Nevada Current.

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The MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casinos also entered into settlements that require each company to pay a combined $7.45 million, undergo external review, and enhance their anti-money laundering compliance program following an investigation by the Bank Secrecy Act.

Sibella failed to report that a convicted Southern California bookie, Wayne Nix, paid a marker at the MGM Grand with $120,000 in cash in 2018. 

Sibella told unidentified law enforcement agents he “heard that Nix was in the booking business” but didn’t want to know the source of his money. “I stay out of it. If we know, we can’t allow them to gamble.”

And this appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Last week we learned that high stakes poker player Damien LeForbes was among those banned from some Vegas properties for alleged bookmaking activities.

That, too, appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.

The Gaming Control Board is now conducting its own investigation, months after Gambling911.com confirmed an FBI probe into Vegas executives and potential money laundering activities.

“It just looks like the GCB had to come out or look totally incompetent,” said Richard Schuetz, a veteran casino executive and former California gaming regulator who suggests the GCB may intentionally be loosening the lid on its investigation. “It looks like they slept through this.”

Can it get worse?

It sure can!

Handicapper Robert Jones is on Fire Jones did have a rare loss with the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night but also a win with the Seattle Mariners.  This has resulted in an 11-1 run over his last 12 picks.

IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations agents, as part of the El Camino Real Task Force Investigations, are looking into the alleged $16 million theft from Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani by his former translator, Ippei Mizuhara.  The former translator is accused the ill-gotten funds to pay gambling debts owed to illegal bookmaker Matt Bowyer.  And Bowyer is also apparently banned from Vegas casino properties.

In Las Vegas, Bowyer was known as a high-roller at Resorts World Las Vegas, according to Smith. He is now cooperating with the federal investigation.

"Everybody who is anybody in Las Vegas continues to monitor Gambling911.com to get the latest news related to this ongoing investigation figuring we might be the first to get a hot tip, which is usually the case," remarked Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of the site. 

Gambling911.com has long been at the forefront of breaking industry news courtesy of our extensive list of sources.  We broke the Blue Monday indictments story, Neteller arrests and sports bettor extraordinaire, Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos, admitted to learning about his case from years back reading the site.

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