OPINION: When it comes to illegal gamblers in casinos, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ – The Nevada Independent

In the end, plain-spoken Larry Tillery made no bones about it.

Whatever the relative profits of Daylight Motors, the used-car lot he owned in Beaumont, Texas, it was nothing compared to the millions his illegal bookmaking operation had generated during the previous three decades. By June 2019 when he stipulated to his crimes in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, he was more than ready to plead guilty to illegal gambling and tax violation charges.

At the height of his action, Tillery’s clients numbered in the hundreds in a network that stretched throughout Texas and into Louisiana. From 2011 to 2016, his group accepted at least $52 million in sports bet wagers. He used the auto dealership and its Lamar Capital holding company as fronts to launder the book’s proceeds and disguise their illegal origin from federal authorities. Tillery’s wife and son also acted on behalf of the bookmaking business and would pay their own price.

Although nearly forgotten in the frenzy of legal sports betting expansion across the nation, authorities in 2019 called the Tillery network one of the largest illegal gambling operations in the U.S.

I was reminded of Tillery’s case this week. His name was floated through the chaotic and overheated social media feed associated with the ongoing federal investigation of the Wayne Nix illegal bookmaking operation that has exposed a poorly kept secret about the Las Vegas casino industry. Namely, that it doesn’t much mind catering to illegal gamblers as long as everyone maintains a thin wall of plausible deniability. You know: Don’t ask, don’t tell.

The Nix investigation has netted a guilty plea from former MGM Grand President Scott Sibella for a single violation of the Bank Secrecy Act after he knowingly allowed the high-rolling illegal bookmaker to gamble at the casino several years ago. Sibella was sentenced Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom to a one-year probation and a $9,500 fine. In short, he failed to file a Suspicious Activity Report.

Nix, who is cooperating with authorities, has yet to be sentenced in a case being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents.

The Nix investigation has also resulted in MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan paying a combined $7.45 million as part of a non-prosecution agreement in their settlement of a related Department of Justice money laundering probe.

On Wednesday, Sibella had plenty of moral support from family and friends, including Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill. After one of the shortest sentencing hearings at least one observer could recall, Sibella expressed his regrets in a statement.

It read in part, “I was charged from the very beginning for not filing a SAR, accepted a plea, and have taken full and complete responsibility for what I did.  I want to reiterate that by, anything alleged, I gained no benefit — neither personal, professional or financial.” He also made it clear through his attorneys that he never used a betting account or made illegal wagers.

Brought by the El Camino Real Task Force, and spearheaded by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations agents, the expanding investigation has been punctuated by a high-profile fraud and theft case. Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani, is accused of stealing $16 million from the professional baseball star’s bank account to feed a voracious gambling habit, including paying millions to illegal bookmaker Matt Bowyer. Like Nix, Bowyer gambled high in Strip casinos, including Resorts World Las Vegas.

Sibella’s defense team made a particular point Wednesday of noting that their client was in no way associated with the Mizuhara-Bowyer case.

Although Sibella is walking away, other arrests are anticipated. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has started its own investigation and continues to interview persons associated with at least three Strip properties.

In recent weeks, I’ve been able to identify five gamblers and suspected illegal bookmakers who were sent packing from MGM and Cosmo properties in the wake of the Sibella investigation, and informed sources say Sibella wasn’t the only company official who was aware of the players with shadowy backgrounds. To date, none of the suddenly suspicious players has been charged with a crime outside of the court of social media.

Defendants come and go, but the illegal bookmaking beat goes on and on. As long as there are willing customers, someone will step up to book their bets. And chances are good the investigative road will lead from the Caribbean and, at one point or another, make at least a cameo appearance in Las Vegas.

Larry Tillery’s Texas operation directed customers to place their bets through a Costa Rica-registered website called luckyducksports.com, which now comes back to an apparel company. Like the Nix affair, the Tillery case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and IRS agents.

For years Costa Rica has been a popular official address for offshore illegal sports books. It’s also where Nix directed his many monied customers to Sandislandsports.com. Those familiar with island sports books will recall that after being chased out of Los Angeles, legendary bookmaker Ron Sacco landed in the Dominican Republic and then hopped to Costa Rica. (For his part, the late casino Black Book member and bookmaker Frank Masterana was fond of Jamaica.)

Of course, illegal bookmakers make their living tanning in the Caribbean. They get rich collecting sports bettors of means — or access to it. 

Beyond the Costa Rican host, according to court documents Tillery’s operation wasn’t exactly state-of-the-art stuff. He settled up with luckducksports.com’s agents via snail mail and electronic bank transfers. His wife, Judy Tillery, structured cash deposits in amounts less than $10,000 “in an attempt to evade federal currency transaction reporting requirements” at the direction of her husband. Son Brian Tillery was a pay-and-take agent for the family and monitored luckyducksports.com’s site for gambling updates.

They lived a high-rolling lifestyle as long as it lasted with palatial homes and gambling forays to Las Vegas and Gulf Coast casinos. Federal agents had a field day clawing back millions in profits generated by the business. The Tillerys agreed to a money judgment of more than $32.7 million and a forfeiture of $1.7 million.

In the end, Larry Tillery lamented the turn of events in his life and blamed his gambling for his troubles. He was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. He must feel like a sucker.

Nix has been cooperating and is unlikely to see the inside of a prison cell. Sibella plans to repair his career. Other illegal bookies associated with the investigation have scattered like quail.

And the beat goes on and on.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR.