Hard Rock Exec Suspended Over Illegal Bookmaking

This news couldn’t come at a worse time. The Hard Rock brand — owned by the Seminoles tribe in Florida — has an important few months ahead of itself.

First of all, its Florida sports betting empire is getting sued — again. This new lawsuit, though, says its exclusive gambling compact with the state is unconstitutional because it bypassed a public vote that’s required. Hard Rock has been sued countless times since launching legal sports betting in 2021, but these claim have some new grounds (the state constitution) that’s not within their control.

On top of that, the Hard Rock is bidding for a New York betting license — casino, not sports. The state is giving three casinos the right to build in New York City. Obviously, that’s a billion-dollar opportunity in the world’s most affluent market.

That’s why this news headline is damning for Hard Rock. It involves a top-level executive and accusations of money laundering for an illegal bookie. Not a good look, obviously. Keep on reading, and we’ll tell you the shocking details of the story.

Hard Rock Suspends, Not Fires, Exec

Meet Alex Pariente. He’s the senior VP of hotel and casino operations. Welp, he’s at the center of this controversy. Pariente has now been suspended without pay. The reason? A whistleblower dropped some bombshell accusations regarding his activity at the Hard Rock Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The whistleblower, who just so happens to be a federal informant (go figure!), claims Pariente looked the other way while a crew of illegal bookmakers freely gambled at the resort. And we’re not talking small-time guys. The group allegedly included Matt Bowyer, the infamous Southern California bookie who handled $325 million in illegal sports bets from Ippei Mizuhara — yes, the same Mizuhara who stole from Shohei Ohtani.

Mizuhara was his most famous client, but Bowyer is said to have serviced over 700 clients in illegal bookmaking. He’s currently in court for one of the largest illegal sports betting rings in recent memory. So allowing bets from him, which the whistleblower says Pariente knowingly did, is not good — especially when that case is being decided right now.

The New York Post was first to break the suspension news so it’s a national headline. The Hard Rock gave a PR-spun response, saying:

“Hard Rock International is aware of the allegations involving one of our executives and is treating the matter with the utmost seriousness. Honesty and integrity are core values of our organization, and we hold all team members — regardless of their role — to the highest ethical standards.”

Who Is Pariente Anyway?

Pariente isn’t just another executive. He’s well-known in the Florida and Caribbean scene. While he’s been based out of South Florida since 2019, the islands are like a second home to him. Right before the pandemic, Pariente spent nearly a year at Nexus, a Nassau-based real estate and hospitality firm backed by names like Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, and Justin Timberlake — not your average investors.

Before that, Pariente was at Baha Mar, the sprawling 1,000-acre resort in the Bahamas. He was their executive VP of casino operations and marketing for just over a year, a gig he took after an earlier run at Hard Rock Punta Cana where he served as chief gaming officer. That Punta Cana post is now the flashpoint of this whole controversy.

After bouncing around the region, Pariente returned to Hard Rock International in early 2019, landing at their South Florida HQ. But the shadows from Punta Cana followed. The New York Post’s story on his suspension landed weeks after Casino.org dropped a bombshell exposé detailing various allegations tied to his oversight of the Punta Cana casino (accounting irregularities and money laundering, among others). What’s the saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”? Sure looks like it here.

New York Efforts Remain Steadfast

Hard Rock is fighting fires in Florida and the Caribbean, but that’s not stopping them from chasing the crown jewel of casino licenses: New York City. As it stands, only eight bidders remain in contention for three licenses.

Hard Rock has its PR troubles, but elsewhere, they’re sitting pretty thanks to a partnership with Mets owner Steve Cohen. The sides are co-pitching an $8 billion mega-resort called Hard Rock Metropolitan Park, planned for the area around Citi Field. The blueprint is classic Hard Rock — live music venue, convention center, 1,000-room hotel, and so on.

They got their bid in before the deadline last month, but good luck getting any official comments now. The company’s keeping its mouth shut, probably because of the ongoing scandal surrounding their suspended exec and Punta Cana casino drama.

To be fair, Hard Rock’s not the only one carrying baggage into this race. MGM Resorts and Resorts World, both contenders too, have recently written big checks to Nevada regulators for anti-money laundering failures of their own. Resorts World Las Vegas paid $10.5 million after connections to — you guessed it — illegal bookie Matt Bowyer. MGM paid $8.5 million, partly because their former exec Scott Sibella was cozy with another illegal bookie, Wayne Nix.

See? No one has clean hands in this legal sports betting industry, unfortunately. So this Caribbean drama might be a nothinburger when all is said and done.