Hard Rock International, which just submitted a joint bid with Mets owner Steve Cohen for a license to operate a casino next to the team’s ballpark, suspended a top executive accused of engaging in improper betting practices.
Hard Rock shelved Alex Pariente, its senior vice for hotel and casino operations, after a whistleblower claimed he engaged in shady money structuring practices with clients and allowed credit markers to go unpaid at its casino in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The casino giant suspended Pariente without pay pending an investigation.
“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,” Hard Rock said in a statement.
“Hard Rock does not tolerate any conduct that compromises the trust placed in us by our guests, partners, or team members. The employee in question has been suspended without pay pending an internal investigation into this matter.”
Paliente, a veteran of the gaming industry, had no immediate comment to a voice message.
The accusations were first reported by casino.org.
High stakes gambler RJ Cipriani is the whistleblower who notified Hard Rock brass of Paliente’s alleged actions.
Among the misdeeds cited was an instance in which an employee, at Pariente’s behest, took a $100,000 deposit from a Chinese national. To avoid anti-money laundering regulations, she broke up the sum into 33 separate $3,000 deposits, violating reporting requirements, according to Cipriani.
“Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen reached out to me directly and is taking the matter very seriously,” Cipriani said.
He told The Post that the IRS criminal unit and gaming regulators in Florida, Las Vegas and New York are aware of the situation.
Cipriani also said two other Hard Rock employees who work with Paliente were suspended as well.
A Hard Rock rep declined to comment on whether others were suspended.
Hard Rock International is the gaming unit of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which operates 18 casinos in the US, Canada and Punta Cana.
The timing of the scandal was an unwelcome development for the $8 billion Cohen-Hard Metropolitan Park casino project, though it’s unclear what impact, if any, it will have on the bid.
The state Gaming Commission, which will award up to three gaming licenses in the New York City region by year’s end, declined to comment on the Hard Rock situation.
“The gaming facility evaluation process includes NYS Police-background investigations of companies, affiliates, and the principals of all the applicants,” a commission spokesman said.
Hard Rock isn’t the only casino bidder forced to address scandal.
Nevada gaming regulators in March imposed a $10.5 million fine against the Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip over allegations of illegal gambling, many connected to a bookmaker with ties to the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. It was the second highest fine issued by regulators there as part of the settlement in which Resorts World and Genting neither admit nor deny the allegations.
The Vegas casino and Resorts World New York are both part of the Genting Group empire — though they are operated by separate companies.
Resorts World, which operates a slots parlor next to the Aqueduct track, submitted a bid for a casino license to offer live table games as part of a $5.5 billion entertainment complex.
Some of the allegations against Resorts World centered on Mathew Bowyer, the southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s ex-interpreter.
Bowyer pleaded guilty to federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business, transactional money laundering and filing a false tax return. Mizuhara also pleaded guilty to tax fraud.
The state Gaming Facility Location Board received eight bids last month, including from Cohen-Hard Rock at Willets Point and Genting-Resorts World at Aqueduct.
Other bids include:
- The Avenir at 11th Avenue and 41st Street on Manhattan’s West Side, submitted by World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein with Rush Street and Greenwood gaming operators.
- Caesars Palace Times Square at 1515 Broadway, a Caesars partnership with developer SL Green and rap mogul Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
- Freedom Plaza at 686 First Ave. on Manhattan’s East Side submitted by the Soloviev Group and Mohegan Sun.
- MGM Empire City at Yonkers Raceway, an existing slots parlor, submitted a bid for a full casino license.
- Bally’s proposed New York Casino at its Ferry Point golf course in The Bronx, a property lease acquired from President Trump’s firm, the Trump Organization.
- The Coney along the Coney Island boardwalk, submitted by Thor Equities, Chickasaw Nation’s Global Gaming Solutions, Saratoga Casino Holdings, and Legends Hospitality Group.
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