Genting proposes settlement
The Genting Holdings-owned US subsidiary Resorts World Las Vegas has offered to pay the Nevada Gaming Control Board a $10.5m fine in order to settle a raft of alleged anti-money laundering compliance failures.
The US arm of the Malaysia-headquarted international gambling giant filed the settlement with the NGCB Thursday.
settlement would resolve complaint NGCB filed in August
The settlement with Genting and five other sub brands under Resorts World Las Vegas would resolve a 10-count, 27-page complaint the NGCB filed in August.
Genting’s revised version amends the regulator’s original 12-count, 31-page complaint and marks the firm’s first public statement since the NGCB extended Resorts World’s deadline to respond to its complaint to December 9.
Going forward
The Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday cited an emailed communication from Resorts World stating it “had reached a pending settlement” with the NGCB.
“We look forward to the Nevada Gaming Commission considering the settlement and ultimately resolving this matter.”
According to the NGCB’s original complaint, Resorts World was essentially a gangsters’ paradise with a culture of welcoming patrons with “a history of ties to organized crime.”
Genting’s proposed stipulation for settlement included, however, references to “organized crime” omitted.
still requires approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission
The settlement’s $10.5m fine is reportedly the second-highest assessed by Nevada, and still requires approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission, which convenes next week in Vegas.
On top of the financial penalty, Resorts World will also need to provide the NGCB with regular reporting of AML activities and “must retain all AML training records, including attendance and meeting minutes, for at least five years.”
Ex-exec fires back
The settlement offer comes after Genting has made big moves towards addressing “prior organizational missteps that have negatively impacted Resorts World Las Vegas.
In February, the Vegas casino resort appointed former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to its executive board in an attempt to rebuild corporate credibility after firing its ex-President and COO Scott Sibella. The Commission in December revoked Sibella’s Nevada gaming license for five years.
illegal bookmakers “gambled at all the major casinos”
Despite, however, not being named in the NGCB’s complaint, Sibella emailed a statement to the LVR-J stating some of the named illegal bookmakers mentioned “gambled at all the major casinos in Las Vegas for many years, before, during and after Resorts World opened.” Sibella then asked:
“The question is, are these casinos in Las Vegas going to be investigated?”