Nevada Gaming Commission approves $7.8 million high quality of Caesars Entertainment | Casinos & Gaming

The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday in a 4-1 vote ordered a $7.8 million high quality for Caesars Entertainment Inc. for permitting an unlawful bookmaker to gamble at its properties.

Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey opposed the movement, wanting the next high quality assessed and saying it shouldn’t have taken seven years for Caesars to find the wrongdoing.

It was the third disciplinary motion taken this 12 months involving convicted unlawful bookmaker Mathew Bowyer with fines of $10.5 million assessed to Resorts World Las Vegas and its father or mother firm, Genting Berhad, in March, and an $8.5 million high quality towards MGM Resorts International in April.

Top officers converse

Caesars’ high executives appeared earlier than the fee and apologized for embarrassing the state with its prolonged inaction.

Gary Carano, the chairman of Caesars’ board of administrators, firm CEO Tom Reeg, and chief authorized officer Ed Quatmann every appeared earlier than the fee with apologies.

“Before you hear from our team today, I want to state clearly the way our (anti-money-laundering) program operated in this instance was unacceptable,” Carano mentioned. “On behalf of Caesars, our employers, our entire leadership team, board of directors, I sincerely apologize for our role in the Bowyer incident and the impact it had on the gaming industry in the state of Nevada.”

Reeg adopted up after Carano.

“We know that this entire matter has been a stain on the state and I’m embarrassed that we’re a part of it and sorry that I’m in front of you for this purpose,” he mentioned. “My directive to our team is clear and I want to make sure that it’s clear to you and on the record, we never sacrifice compliance for revenue. There is no customer that’s worth illegitimate profits. We didn’t catch Bowyer and we should have full stop.”

Quatmann then defined what measures had been taken by the corporate to alter its processes.

Earlier within the hour-long listening to, Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer defined how the board reached the $7.8 million high quality quantity — it was roughly 3 times the documented quantity Caesars had gained from Bowyer over seven years.

Commissioner George Markantonis mentioned he was happy that Caesars has restructured its anti-money-laundering and “know your customer” procedures to stop any unlawful playing from occurring once more.

‘Such a bruising’

“He’s (Bowyer) given our industry such a bruising. not just Caesars, but even the esteemed companies before you,” Markantonis mentioned. “Our job, as I see it, is not only to protect our industry, but protect all those people who work in it. And we can’t let semi-wannabe gangsters like this guy come around and disrupt our organizations so badly. But I’m very satisfied with the questions that have been answered and the structure of the fine and how that fine was arrived at, I think, is very fair under the circumstances.”

The $7.8 million high quality was the fifth highest towards a Nevada licensee in historical past.

Payment of the high quality settles a five-count criticism filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Nov. 13.

Caesars additionally agreed to strengthen its anti-money-laundering controls at its eight Strip inns in addition to at its properties in Reno and managed tribal casinos in California.

“We fully cooperated with the Nevada Gaming Control Board throughout its investigation and are committed to maintaining strong anti-money laundering and ‘know your customer’ programs,” Caesars mentioned in a press release issued Nov. 14. “We take our compliance responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards.”

As a part of the settlement, Caesars didn’t admit or deny any of the allegations contained within the state’s criticism.

According to the criticism, Bowyer, who started serving a one-year jail sentence in October, “wagered and lost millions of dollars at Caesars subsidiary properties,” in Las Vegas, northern Nevada and California over the course of 100 separate days between 2017 and 2024.

Beginning in June 2019, Bowyer was categorized as “high risk” by Caesars, however the on line casino operator “failed to substantiate Bowyer’s source of funds and/or that his source of funds was consistent with his level of play.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.

Top 10 gaming fines

These are the highest 10 fines issued by the Nevada Gaming Commission

1. Wynn Resorts Ltd., $20 million, 2019.

2. Resorts World Las Vegas, $10.5 million, 2025.

3. Steve Wynn, $10 million, 2023.

4. MGM Resorts International, $8.5 million, 2025.

5. Caesars Entertainment, $7.8 million, 2025.

T6. CG Technology (then often called Cantor G&W Holdings), $5.5 million, 2014.

T6. Wynn Resorts Ltd., $5.5 million, 2025.

8. The Mirage, $5 million ($3 million high quality, $2 million compensatory fee), 2003.

9. Stardust, $3 million, 1985.

10. Santa Fe Station, $2.2 million ($1.5 million high quality, $700,000 compensatory fee), 2005.