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Resorts World Las Vegas and its operating affiliates have agreed to pay a $10.5 million fine to resolve a wide-ranging complaint brought by Nevada regulators, which accused the casino of allowing convicted felons and individuals with ties to illegal gambling to play at the property. The proposed settlement, filed Thursday with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is now pending final approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission.
If approved, the fine would become the second-largest in Nevada’s gaming history, following a $20 million penalty levied against Wynn Resorts in 2019 in a sexual harassment case.
The Control Board’s complaint, initially filed in August 2023 and later revised, outlines a pattern of failures in Resorts World’s anti-money-laundering (AML) compliance framework and highlights the casino’s relationship with individuals involved in unlawful bookmaking operations.
Among the most prominent names mentioned is Mathew Bowyer, who pleaded guilty in California to operating an illegal gambling business and money laundering. Regulators allege that Bowyer wagered and lost millions at Resorts World, while his wife, Nicole Bowyer, who was a registered independent agent of the casino, received commissions on his play.
The complaint details how Resorts World offered comps, gifts, and other benefits to patrons with criminal backgrounds, despite having an AML program in place. “Resorts World allowed a culture to exist at its gaming establishment where individuals with suspected and actual ties to illegal bookmaking, with histories of federal felony convictions […] were welcomed,” the original August 15 complaint stated.
Regulators later amended the document to remove references to organized crime. In addition to paying the fine, Resorts World has agreed to a number of conditions, including mandatory attendance by key employees at anti-money-laundering seminars, the hiring of more compliance staff, and the maintenance of AML training records for a minimum of five years.
The company must also submit regular AML compliance reports to the Control Board and conduct an annual review of its AML program.
The casino has already begun restructuring its leadership, appointing high-profile figures including former MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren and ex-Nevada Governor and Gaming Commission Chair Brian Sandoval to its board of directors. Former Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett has also joined the board.
In a statement, a Resorts World spokesperson said: “Resorts World Las Vegas has reached a pending settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. We look forward to the Nevada Gaming Commission considering the settlement and ultimately resolving this matter.”
The disciplinary action also overlaps with the tenure of Scott Sibella, Former President and COO of Resorts World, who pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year to failing to report suspicious activities. While not named in the Resorts World complaint, Sibella issued a statement suggesting that other major Las Vegas casinos had also permitted the same illegal bookmakers to gamble at their properties.
“The two bookmakers that put Resorts World in this situation gambled at all the major casinos in Las Vegas for many years,” Sibella told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It will be interesting to see what occurs now between those casinos and the Gaming Control Board and the federal government.”
The Nevada Gaming Commission is scheduled to review the proposed settlement at its meeting next week in Las Vegas.
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