Fallout from the Wayne Nix federal illegal bookmaking and money laundering case continues in Las Vegas with the state Gaming Control Board’s reported interest in the widening investigation.

The federal investigation has already resulted in the conviction of former MGM Grand President Scott Sibella for a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act and a combined $7.45 million in fines for MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan for the actions of its former employees and the failures of its anti-money laundering compliance programs. Sibella and MGM casino marketing representatives allowed Nix to gamble millions and pay his debts in cash despite knowing he was an illegal bookmaker.

Sibella is scheduled to be sentenced May 8 in a Los Angeles courtroom. Although he faces up to five years in prison, sources for weeks have indicated he’s likely to receive a one-year probation and a fine. In a legal filing earlier this week, Sibella's attorneys requested a year of probation and a fine. It remains unclear whether other current and former company employees will be charged.

IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations agents as part of the El Camino Real Task Force Investigations have also exposed what federal authorities allege is a $16 million theft from Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. His former translator Ippei Mizuhara is charged with using the money to pay gambling debts owed to illegal bookmaker Matt Bowyer. 

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

If the investigation ended there, it would be a significant success for law enforcement and yet another wake-up call for Nevada gaming regulators. The state’s much-ballyhooed reputation as the “gold standard” of casino regulation borders on self-parody these days. The understaffed GCB has a lot of catching up to do on this one.

Nix, multiple sources confirm, wasn’t the only person with ties to illegal bookmaking who gambled at the MGM Grand. In the wake of the Nix-Sibella revelations, at least five other men that sources say were known to management as bookies were banned from resort property.

At least three of the banned gamblers, including high-profile poker player Damien LeForbes, are represented by longtime Las Vegas attorney David Chesnoff. He urges the press and poker room parrots not to rush to judgment of his clients. Getting 86’d from a casino isn’t a crime, and the attorney says he has another concern.

“If gaming companies need to know their customers that is their obligation as licensees,” Chesnoff said in a statement. “However, without findings in a court of law or in a hearing conducted with due process, they also deny people access to the non-gaming parts of the resorts, and that raises serious constitutional questions.”

In response to an email seeking comment, MGM Resorts International Chief Counsel John McManus stated, “Regarding the federal investigation relating to Mr. Nix, MGM Resorts cooperated fully with federal law enforcement authorities. We produced numerous documents at their request and facilitated witness interviews.  We believe that the federal authorities interviewed everyone at MGM Resorts who they deemed appropriate to interview.”

Citing privacy concerns, McManus said, “we are not going to comment on their status and confirm whether they are current or former customers.”

As for any complications related to the company’s decision to ban players from its properties, he said, “No claim under any constitutional theory has been asserted against us so we are not going to speculate about something that an individual may choose to do in the future.”

As part of its non-prosecution agreement, MGM agreed to “continue to cooperate with the (U.S. Attorney’s Office) in any ongoing investigation of the conduct of the Company and affiliates, and their current or former officers, directors, employees, agents, business partners, distributors, and consultants relating to” its admitted violations.

The company also agreed to engage in “remedial measures” and take actions which include enhancing its anti-money laundering rules, submitting to compliance review for two years, improving its internal audit protocols, and reviewing the previous 18 months (Jan. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023) of its Suspicious Activity Reports that reported the source of player funds as “unknown.”

For his part, Sibella left MGM Grand in February 2019.

The idea that Sibella and a couple of unnamed casino hosts were the only MGM employees who knew of Nix’s illegal status, or of the presence of other illegal bookmakers on the property for that matter, seems pretty far-fetched. Federal investigators have stated that Nix openly solicited potential customers for the Costa Rica-based Sand Island Sports Book, including on a high-roller golf excursion catered by the casino.

All that still doesn’t answer the questions of what the company knew about the players it suddenly banned, and whether they were part of something bigger.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR.