WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - MGM Resorts

International ( MGM ) is suing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission

to block a probe into the impact on data security of the

dramatic hack that hobbled the casino operator last year.

In a lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court Washington,

MGM said it was seeking quash the FTC's demands for information

because the operator was not a financial institution and

therefore was not subject to FTC rules governing consumer

financial data.

The lawsuit also argued that, because FTC Commissioner Lina

Khan was reportedly checking in to an MGM hotel when the hack

knocked out its systems, she was personally involved in the

matter and should recuse herself.

The FTC declined to comment on the suit. MGM had said

previously that regulators were examining the breach.

The hack that hit the company in September "cost MGM

dearly," the company said in its lawsuit. The firm has disclosed

tens of millions of dollars in damages and the suit said MGM was

now the defendant in fifteen consumer class actions.