Vegas Money-Laundering Probes May Impact Resorts World & Wynn NYC Casino License Bids

When the world’s leading gambling professionals convene each fall for the Global Gaming Expo, there is an expectation that some of the most consequential issues facing the industry will be explored at length.

The four-day event held earlier this month took place at the Venetian Expo Center, a convention hall located just down the Strip from Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV). Unlike previous incarnations of the conference, discussion on anti-money laundering (AML) protocols served as one of the most pertinent topics of the week.

Over the summer, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) issued a 12-count complaint against RWLV, one that emanated from the casino’s purported AML deficiencies. Another nearby property, Wynn Las Vegas, agreed to forfeit $130 million in September to settle allegations with the U.S. Department of Justice that it conspired with unlicensed money transmitting businesses for the financial benefit of the casino.

On the opposite side of the country, the extensive downstate New York casino licensing process has progressed at a snail-like pace. But absent further delays, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) is expected to take formal action and collect licensing fees from three successful bidders in the final month of 2025. In light of recent comments from NYSGC Chair Brian O’Dwyer, the activities at the Las Vegas casinos may have implications in the selection process.

Possible Nefarious Activity Inside Vegas Casinos

The charges in the NGCB complaint against Resorts World Las Vegas center on its alleged compliance failings regarding Matt Bowyer and other illegal bookmakers. Bowyer, who is awaiting sentencing in California district court, booked millions of dollars in illegal sports wagers from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.

During a 14-month period that spanned through Oct. 1, 2023, Bowyer gambled at RWLV on at least 80 occasions, according to the complaint, during which he lost $6.6 million at the property. In total, the bookmaker lost at least $7.9 million at the Las Vegas casino, the complaint states. Several members of the casino's AML committee acknowledged during the investigation that his sources of funds were not commensurate with his level of play.

Bowyer had his Southern California home raided last October when federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant. Shortly thereafter, RWLV banned Bowyer from playing at the casino on Oct. 6, 2023. Yet at no time did RWLV substantiate that Bowyer's level of play remained consistent with his sources of funds, according to the complaint. And at no time did the casino perform a requisite Know Your Customer check on the bookmaker, the complaint reads.

Bowyer, who pleaded guilty to illegal bookmaking and money laundering charges over the summer, bet heavily at numerous Las Vegas sportsbooks, according to several sources who spoke to Action Network on condition of anonymity. At a March 2023 meeting of RWLV's AML committee, members discussed a description of Bowyer as a "bookie" that accompanied his file. An executive then employed at RWLV made a request for the title to be stricken from the record of a January 2023 agenda. His request was granted, according to the complaint.

Bowyer, according to a source, operated one of the nation's largest unregulated betting and bookmaking operations. The enterprise purportedly enlisted a call center and several Costa Rica websites to facilitate a large volume of wagers. At its peak, the Bowyer Gambling business contained at least 700 sports wagering clients, according to federal law enforcement officials.

Another figure ensnared in the case is Damien Leforbes, a prominent poker player who has made appearances on the television program "Poker After Dark." Last week, Leforbes pleaded guilty to several federal charges, including transactional money laundering and illegal bookmaking. For a period that spanned nearly two years, Leforbes wagered $148 million at a venue identified in court records as "Casino A."

According to the plea agreement, the Leforbes Gambling Business paid or accepted payments from customers in casino chips, including chips from "Casino A." Leforbes also allegedly used cryptocurrency wallets to facilitate payment transfers from his gambling clients, court records show.

Asked in September if RWLV is Casino A, a spokesperson representing the casino declined comment. However, multiple sources identified RWLV as the casino in question, ESPN reported. In addition, Leforbes accumulated about $12.3 million in losses on nearly four dozen trips to Resorts World Las Vegas, the Nevada Current reported.

"The NGCB investigation revealed acceptance among Resorts World executives of a culture where information of suspicious or illegal activity is, at a minimum, negligently disregarded or, at worst, willfully ignored for financial gain," Nevada regulators wrote in the complaint.

Disturbed by Allegations of Non-Compliance

An advisor to former U.S. President Bill Clinton during the Northern Ireland peace process, O'Dwyer was appointed by Clinton to the Presidential Commission on White House Fellows. O'Dwyer was later appointed by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the U.S. Committee for UNESCO. The New York State Senate confirmed O'Dwyer as chair of the NYSGC in June 2022.

Through a comprehensive downstate casino bidding process, New York State plans to award up to three licenses by next December, a process that could bring up to $1.5 billion in licensing fees to the state. Two bidders, Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York City, are widely considered to be the presumed frontrunners. But O'Dwyer expressed concern about the implications of the Las Vegas allegations in an interview with the New York Post.

"These allegations in the complaint are particularly disturbing in that it alleges a culture of non-compliance in that information on illicit or suspicious activity was either negligently or, worse, fully disregarded to promote financial gain," he told the Post.

In August, Wynn Resorts and Related Companies released a video that detailed plans for the Hudson Yards West development project, one that includes a casino resort and hotel dubbed Wynn New York City. Reports surfaced this week of a planned rally by a New York City building and construction trade union on behalf of the $12 billion casino project.

Though O’Dwyer found the RWLV investigations to be troubling, it does not necessarily indicate that the allegations are disqualifying of a license, the Post reported.

When reached by Action Network this week, a spokesperson for RWLV declined to comment on O'Dwyer's remarks. However, RWLV issued a statement over the summer in response to the NGCB's complaint.

"Resorts World Las Vegas is aware of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB) complaint. We are committed to doing business with the utmost integrity and in compliance with applicable laws and industry guidelines," according to a separate statement provided by RWLV to Action Network. "We have been actively communicating with the GCB to resolve these issues so we can move forward."

Next Steps

Before New York State is slated to award the successful bids, a slew of defendants in the sweeping West Coast probe are scheduled to be sentenced in California.

Bowyer is scheduled to be sentenced in February, two days before the Super Bowl. Prior to that, Leforbes' sentencing hearing is scheduled for January and Mizuhara's is planned for the last month of 2024.

A prominent defendant in the investigation has already learned his fate. Former MGM Grand President Scott Sibella was sentenced to one year of probation in May for failure to file a suspicious transaction report on illegal bookmaker Wayne Nix.

Sibella knowingly allowed Nix to gamble at MGM Grand without notifying the casino's compliance department, prosecutors alleged. While an attorney for Sibella said his client is not connected with Bowyer, a source told Action Network that an agent for Bowyer placed dozens of wagers with the Nix operation.

After leaving MGM Grand, in 2019 Sibella was named president of RWLV, which terminated him in Sept. 2023 for violations of company policy.

Resorts World New York City did not respond to an inquiry from Action Network this week. Still, an RWNYC spokesperson responded to the inquiry from the Post earlier this fall, informing the outlet: "There is absolutely no overlap between executives at one company or the other. As such, one has no say on what the other does."

When asked about the implications of the Vegas scandal on the NYC licensing process in August, a high-level New York legislative source told Action Network that the facilities in Las Vegas and New York are separate entities and should be treated as such on licensing matters.

In January, the MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas entered into a non-prosecutorial agreement with the Justice Department to resolve litigation in the Nix matter. The casinos were required to pay a combined fine of $7.45 million and pass enhanced measures with their respective AML programs.

MGM Resorts is the parent company of MGM Grand. In 2019, MGM Resorts closed on its $850 million purchase of Empire City Casino and Yonkers Raceway. Resorts World Las Vegas has not been charged criminally on the federal level.