Hard Rock Sacks Pariente Following Dominican Casino Controversies

Following an internal investigation into claims of money structuring and unpaid markers at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, which was spurred by a recent series of articles on Casino.org, Hard Rock International has relieved Alex Pariente of his responsibilities as corporate senior vice president of casino and hotel operations.

Earlier today, a source told Casino.org that Pariente, who had worked at Hard Rock International since February 2019, had been let go.  Silvia Mendez, his assistant, was also sacked.  According to a recording supplied by a whistleblower speaking on condition of anonymity in Casino.org's first article on the Pariente scandal, Mendez participated in money structuring activities at her boss's request to assist certain high rollers who were visiting the Punta Cana casino.

Mendez talks about breaking up $100,000 in cash that a Chinese gambler brought to the resort into dozens of transactions in order to get around money transfer regulations in that recording.  The benefactor lacked evidence of funds, which was necessary to comply with anti-money laundering regulations due to the size of the sum and Hard Rock's position as an operator subject to US regulators.

According to her LinkedIn page, Mendez had over 15 years of experience working in administrative roles at the Dominican casino hotel.

Hard Rock Moved Quickly

Hard Rock made a bold approach in the Pariente case.  On June 27, Casino.org published its second piece, which quoted a second whistleblower who verified and provided more details about Pariente's purported disregard for Dominican Republic anti-money laundering and compliance regulations.  The gambling corporation declared two days later that Pariente had been suspended and that an internal inquiry had begun.

"Hard Rock International has completed its initial investigation in connection with recent public allegations regarding executives at Hard Rock Punta Cana Casino and can confirm it has separated with the executive in question,” according to a statement provided to Casino.org by the gaming company. “This thorough examination included independent parties from two of the nation’s most respected law firms who specialize in gaming regulatory and compliance issues to ensure objective analysis of our operations, reflecting our brand’s commitment to upholding ethical standards in all our business practices.”

Hard Rock also stated that it takes these issues seriously.  Mendez or any other staff members were not mentioned in the statement; it was exclusive to Pariente.

Palace Resorts, which owns hotels in the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America, is the company that owns and runs Hard Rock Punta Cana.  To utilize that brand name on the Dominican property, that corporation must pay Hard Rock an annual licensing fee.

What Pariente Will Do Next

Regarding Pariente's future in the gambling industry, anything is possible because the sector has a reputation for giving executives with a troubled past more leeway.  Pariente is unquestionably evidence of that situation.

Prior to this, he was in a senior position at the Wynn Las Vegas, where anti-money laundering regulations were broken.  As a result, last year the venue forfeited $130.13 million to the federal authorities, the largest fine ever imposed on a single US casino.  When Pariente left the Baha Mar Casino and Hotel in the Bahamas in February 2018 due to an investigation into his involvement with Colombian prostitutes, controversy followed him to the Caribbean.

Pariente's termination from Hard Rock Punta Cana should serve as a signal to casino executives involved in corrupt activities and the companies that are prepared to hire them, according to R.J. Cipriani, better known as Robin Hood 702, who spoke to Casino.org.

“Let this be a warning to other dirty executives and casinos around the globe: Stop hiring these corrupt and dirty execs who get fired for wrongdoings and then end up with a bigger and better job at another top casino,” said Cipriani.

He also praised Jim Allen, the CEO of Hard Rock, for acting swiftly to look into the Pariente incident and for taking it seriously.  According to a source, Pariente's duties will be taken on by Hard Rock's senior vice president of gaming and casino marketing, Donald Codey, until a full-time replacement is found.