One of the biggest casino operators on the Strip has agreed to settle a regulatory complaint stemming from its involvement with an illegal bookmaker.
Caesars Entertainment will pay $7.8 million in fines and implement enhanced anti-money laundering controls, according to a settlement provision filed Thursday with the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission. Regulators will consider approving the settlement at a public meeting on Nov. 20.
In a complaint filed the same day as the settlement, state gaming officials claim they found “instances of control failures” in allowing Mathew Bowyer, a since-convicted illegal bookie, to gamble at Caesars Palace and other Strip casinos operated by Caesars Entertainment for a period of more than seven years, from “sometime in 2014 to Jan. 2022,” prior to 2014, Jan. 2. Bowyer was reportedly banned from all Caesars properties.
Reno-based Caesars Entertainment, operator of eight casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, responded Friday, saying in part that “integrity and compliance are paramount.”
As part of the settlement, Caesars Entertainment neither admits nor denies any of the allegations in the state’s complaint.
“We cooperated fully with the Nevada Gaming Control Board throughout the investigation and are committed to maintaining a strong anti-money laundering and ‘know your customer’ program,” the gaming and hospitality company said in a statement Friday. “We take our responsibility for compliance seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
