Over a career of over twenty years in the casino gaming sector, Alex Pariente earned recognition for his ability to attract high-stakes players to his employers' venues. Disputes frequently ensued. 

A whistleblower from Asia, requesting to remain unnamed, told Casino.org that on Monday, internal auditors from Hard Rock International — the tribal gaming powerhouse that currently employs Pariente — visited the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, indicating their possible purpose was to investigate potential accounting irregularities and anti-money laundering violations linked to the executive’s conduct. 

Auditors generally travel to gaming locations every four to six months, and the property staff are informed about these visits beforehand. A source informed Casino.org that the investigation occurring at Punta Cana is unexpected and staff were not given any prior notice. A request for a response to Tracey White, Hard Rock’s VP of casino finance, went unanswered. 

In a captured dialogue with an employee of the gaming establishment shared with Casino.org by the whistleblower, the worker remarked that in 2023, a Chinese bettor arrived at the resort with $100K in cash aiming to deposit the funds for credit play in the casino. Due to the financial amount and Hard Rock’s position as a regulated operator in the US, evidence of funds was necessary to meet anti-money laundering regulations; however, the customer lacked that evidence. 

In the recording, the employee explains — a procedure that was reportedly done with Pariente’s approval — that Hard Rock Punta Cana would supposedly bypass currency reporting regulations by utilizing numerous transactions in small amounts to deposit the Chinese player’s money. This is referred to as money structuring, and it is illegal according to Dominican law.

"In professional money structuring practices, meticulous planning and execution are crucial to avoid detection or suspicions of illegal activities,” according to the whistleblower. “Dividing a large sum into multiple transactions, such as in the case of sending $100K to banks, is a common method to prevent any red flags from being raised. By executing these transactions carefully, Hard Rock can ensure that the legitimacy of the funds remains intact, thereby avoiding any potential repercussions for the source of the money.”

Moreover, the patron came to the Caribbean from the US — his country of residence — and was recognized for holding both American and Chinese passports, yet the casino did not ask to verify the US document, permitting him to deposit money using his Chinese passport. 

Issues in Punta Cana 

The whistleblower provided additional instances of Pariente exercising power at the Dominican gaming establishment, including an allegation that the executive would intentionally permit high rollers known for not settling their debts to gamble at the venue. This involves a group of three Brazilian "whales" — with two of them failing to repay anything on debts exceeding $1.9 million, and the other who returned about half of the $1.35 million in credit provided to him by the Punta Cana casino. 

The source mentioned another instance where a Turkish client was granted $1.7 million with Pariente's awareness, yet that amount was never repaid, even though documents submitted at the resort indicate otherwise. 

That conduct was inconsistent since the source also cited an instance when a group of international gamblers visited Hard Rock Punta Cana and, at Pariente's request, staff confiscated their passports, holding the documents in the casino cage until the credit lines were settled. According to Dominican law, confiscating the passports of foreign nationals for that reason is unlawful.

"This practice isn’t in line with Hard Rock’s ethical and legal standards. Intentionally withholding passports to demand payment isn’t acceptable for any casino organization,” adds the whistleblower.

Another account described instances of Pariente manipulating high-stakes baccarat and blackjack competitions at Punta Cana, using his position to ensure favored players reached the semi-finals and finals without competing in the preliminary rounds, expecting to gain undisclosed financial benefits from those gamblers. 

Pariente’s Alleged Issues Extend Beyond DR 

Pariente's flirtations with the regulatory fringe — and possibly exceeding it — occurred before his present position at Hard Rock. He occupied a senior marketing position at Wynn Las Vegas, and during his time at the Strip casino hotel, anti-money laundering regulations were breached. This led to the Department of Justice (DOJ) imposing a $130.13 million fine on the venue last year — the highest penalty ever issued to a single casino. 

R.J. Cipriani, referred to as Robin Hood 702, informed Casino.org that while Pariente was at the Dominican casino, the executive intentionally permitted black-market bookmakers, such as Matt Bowyer, to place bets at the venue. Bowyer is the alleged bookmaker associated with former MLB translator Ippei Mizuhara.

"I knew about seven years ago when I first set foot into Hard Rock Punta Cana that it was a haven for illegal activity and nefarious players,” said Cipriani. “I personally witnessed people gambling there that I knew were criminals or illegal bookies, and some of those same people are currently in federal prison or awaiting federal sentencing. The ringleader, the guy in charge of all this, was a bigger criminal than any of those people and his name is Alex Pariante.”

Cipriani believes that Pariente's circumstances resemble those of ex-gaming executive Scott Sibella: white-collar leaders being involved in wrongdoing and facing minimal consequences while others face harsher penalties. 

“It’s about time that crooked executives are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and if found guilty,  put in jail for all this illegal activity,” said Cipriani. “If bookies are looking at jail time, why in God’s name aren’t the dirty executives that took their action and knew they were bookies?”

The claim isn’t unfounded. After his tenure at Wynn, Pariente was appointed executive vice president of international marketing at the Baha Mar Casino and Hotel in the Bahamas in September 2014. In February 2018, two executives at the venue, including Pariente, were dismissed after an internal inquiry uncovered misconduct linked to two Colombian prostitutes. 

A knowledgeable source informed Casino.org that Pariente’s alleged affinity for financial deceit persisted at Baha Mar, where he reportedly permitted illegal bookmakers and other underworld figures to bet. The whistleblower informed Casino.org that shortly after Pariente took charge at Hard Rock Punta Cana, he recruited multiple subordinates from Baha Mar who understood his way of working. 

Included is Kim Mackey, who currently holds the position of director of credit and collections at the Dominican casino. Employment records show she was employed at Baha Mar from April 2017 to November 2020 — a period that encompassed part of Pariente’s time at the casino resort. 

Pariente May Have Breached Nevada Gambling Regulations 

In his existing position as the corporate senior vice president of casino and hotel operations at Hard Rock, Pariente works from Florida. Although his title suggests he’s responsible for bringing VIPs to the operator’s twelve US casinos, Cipriani and the whistleblower claimed that the executive's main focus is Punta Cana, which he controls strictly. 

Despite regularly traveling between Florida and Punta Cana, Cipriani noted that Pariente introduced contentious players from his well-publicized Rolodex to Las Vegas, even though he might not be authorized to do it. 

Cipriani refers to a situation where Pariente supposedly brought high-stakes gamblers for whom he had comp authority to the Mirage in 2023 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. If Pariente lacks a Nevada gaming license, the correct approach would have been to direct those gamblers to a Hard Rock associate with comp authority, but Cipriani claims that didn’t occur. 

Casino.org submitted a request for information to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) to confirm Pariente’s status in the state, but they did not respond before this article was published. 

“The amazing part of the F1 story is that Bowyer was supposed to be there with family and friends, but his home was raided by the feds a month prior while Pariente hob-knobbed throughout Vegas when it should have been him that was under federal investigation,” adds Cipriani.

In December 2021, Hard Rock acquired the operating rights to the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip for $1.075 billion. The location is presently shut down and is expected to reopen in early 2027 under the Hard Rock brand, designed in the shape of the operator's famous guitar.