Resorts World Las Vegas has announced a new CEO as well as the formation of a new board of directors as it prepares for the next phase of a money laundering investigation from Nevada regulators.
Both announcements came via press release on 5 December. The newly established board will be chaired by Jim Murren, longtime chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts. Murren also currently chairs the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Other board members will include:
- AG Burnett, partner at McDonald Carano and former chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB);
- Michelle DiTondo, principal at Avion Consulting; and
- Kong Han Tan, president and COO of Resorts World parent company Genting Berhad.
In addition to the board, Resorts World also named Alex Dixon as its new CEO. Dixon, a Las Vegas native, most recently served as CEO of Q Casino & Resort and the Dubuque Racing Association in Dubuque, Iowa.
Notably, Murren, Dixon and DiTondo all share ties to MGM Resorts, having worked there at the same period in the late 2010s. The board members assumed their roles on 4 December and Dixon is slated to begin his tenure on 16 January. Genting CEO Kok Thay Lim said in the release that he is confident the new leadership “will help drive the company forward in pursuing our strategic goals for years to come”.
Resorts World posted Q3 revenue of $177 million (£139 million/€167.6 million) and EBITDA of $16 million. Those totals were decreases of 18% and 68% from the previous quarter, respectively.
Announcement comes days before NGCB response due
The new leadership appointments come at a pivotal time for Resorts World. The casino is embroiled in a money laundering scandal and faces a 12-count complaint from the NGCB. A formal response is due on or before 9 December.
Originally filed on 15 August, the 31-page complaint alleges that Resorts World welcomed “individuals with suspected and actual ties to illegal bookmaking” and organised crime. This, the board said, exemplified an “overall lack of control”.
As a result, the board has recommended that the Nevada Gaming Commission take formal action against the casino. This could be through fines, licence suspensions or placing the property under state oversight.
Bowyer, Sibella involved in scandal
One individual at the centre of the scandal is Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookie based out of California who gambled millions at Resorts World since it opened in 2021. Bowyer took action from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani.
Mizuhara currently awaits sentencing for stealing approximately $17 million from Ohtani to pay debts owed to Bowyer, who laundered the money through accounts at Resorts World and California’s Pechanga Resort Casino. Resorts World also hired Bowyer’s wife, Nicole, to be his personal host. He faces up to 18 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on 4 April 2025.
Another key figure is Scott Sibella, who served as president and COO of Resorts World from 2019 to 2023. He was fired last September for violating company policy after it was reported that the property was under investigation.
In May, he pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering (AML) violations stemming from his time as president of MGM Grand. He was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $9,500. While at MGM Grand he allegedly allowed Wayne Nix, another well-known illegal bookie, to pay a $120,000 marker in cash without filing a suspicious transaction report.
Murren was still at MGM when Sibella’s misconduct occurred. According to the Nevada Current, Murren was alerted to these allegations as early as 2019. Resorts World declined to comment on the connection.
