Nevada’s gaming regulator has accused Genting-owned Resorts World Las Vegas as being a haven for illegal gambling. [Image: Shutterstock.com] 

Vegas crime den?

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has tossed the Malaysia-headquartered Genting Group a corporate grenade after it alleged its Resorts World Las Vegas casino on the Las Vegas Strip was a haven for criminal activity.  

hub for people with links to organized crime

The NGCB filed a 12-count disciplinary complaint on Thursday accusing Resorts World Las Vegas of being a hub for people with links to organized crime and gambling-related felonies.

According to Reuters, six of those counts filed against Resorts World related to “hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit to others with histories of illegal gambling convictions or organized crime.”

The complaint also alleges failures of staff at the casino resort to report to management unusual or shady activity including anti-money laundering (AML) violations, and that its execs turned a blind eye to VIP gamblers were involved in illegal betting.

The NGCB wants the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) to fine Resorts World and take action against its gaming license.

Playing hardball

The NGCB has taken the highest of moral grounds and accused the Genting subsidiary of bringing disrepute to both state and industry via its Strip casino offering the “perception and/or reality that Resorts World is an avenue to launder funds derived from illegal activity and/or to further criminal activity.”

The NGCB’s 31-page complaint must come as a shock for Genting, with Associated Press citing a Resorts World statement that it is “communicating with the board to resolve the issues so it can focus on its guests and nearly 5,000 employees.”

“We are committed to doing business with the utmost integrity and in compliance with applicable laws and industry guidelines,” the statement continued.  

The NGCB has alerted industry experts to the rare prospect of a license revocation. University of Nevada, Las Vegas Associate Professor of History and longtime Vegas casino business scholar Michael Green stated that the NGC “can decide to revoke the license.”

NGC has the power to decide “what it wants to do”

Green said the NGC has the power to decide “what it wants to do with this” and can either take licensing or fines action. Seeing as there are executives who may be forced to resign over Resorts World Las Vegas, the NGC has “some latitude” in the severity of its response, Green said, adding: “they’re always hesitant to go that far.”

Ohtani angle

Of the 12 counts the NCGB filed against Resorts World, six focused on Mathew Bowyer, the bookmaker at the center of the Shohei Ohtani betting scandal. The complaint alleges the casino allowed Bowyer to play 80 separate days over approximately 15 months with repeat failures to verify his source of funds.

The complaint alleges in that time Bowyer lost over $6.6m, while the “casino extended gifts, discounts and flights on its private jet.” He confessed his guilt in the Ohtani case to the feds last week. 

Bowyer’s case gives the NGCB complaint against Resorts World even more weight, with charges of “failing to distance from suspected illegal bookmakers, and hosts referring prospective customers to suspected illegal bookmakers.”