Ahead of Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, former MGM Grand President Scott Sibella has received more than six dozen letters of support, including character recommendations from a former Division I basketball coach, an ex-NFL general manager, and a prominent Las Vegas sportsbook manager, among others.

Sibella, a former executive at the Strip property, pleaded guilty in January to one count of failure to file a suspicious transaction report, pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act. The charge is related to Sibella’s association with Wayne Nix, a former minor league pitcher and illegal bookmaker. Due to Sibella’s inactivity, MGM Grand failed to file at least one suspicious activity report (SAR) in regards to Nix source of funds, according to federal prosecutors.

Beyond letters of support from hordes of friends and family, Sibella received a character recommendation from Lon Kruger, a former men’s basketball coach at UNLV. Kruger, who led the Runnin’ Rebels to the 2007 Sweet 16, worked with Sibella when the coach ran the Coaches vs. Cancer Las Vegas Golf Classic in the early 2010s.

Sibella also received letters of support from Carmen Policy, a former president of the San Francisco 49ers, Nick Bogdanovich, a sportsbook manager at Circa Sports, and Rick Hutchins, a former casino executive at Resorts World Las Vegas.

Bogdanovich, a 2023 Sports Betting Hall of Fame inductee, previously served as the head of sports trading for William Hill U.S. In a letter to Dolly Gee, chief justice, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Bogdanovich described his relationship with Sibella that dates back nearly 50 years. The two attended junior high together in the Las Vegas area, before moving onto Western High School, the same alma mater as former Patriots defensive lineman Lawrence Guy.

After spending the better part of three decades managing race and sportsbook operations at some of the largest books in Las Vegas, Bogdanovich is acutely aware of the stressors in meeting various revenue targets. He articulated the pressures in an impassioned letter to Gee.

“I know the environment Scott was in and the pressure to meet revenue numbers and budgets is intense. The ability to manage thousands of employees and meet the goals of those you answer to is a skill that most people do not command. Scott has those skills.”

–Nick Bogdanovich, letter on behalf of Scott Sibella

Sibella’s charge surrounds a $120,000 cash payment Nix made in 2018 to an MGM casino marker, according to court records. Nix, an illegal California bookmaker, plead guilty in 2022 to federal tax evasion charges, stemming from his failure to report approximately $1.4 million in income.

In total, the MGM Grand and other affiliates of the company accepted more than $4 million in ill-gotten funds from Nix, prosecutors allege.

Hutchins, a former senior vice president of casino operations at Resorts World Las Vegas, worked for Sibella at several casino properties. Last week, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed a three-charge complaint against Sibella that could have lasting implications on the executive’s license.

The complaint was issued on the same day that ESPN published a report on bookmaker Matt Bowyer’s purported ties to Resorts World. Last September, Resorts World terminated Sibella for violations of company policy.

Bowyer, according to ESPN, lost approximately $7.9 million at Resorts World over a 17-month through Oct. 2023. Earlier this year, Bowyer surfaced in allegations against Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani.

Mizuhara, who has been charged with one count of federal bank fraud, is scheduled to be arraigned in the matter later this week. Over a three-year period through January, Mizuhara allegedly placed approximately 19,000 wagers with an illegal sports betting ring, according to a federal complaint, resulting in losses of around $40 million.

According to ESPN, Mizuhara sent at least two wire transfer payments of $500,000 each to an associate of Bowyer to cover some of his debts. At one point, a portion of the funds were deposited into gambling accounts at Resorts World, then converted into casino chips, ESPN reported. When reached by ESPN, Resorts World declined comment on the matter. Resorts World was not named in the NGCB complaint.

Sibella invited Hutchins to join him on the Resorts World team in 2020 after Hutchins left MGM Resorts.

He challenged us all to be creative and innovative with finding team members, processes, and customers to help our property be successful. We all utilized our unique sets of expertise to deliver on those expectations. As the leader of Casino Operations, Sports Book, and Poker, at no time did Scott say, imply or otherwise expect me to overlook any responsibilities of my position.

–Rick Hutchins, letter of support for Sibella

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sibella’s hearing remains on Gee’s calendar, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed, when reached by Sports Handle. Kruger urged Gee to take Sibella’s philanthropic work into account when he is sentenced.

Others have portrayed Sibella in a more negative light. The NGCB initially cleared Sibella and Resorts World in February 2023 after an investigation into his connections with a VIP gambler. Nevada regulators investigated the matter after the gambler accused Sibella of defamation in a 2022 deposition.

In a 17-page memo dated April 24, attorneys for Sibella recommended a sentence of one-year probation and a fine of $9,500. Due in part to Sibella’s lack of criminal history, the U.S. Probation Office (USPO) determined the offense yielded a range of zero to six months, based on U.S. sentencing guidelines.

In a pre-sentence report filed in early-April, the U.S Probation Office also recommended a year of probation, along with the same fine.

Based on the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in an April memo that the office concurs with the recommendation from the USPO. Upon his guilty plea in January, Sibella faced a statutory maximum of five years in prison.