Ex-top casino exec loses gaming license in settlement with regulators

State gaming regulators have reached an agreement with Scott Sibella, the former top executive at Resorts World and MGM Grand, which effectively ends his career in the Las Vegas casino industry.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a stipulation of settlement with the Nevada Gaming Commission revoking Sibella’s gaming license and his finding of suitability in the state in addition to imposing a fine of $10,000. Sibella will also be placed on the board’s list of denials, revocations and findings of unsuitability, barring him from applying to re-enter Nevada’s gaming industry for a five-year term, retroactive to December 2023.

The parties signed the settlement agreement Tuesday, and the document was filed with the gaming commission on Wednesday.

The commission must approve the settlement agreement before it becomes final. The NGC is scheduled to meet on Dec. 19, and the recently filed settlement agreement is listed on the meeting agenda.

Sibella, who was fired as president and chief operating officer of Resorts World Las Vegas in 2013, declined to comment on the matter when contacted Friday, saying he preferred waiting to respond until after the settlement is finalized.

Sibella pleaded guilty in January to a single count of violating federal financial reporting requirements. The charge stemmed from his tenure as president of the MGM Grand casino-hotel, which is where since convicted illegal bookmaker Wayne Nix was gambling with impunity, according to authorities.

After parting ways with MGM Grand in 2020, Sibella took the helm at Resorts World, which opened in June 2021. While serving as the top executive at Resorts World, state gaming regulators allege that management turned a blind eye to illicit behaviors and allowed suspected illegal gamblers, such as Mathew Bowyer, the since-convicted bookmaker, to play at the property in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws.

The NGCB’s settlement agreement with Sibella notes that while the disciplinary complaint against the former executive addresses his tenure at MGM Grand, it also resolves any “responsibility attributable” to him at Resorts World, which is currently the subject of a 12-count disciplinary complaint filed by the board in August centered around Bowyer’s activities at the property.

Last week, Resorts World’s parent company, Genting Berhad, announced the formation of a four-peson board of directors helmed by Jim Murren, the former chief executive officer of MGM Resorts International. Murren’s tenure at MGM coincided with Sibella’s, which industry experts say should prompt state gaming regulators to ask questions around what Murren knew about the situation at MGM Grand, when he knew and what he did about it.

In addition to appointing a board of directors, Malaysian-based Genting also named Alex Dixon, a former executive with both MGM and Caesars Entertainment, as CEO of Resorts World Las Vegas. Dixon’s tenure at RWLV will begin on Jan. 16.

Resorts World posted its worst financial returns in two years during the third quarter of 2024, citing extreme summer heat, consumer economic concerns and domestic election anxiety for the underwhelming results.

For photos and more details visit ReviewJournal.com