Las Vegas Casino Workers Allegedly Paid Gaming Losses, Misused Player Data – Report

Posted on: August 4, 2023, 02:19h. 

Last updated on: August 7, 2023, 11:45h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Officials are remaining silent on a recently published report that federal agents are investigating possible wrongdoing by Las Vegas hotel workers and others in the sector.

Thom Mrozek
Thom Mrozek, a DOJ spokesman, pictured above. He declined to comment this week on allegations related to a reported inquiry on casino employees in Las Vegas. (Image: Los Angeles Times)

The employees allegedly used casino assets to pay gambling debts and also improperly released player data, according to the Nevada Current.

The report specifically mentions Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella, MGM Resorts, and gambler Wayne Nix.

NGCB Contacted

The Current claims federal agents investigating the allegations spoke with former employees of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) about Sibella, who previously was president of MGM Grand.

An anonymous Nevada state employee told the Current that MGM Resorts workers used comps and promotional chips — that typically are given to high rollers — to pay personal gambling debts to Nix — and to an illegal sports betting operation of which he was part-owner.

The feds’ investigation is also checking out if hotel employees provided customers’ data to the operation, the report claims.

There are further allegations that casino workers encouraged customers to place bets through an illegal ring which is linked to pro sports athletes and got kickbacks, the Current reported.

Some of these illicit practices have been taking place for decades, an unnamed source told the Current.

The agents assigned to the inquiry worked for Homeland Security and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

No charges have been filed and Casino.org could not independently confirm the allegations.

Spokespeople for Resorts World and MGM Resorts did not release comments this week when contacted by Casino.org.

I have no comment on the piece,” Thom Mrozek, a Los Angeles-based spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department, further told Casino.org.

Guilty Pleas

In 2022, Nix pleaded guilty to conspiring to run an illegal betting operation and filing false tax returns. He will be sentenced next March.

He did not pay taxes on $1.5 million in income, authorities said.

In a related case, William Eric Fulton, 59, of Agoura Hills, Calif. pleaded guilty last month to one count of making false statements. He provided accounting services to Nix.

Fulton also allegedly laundered Nix’s illegal gambling proceeds, prosecutors said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29.

Sibella Cleared

Earlier, the NGCB cleared Sibella of wrongdoing after gambler and consultant Brandon Sattler claimed Sibella knew that a convicted gambler had an ownership in a hotel eatery.

Sattler said the convict was an owner in Tacos El Cabron, which is a small eatery on the Resorts World grounds.

Nevada gaming laws prohibit convicted felons from owning a 5% or more stake in businesses located on the same premises as a non-restricted gaming license such as Resorts World.

Specifically, David Stroj worked at the taco joint at Resorts World. David Stroj claimed that his father, Peter, maintained full ownership of the restaurant — in contrast to the allegations.

David Stroj was convicted in 2018 for being involved in an illegal sports betting business. Prosecutors said he and other defendants ran an illegal $10 million bookmaking network and laundered the operation’s proceeds through Las Vegas casinos, including the Wynn and Bellagio.

Stroj later accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was blacklisted from most Las Vegas Strip casinos.

Sattler also claimed that he and Sibella “partied,” “did drugs together,” and “probably had sex with multiple women at the same time.”

But the allegations of illegal activity were rejected.

After a thorough investigation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the allegations by Brandon Sattler against Resorts World and its president, Scott Sibella, were found to be unsubstantiated,” NGCB member George Assad said in February.

Previously, Resorts World issued a statement that Sattler’s claims were “maliciously false and unfounded.”

In May 2022, Taco Joint El Cabron was shuttered. Resorts World opened in 2021.