Saying they didn’t do enough to stop doing business with an illegal bookmaker, Caesars Entertainment executives apologized profusely and accepted responsibility for their failure before the Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday.
The Commission voted 4-1 to agree to the $7.8 million settlement negotiated with Caesars by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. While being criticized for the company’s inaction, it wasn’t as sharp as it was against the Strip operators fined earlier this year: Resorts World for $10.5 million, MGM Resorts International for $8.5 million, and Wynn Resorts for $5.5 million. The cases against Resorts World and MGM also involved accepting bets from Bowyer.
Gary Carano, executive chair of Caesars Board of Directors, told the Commission that the way their anti-money laundering program operated was unacceptable. “I apologize for our role in the Bowyer incident and the impact it had on the gaming industry in the state of Nevada. Compliance has always been part of our DNA.”
Carano talked about his dad, Don, a former gaming attorney who founded what became Eldorado Resorts; Don Carano wrote Nevada’s first gaming compliance plan.
“From Day 1, we have understood that a gaming license is a privilege and a responsibility to protect the health, safety, welfare, and morals of Nevada’s residents,” Carano said. “My father was adamant about that and instilled that in my family.”
Carano said the matter has their full attention and he committed to prevent it from happening again.
Caesars CEO Tom Reeg echoed Carano’s comments, saying they know the entire matter has been a “stain on the state and I’m embarrassed that we’re a part of it.” He said the directive to his team is clear: “Never sacrifice compliance for revenue. No customer is worth illegitimate profits. We didn’t catch Bowyer and we should have.”
Carano said although the case goes back to 2017 before Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars in 2020, he said that’s not an excuse. “We bought the good and the bad with Caesars. Unfortunately, this was a bad piece of it. We added to it and I’m sorry for it.”
Ed Quatmann, Caesars’s chief legal officer, outlined to the Commission what happened. The time period involved “significant change” for Caesars when it was acquired in 2020. There was a lot of change at the executive level and many of the leaders who oversaw AML from 2017 to 2020 were no longer with the company.
Quatmann said Bowyer was a large player at Caesars until his arrest in January 2024 for operating as an illegal bookie. It suspended him twice before reinstating him, but Quatman said they should have dug deeper to determine his source of funds, in light of growing suspicious activity and a tip in 2019 that he was an illegal bookmaker.
“None of this is offered today as an excuse and we take full responsibility for what has happened here,” Quatmann said. “We failed to substantiate Matthew Bowyer’s source of funds over a seven-year period and we own that. We know we need to do better and we will.”
Commission member Rosa Solis-Rainey, who voted against the settlement, questioned how Bowyer could be allowed to keep gambling at Caesars when it was brought to their attention in 2019 that he might be an illegal bookmaker.
“I was shocked to read the complaint. Not only was Caesars aware that this person a bookie, but that two other properties had banned him. (Caesars) continued to do business with him. I find that more egregious than the MGM situation. They didn’t make a dime out of this individual.”
In that case involving The Cosmopolitan, later taken over by MGM, someone intervened on Bowyer’s behalf and caused the AML program not to work, Solis-Rainey said.
“I think it’s worse in your case where the program worked. It was reported to the AML officer and nothing was done,” Solis-Rainey said. “The differences in my mind are significant. I have great concerns with regard to the settlement and circumstances that I feel are more egregious than other cases we’ve heard recently.”
Despite her criticism, Solis-Rainey called Caesars a great licensee that has done a lot for communities they are in and appreciated the steps the company has taken to prevent it from happening in the future.
Quatmann said Bowyer won $3 million at The Cosmopolitan, but Caesars employees didn’t ask where he got the money to gamble there. “That’s what we didn’t get to and need to do a better job of doing.”
Commissioner Abbi Silver, who supported the settlement, called it “beyond negligence.”
Quatmann responded that employees were fired over the matter, adding that the “house has been cleaned.” He said the team in place now does a good job in a difficult one to perform and Caesars needs to give them the tools and procedures to do it more effectively.
Silver and other commissioners said they worried about the stain on the industry with the four cases this year.
“(Bowyer) has given our industry such a bruising,” said Commissioner George Markantonis. “Not just Caesars, but esteemed companies before you. Our job is to protect the industry and all of those people who work in it and we can’t let semi-want-to-be gangsters come in and disrupt our organizations so badly. I lean to support the stipulation, because I see remorse and sincerity in that remorse. A lot of great reputations are in front of us, assuring us this is the finish line.”
Commissioner Brian Krolicki called Bowyer an “AML wrecking ball who continues to leave havoc” on the Strip. He said he was as livid today as he was when they first started hearing these cases against Strip operators, although he wasn’t overly critical.
“It’s almost numbing that we continue to have this conversation, because of the acts of one individual, ” Krolicki said. “This is a brutal day for everybody. The failure of AML and (protocols) is profound. I don’t want to sit and scold more. We’ve done that adequately. The pound of flesh is $7.8 million and careers ended. “
The remediation efforts implemented should be a template for the industry, but Krolicki said it’s too bad they weren’t done in 2017. “It’s a great lesson for all folks out there who have a Nevada license or elsewhere that we have to do better collectively.”
Krolicki said he initially agreed with Commissioner Solis-Rainey, because other cases involved bad actors, while Caesars involved a systemic failure over seven years. But he added that intent is important.
“I do believe the lack of intention here is paramount and puts the work of the Gaming Control Board and their recommendations in an appropriate place,” Krolicki said. “I will support the stipulation, but I hope that folks are watching in a way that they are learning and that new best practices are read out today. Nothing is perfect but this broad violation of AML and Know Your Customer, we just can’t have it. We are a gold standard and need to do this right. To have the largest and most important companies in our state and leaders in tourism, hospitality and gaming to be in front of us this past year is beyond disconcerting. We do have some lessons here. The contrition is real, and the professionalism is profound. We must remember as we move forward to do it better.”
