Longtime gaming executive Aziz feels vindicated after scandal

Longtime gaming industry executive Gamal Aziz is finally ready to get back to work now that a lengthy legal ordeal that could have landed him in prison is over.

Aziz, also known as Gamal Abdelaziz, an executive who has worked with three of the city’s major casino companies and opened Bellagio on the Strip and Wynn Palace in Macao, got the best news of his life on July 20. That’s when he received final notification from U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Groton that the federal government’s case against him for fraud and conspiracy, accusing him of paying $300,000 as a bribe to secure his daughter’s admission to the University of Southern California as a basketball recruit, was over.

Aziz was among a group of prospective college students’ parents who were accused of wrongdoing in “Operation Varsity Blues,” a Justice Department probe into unfair college admissions practices.

Only parent unpunished

Aziz was the only accused parent who was not punished in the case. Aziz and private equity executive John Wilson were convicted in Massachusetts District Court in October 2021 and were sentenced four months later. Wilson was given 15 months and Aziz, 12 months in prison. They were allowed to remain free pending appeals.

Both appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston and in May, the three-judge panel ruled in a 154-page decision to set aside all of Aziz’s convictions and all of Wilson’s except for filing a false tax return, which was upheld.

Despite overturning the conviction, Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch wasn’t happy with the parents’ conduct.

“Nothing in this opinion should be taken as approval of the defendants’ conduct in seeking college admission for their children,” she said. “We do not say the defendants’ conduct is at all desirable.”

After reviewing the decision, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins opted not to proceed against Aziz and Groton followed with his order.

The investigation found inequalities in higher education and resulted in more than 50 guilty pleas, including by actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.

Aziz viewed the ruling as an exoneration, but, in an exclusive interview with the Review-Journal, said he learned a lot about the justice system and himself in the case.

“It’s completely and utterly over,” Aziz said. “It was really worth the fight. Normally, these kinds of cases take maybe a year or two years. But because of COVID it lasted for a longer time. There’s never been a single minute when I did not decide to fight for justice and the truth, despite the fact that many others had decided to plead guilty. The great majority of parents did, but I felt that would be a betrayal of justice and my integrity, so I decided to fight it and now I feel I’ve been vindicated.”

Accusations made in 2019

Aziz said after accusations were first made in March 2019, USC hired a team of investigators who reviewed his daughter’s application to the university. Aziz, who would not disclose his daughter’s name to protect her privacy, was allowed to stay in school.

“She now has a job and has done exceptionally well,” he said. “So the school basically allowed her to stay, one of very few kids that were allowed to stay and continue until she graduated, so she has not been affected at all. They basically viewed her application as accurate and truthful, so she was not at all affected. That, obviously, has been my position since day one. We were not a part of what this was all about and once my daughter was cleared, it was evident that I was going to be vindicated.”

She graduated with a degree in marketing and public relations and has a job with Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Jenner’s company.

Aziz blames himself for not being more involved with his daughter’s college admission. At the time, he was living and working in Macao, building Wynn Palace, the $4 billion resort just off the Cotai Strip that many regard as Asia’s fanciest resort. His family was living in Hong Kong, about an hour away.

Because of the demands on his time at a critical development period for Wynn Palace, Aziz made contact with California admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer, the so-called mastermind of the Operation Varsity Blues scheme.

“Since he (Singer) had helped with college applications before and came highly recommended, we were in China and I figured I’d get some help for my daughter to make the application,” he said. “Being busy and building this difficult project, I relied on him and he recommended we make a donation to women’s athletics, and that’s what I did, having trusted him over the years. I never really doubted there was anything wrong or there were any red flags. Basically, it was a complete surprise when the case actually occurred.”

Donated money before

Aziz said he has donated money to all of the schools his children have attended over the years so a donation to fund USC’s Galen Center didn’t seem out of line.

But prosecutors disagreed and the case was on.

Aziz said once the charges were filed, he didn’t have any communication with the 53 other parents or Singer. Several advisers told him he had a slim chance of winning in a trial and that he should just plead guilty like the others.

“The media, at the time, were saying I could get five years, 10 years, 20 years,” he said. “But my family agreed with me that I should fight it.”

And a guilty plea could have presented complications from gaming industry regulators who could have scrutinized his suitability to be licensed.

When Wynn Palace was completed, Aziz decided to leave the company and form his own hospitality operation, Legacy Hospitality Partnering, focusing on developing wellness resorts. He started with a group with executives he formerly worked with at Wynn and MGM Resorts International.

“As soon as the case happened, many of the investors backed off and I decided to focus on the case and many of my team members have moved on and gotten extraordinary jobs,” he said.

“They’re doing great, which is rewarding for me because that tells me I selected the right team and they’re thriving right now.”

As soon as he got word that there would be no further efforts to prosecute him, he began talking with other gaming and hospitality companies about potential opportunities.

“The focus is on going back to work because it would be incredibly difficult to reassemble the team,” he said. “I’ve received interest from people I respect deeply.”

But most important to Aziz is that he got his integrity back after more than four years.

“The No. 1 consideration was my family and my name. I’ve worked hard all my life. I do not want to waste my efforts trying to save time or taking a shortcut.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X, formerly known as Twitter.