Genting has appointed a new board to its Resorts World Las Vegas operation amid potentially severe regulatory penalties. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Board reshuffle

The Malaysia-headquartered Genting Group has named a controversial Chairman to head up a new team of executives tasked with turning around the fortunes of its underperforming and under-scrutiny casino on the Las Vegas Strip. 

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday, Resorts World Las Vegas has appointed Jim Murren as its new Chairman along with “a four-person board of directors.” The incoming board members include former MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment exec Alex Dixon, who will assume the role of CEO.

reshuffle to “bolster the property’s governance structure”

Genting states the board reshuffle is designed to “bolster the property’s governance structure” and boost its business. The move comes after the Strip casino suffered a woeful financial quarter and could lose its Nevada gaming license over the regulator’s claims the casino is a criminal’s paradise.

With regulatory censure also falling on Genting in Southeast Asia, Murren, the ex-CEO and Chair of MGM Resorts, steps into a high-pressure role. There is also the added concern voiced by industry insiders that his appointment will be a red flag for both The Nevada Gaming Control Board, and the Nevada Gaming Commission. 

Complex links

The LVR-J cited multiple industry sources which claimed Murren’s appointment “could elicit a new round of questioning from Nevada gaming regulators.”

The concern comes from Murren’s links with former Resorts World Las Vegas CEO Scott Sibella, who was MGM Grand’s President while Murren was at the MGM Resorts helm. 

Sibella pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of improperly reporting the shady financial activities of a now-convicted illegal bookmaker. Media reports also cite a 2019 email sent to Murren and MGM by a high-profile gambler outlining “potentially illegal happenings at MGM properties involving Sibella and other MGM managers.”

The Sibella angle also extends into the current 12-count disciplinary complaint the NGCB has filed against Resorts World and to which it must respond to by/or before December 9.

Resorts World cultivated a shady culture

The NGCB alleges that with Sibella as head, Resorts World cultivated a shady culture in which patrons linked with illegal bookmaking, illicit gambling firms, and organized crime were “welcomed” and enticed to gamble at the Strip casino. 

It remains to be seen whether Murren’s sudden appearance will help or hinder Resorts World’s response to the NGCB’s complaint, which recommends a multimillion-dollar fine and a potential revocation of the resort-casino’s Nevada gaming license. 

As Vegas awaits Resorts World’s showdown with the regulators, the Genting Group has to deal with added pressure on two other fronts.

Financials and regulatory issues

Resorts World is talking up the appointment of Murren and his team as a strategic move aimed at steadying the struggling property after it posted its “worst financial quarter in two years.” 

Murren, however, stated in a news release that his team of execs were excited to help drive Resort World’s “continued growth and innovation to benefit all of RWLV’s key stakeholders.”

Chairman and CEO of Genting Berhad, Kok Thay Lim, said the Malaysian gaming giant was confident the combined experience of Murren and the other new appointees “will help drive the company forward in pursuing our strategic goals for years to come.”

Genting is also in hot water over in Southeast Asia, where the Singapore gambling regulator knocked a year off its current gaming license for Resorts World Sentosa’s “unsatisfactory” tourism performance.