By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:44am PST, Jan 26, 2024
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A former top level Las Vegas casino executive is facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to assisting a former minor league baseball player with an illegal sports betting operation.
On Wednesday, Jan. 24, Scott Sibella, the former CEO of MGM Grand and Resorts World, took a plea deal in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for failing to file suspicious activities reports to federal officials investigating the presence of illegal bookmakers in violation of anti-money-laundering laws, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Once a celebrated casino boss, Scott could be locked up and forced to a pay a $250,000 fine.
Keep reading to find out which former professional athlete is behind the scheme, then read on to see how Scott got busted…
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Wayne Nix never made it to the big leagues after being drafted as a pitcher by the Oakland A's in 1995, but he managed to develop high-profile contacts, including Hall of Fame basketball player Scottie Pippen and Maverick Carter, LeBron James's business manager.
Following a six-year career in minor league baseball, the former pitcher began operating an illegal sports betting operation in California. Wayne used former pro athletes to take bets from notable names. Former Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig and accountant Eric Fulton — his firm's high-profile clients include Conor McGregor, Chris Hemsworth and Channing Tatum — were charged in the scheme. Last year, Eric pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal agents about his role in laundering illicit proceeds from an illegal gambling operation. Yasiel pleaded not guilty.
Court filings show a professional football player paid Wayne $245,000 for gambling losses in 2016. A baseball coach paid $4,000 in losses that same year.
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Prosecutors say that during his time as president of MGM Grand Las Vegas, Scott Sibella gave Wayne Nix free hotel stays, complimentary meals and golf outings with other high-rollers.
In violation of federal anti-money laundering rules, the former casino boss failed to file a suspicious-activity report when Wayne showed up at the MGM with a duffle bag of $120,000 in cash, which was used to pay off a gambling debt, prosecutors allege. (Essentially, prosecutors are alleging that Scott allowed the former pro athlete to lauder money at his casinos.)
In 2022, the former baseball player pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and to filing a false tax return.
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At one point during the investigation, Scott Sibella claimed he didn't know how Wayne Nix earned the money he used to gamble at MGM properties. However, prosecutors say Scott knew Wayne well, particularly after the baseball player-turned-bookie placed a $5 million bet on the Super Bowl through his business in January 2019.
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In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Scott Sibella said, "I am pleased to have this investigation and its findings reaching a conclusion. I take full responsibility for my actions and inactions, but I must make clear I took no action for my personal benefit or inurement. I wish to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office for its professionalism throughout this process."
"I am proud of my 35 years of contributions and leadership to the industry that has meant so much to and has supported me. I am appreciative of the many colleagues with whom I have been associated over my career and that I have been entrusted to lead, and who have supported me and my family throughout this process. As this process comes to a conclusion, I look forward to continuing to provide my knowledge, skills and insights to support the continued growth, evolution and professionalism of the gaming industry," he continued.
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Scott Sibella was an unequivocal rock star in the casino world. Prior to his Las Vegas jobs, he worked as an executive in Atlantic City at the Trump Taj Mahal and at the Tropicana. He later held high-level jobs at Las Vegas casinos The Mirage, the Golden Nugget, Treasure Island and the Tropicana. He was eventually named President and COO of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas — and he was even the subject of a 2011 episode of "Undercover Boss." (He posed as a blackjack dealer.)
Scott became the President of Resorts World Las Vegas in 2019.
After the illegal betting scheme was uncovered, MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan, another property under the MGM Resorts umbrella, agreed to pay $7.5 million in fines as part of a non-prosecution agreement, according to the Wall Street Journal.
