Lawsuit against Strip casino, former president dismissed

A federal court dismissed a wide-ranging lawsuit against a Las Vegas Strip casino filed by a former patron who claimed the property allowed known felons to gamble and, in response to bringing that information to management’s attention, directed another player to harass and intimidate him.

On Wednesday, a U.S. District Court judge in Nevada tossed out Robert “R.J.” Cipriani’s six-count lawsuit against Resorts World Las Vegas and Scott Sibella, the property’s former top executive. Judge Miranda M. Du dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Cipriani, a high-stakes gambler who goes by the X handle RobinHood702, accused Resorts World and Sibella, the casino’s former chief operating officer and president, of negligence, civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a suit filed last year.

In the dismissal decision, Du wrote that Cipriani failed to adequately demonstrate how either Resorts World or Sibella were responsible for the actions of the other gambler, identified in documents as Robert Alexander, a former Las Vegas businessman and convicted felon.

“Said otherwise, it is not as if the Court merely found some factual allegations lacking but the existing allegations suggest there are other facts out there that would make Cipriani’s claims plausible,” Du wrote.

Resorts World declined to comment on the court’s decision. Sibella’s civil attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

John Spilotro, who represents Sibella’s interests in other legal matters, praised the work of the two civil lawyers and called the dismissed case “meritless.”

“That lawsuit never left the starting grid,” Spilotro said Thursday. “The court saw it for what it was.”

High-profile run-in

Cipriani’s history with Resorts World, which opened in June 2021, is noted in the court documents that state Nov. 19, 2021, was “a bad day for Cipriani.”

On that day, he had a high-profile run-in at the property in which Cipriani took Alexander’s cellphone because he was upset at being video recorded against his will. He was later charged with robbery and larceny, although those charges have since been dismissed. That same day, Cipriani was also accused by state gaming regulators of back betting — a fraudulent act in Nevada casinos — while playing blackjack at Resorts World.

Cipriani has maintained, both in his legal filings and on his personal social media account, that Resorts World and Sibella were aware that individuals such as Alexander, who was convicted of fraud in 2020 and is still awaiting sentencing, were gambling at the property.

Cipriani’s attorney did not reply to an email sent Thursday. However, Cipriani provided the following statement to the Review-Journal: “I respectfully disagree with Judge Miranda M. Du’s decision. It gives the green light to all Nevada casinos, especially Las Vegas casinos, to turn a blind eye to behavior that can endanger guests.”

He went on to say all “legal remedies and options” would be explored.

A series of gambling scandals

Resorts World has been a recurring backdrop in a series of gambling scandals that have resulted in multiple arrests and federal convictions and victimized Major League Baseball’s biggest international superstar.

In August, the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a 12-count complaint against the casino, alleging, among other infractions, that its management created a culture in which “individuals with suspected and actual ties to illegal bookmaking, with histories of federal convictions related to illegal gambling businesses, and with a history of ties to organized crime,” were “welcomed” and enticed to gamble.

The complaint centered on Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker who took action from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts, according to federal authorities.

Authorities claim Bowyer was not only running an illegal sports betting operation, but would occasionally conduct business while gambling at Resorts World.

The state contends that Resorts World did not properly adhere to federal anti-money laundering policies when it came to Bowyer.

The Nevada Gaming Commission has not yet adjudicated the control board’s complaint against Resorts World.

Sibella was the property’s top executive from 2019 through September 2023. Last year, he was charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act while president of the MGM Grand, where he worked prior to joining Resorts World. While overseeing the MGM Grand, Sibella admittedly failed to properly report suspicious financial transactions of a since-convicted illegal bookmaker named Wayne Nix.

The Gaming Control Board has an active investigation into Sibella’s tenure at Resorts World, the details of which the board has not yet publicly disclosed.

David Danzis can be contacted at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0378. Follow AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.