Las Vegas Strip Casino Accused of Hosting Criminals
Resorts World executives ignored signs that some of its high-rolling gamblers were involved in illegal betting, Nevada regulator alleges
2 min
Executives at the Resorts World casino on the Las Vegas Strip have been accused of allowing illegal sports-betting bookies and others with ties to organized crime to gamble at the property.
Investigators with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which oversees the state’s casino industry, said in a complaint filed Thursday that Resorts World executives ignored signs that some of its high-rolling customers were gambling with proceeds from illegal activities in violation of anti-money-laundering regulations.
The accusations coincide with a federal investigation into illegal sports-betting operations that recently ensnared baseball star Shohei Ohtani ’s longtime interpreter Ippei Mizuhara .
The casino’s alleged practice of allowing gamblers who had criminal ties to spend money there created “the perception and/or reality that Resorts World is an avenue to launder funds derived from illegal activity,” damaging the reputation of the state’s gambling industry, investigators said.
“We are committed to doing business with the utmost integrity and in compliance with applicable laws and industry guidelines,” Resorts World Las Vegas said in a statement Thursday. The company said it has been “actively communicating” with the Gaming Control Board to resolve the matter.
The $4.3 billion casino, which opened in 2021, is part of Malaysia’s Genting Berhad, which has other casinos and entertainment properties around the world.
The complaint points to Mathew Bowyer , an illegal bookmaker who gambled away more than $7.9 million at Resorts World between February 2022 and October 2023.
One of Bowyer’s clients was Mizuhara, the Japanese language interpreter for Ohtani. Prosecutors allege that Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from the baseball player to pay off gambling debts. He agreed to plead guilty in federal court to bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return.
Resorts World hosts, who cater to high-rollers, showered Bowyer with private jet flights, gifts and promotional chips to keep him spending at the casino, despite knowledge that he was involved in illegal sports betting, according to the complaint. The executives failed to verify the source of Bowyer’s funds, as required under its own anti-money-laundering policies.
Bowyer was banned from Resorts World after federal authorities executed a search warrant at his home in October.
He has since pleaded guilty in federal court to operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return. His gambling operation involved at times more than 700 bettors, and he employed agents who were sometimes paid with casino chips, according to prosecutors. An attorney for Bowyer declined to comment.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended that state gambling regulators issue a fine against Resorts World and take disciplinary action against the casino’s gambling license. The Gaming Control Board is overseen by the Nevada Gaming Commission, which takes action on the body’s recommendations.
The complaint also says Resorts World allowed another suspected bookie and two convicted criminals to gamble on the property, including extending credit to play.
Illegal bookies who become gambling patrons have become a threat on the Strip. Earlier this year, longtime Las Vegas executive Scott Sibella pleaded guilty in federal court to allowing illegal sports-betting bookie Wayne Nix to gamble at the MGM Grand while Sibella was president of that casino.
After leaving the MGM Grand, Sibella became president of Resorts World in 2019, a role he left last year.
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The pandemic-fuelled love affair with casual footwear is fading, with Bank of America warning the downturn shows no sign of easing.
The pandemic-fuelled love affair with casual footwear is fading, with Bank of America warning the downturn shows no sign of easing.
2 minThe boom in casual footware ushered in by the pandemic has ended, a potential problem for companies such as Adidas that benefited from the shift to less formal clothing, Bank of America says.
The casual footwear business has been on the ropes since mid-2023 as people began returning to office.
Analyst Thierry Cota wrote that while most downcycles have lasted one to two years over the past two decades or so, the current one is different.
It “shows no sign of abating” and there is “no turning point in sight,” he said.
Adidas and Nike alone account for almost 60% of revenue in the casual footwear industry, Cota estimated, so the sector’s slower growth could be especially painful for them as opposed to brands that have a stronger performance-shoe segment. Adidas may just have it worse than Nike.
Cota downgraded Adidas stock to Underperform from Buy on Tuesday and slashed his target for the stock price to €160 (about $187) from €213. He doesn’t have a rating for Nike stock.
Shares of Adidas listed on the German stock exchange fell 4.5% Tuesday to €162.25. Nike stock was down 1.2%.
Adidas didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cota sees trouble for Adidas both in the short and long term.
Adidas’ lifestyle segment, which includes the Gazelles and Sambas brands, has been one of the company’s fastest-growing business, but there are signs growth is waning.
Lifestyle sales increased at a 10% annual pace in Adidas’ third quarter, down from 13% in the second quarter.
The analyst now predicts Adidas’ organic sales will grow by a 5% annual rate starting in 2027, down from his prior forecast of 7.5%.
The slower revenue growth will likewise weigh on profitability, Cota said, predicting that margins on earnings before interest and taxes will decline back toward the company’s long-term average after several quarters of outperforming. That could result in a cut to earnings per share.
Adidas stock had a rough 2025. Shares shed 33% in the past 12 months, weighed down by investor concerns over how tariffs, slowing demand, and increased competition would affect revenue growth.
Nike stock fell 9% throughout the period, reflecting both the company’s struggles with demand and optimism over a turnaround plan CEO Elliott Hill rolled out in late 2024.
Investors’ confidence has faded following Nike’s December earnings report, which suggested that a sustained recovery is still several quarters away. Just how many remains anyone’s guess.
But if Adidas’ challenges continue, as Cota believes they will, it could open up some space for Nike to claw back any market share it lost to its rival.
Investors should keep in mind, however, that the field has grown increasingly crowded in the past five years. Upstarts such as On Holding and Hoka also present a formidable challenge to the sector’s legacy brands.
Shares of On and Deckers Outdoor , Hoka’s parent company, fell 11% and 48%, respectively, in 2025, but analysts are upbeat about both companies’ fundamentals as the new year begins.
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