Pro Poker Player Connected to Gambling Ring Involving Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter Pleads Guilty

Damien LeForbes

In June of this year, Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison under the plea deal. In May, when this news story was barely unfolding, it was reported that LeForbes owed $12.3 million to Resorts World over lost wagers. Worse, at one point, LeForbes was caught writing a bad check for $2.5 million to the property.

More Details Uncovered In Illegal Betting Ring In California

News of the presence of IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations agents first surfaced on social media from The Nevada Current, one of the media outlets following the story. All that still doesn’t answer the questions of what the company knew about the players it suddenly banned, and whether they were part of something bigger. If the investigation ended there, it would be a significant success for law enforcement and yet another wake-up call for Nevada gaming regulators. The state’s much-ballyhooed reputation as the “gold standard” of casino regulation borders on self-parody these days. The understaffed GCB has a lot of catching up to do on this one.

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However, Leforbes allegedly racked up more than $12 million in gambling losses at the casino, the Nevada Current reported earlier this year. RWLV also turned over a $2.5 million bad check from Leforbes to prosecutors, according to the newspaper. Damien “DJ” Leforbes, who appeared sometimes on Hustler Casino Live, has pled guilty to money laundering and illegal bookmaking, in relation to the Matt Bowyer case.

Damien LeForbes

  • Yes, California is the biggest domino left to fall in the legalized sports betting market of the United States.
  • That marker has also been sent to the district attorney, according to the source, however no case has been filed.
  • Sports Handle is home for information on the legal U.S. sports wagering industry — legislation, business, and policy.
  • The search warrant for Belcastro, obtained by the Current, was signed by federal Magistrate Daniel Albregts.
  • Resorts World was identified as a casino at which Bowyer laundered illegal funds.
  • Professional poker player Damien LeForbes has pleaded guilty in federal court to running an illegal sports betting operation and money laundering.
  • LeForbes is now the third individual who has pleaded guilty to illegal bookmaking in California who also had ties to Las Vegas casinos.
  • Sibella faces a May 8 sentencing in Los Angeles, where the Nix investigation began.

Daily, weekly, monthly and other recurring events are not included into these stats. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR.

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At the time, Mizuhara admitted to embezzling funds from the star outfielder to repay his sports gambling debts. Mizuhara, who pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in June, allegedly stole more than $16 million from Ohtani, the current favorite for National League MVP. Last month, Leforbes entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors in connection with a sweeping probe into Southern California’s illicit sports betting market. Leforbes, according to multiple sources, is connected with Matt Bowyer, a bookmaker who allegedly accepted hundreds of millions in wagers from Shohei Ohtani’s former translator. A self-described professional poker player plead guilty to federal charges of bookmaking and using a Las Vegas casino to launder millions of dollars. Nix, a former minor-league pitcher who used his sports contacts to recruit customers for the Costa Rica-based Sand Island Sports betting operation, pleaded guilty in April 2022 and has been cooperating with authorities for months.

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During a 17-month period through October 2023, Bowyer lost approximately $7.9 million at Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV), according to ESPN. Less than a week after Bowyer’s plea hearing, the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a 12-count complaint against RWLV, a multi-billion casino property on the north end of the Las Vegas strip. Terms and Conditions apply to all advertised bonus offers on this website.

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“They want to talk to Bowyer’s hosts at Resorts World and the Venetian,” the source said of the GCB. MGM and the Cosmopolitan, where Nix also gambled, entered non-prosecution agreements with the feds and paid a collective $7.45 million fine. Nix’s sentencing has been postponed twice – an indication that he is still cooperating with authorities. The latter requirement might have some casino executives and employees losing sleep these days. Statistics from daily, weekly, monthly and other recurring events only.

What’s next for the gamblers banned from MGM Grand in Nix betting investigation?

LeForbes faces 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine for running a sportsbook and using Resorts World Las Vegas as a partner to launder the money. To add insult to injury, LeForbes supposedly lost $12.3 million gambling and playing poker at Resorts World, and is also accused of passing a bad check to the casino for $2.5 million, according to the Nevada Current. According to court documents, the illegal operation took payments with checks, cash and payment processors and through cryptocurrency. According to a statement of facts included with the plea agreement, LeForbes ran his illegal sportsbook for at least five years in Southern California, and the business took a gross revenue of well over $2,000 per day. BetMGM has released a series of enhancements to its mobile sports betting app.

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The biggest takeaway is an increased amount of markets powered by Angstrom, which is Entain’s in-house sports modeling and analytics company, to provide exclusive betting odds for certain wagers. Also new to BetMGM is a more streamlined product for same-game parlays, as well as more pre-packaged parlays for bettors to consider. The NFL Players Association has sued DraftKings for roughly $65 million after the operator closed its non-fungible token business in July. The lawsuit, filed last week, alleges the sportsbook intends to terminate a deal signed in 2021 with the NFLPA for its since-closed Reignmakers NFT business and not pay the remainder of the agreement.

  • LeForbes also owes $1M to The Venetian, the Current has reported.
  • When these same people don’t have regulated sports betting options, they turn to alternatives.
  • The wager is the biggest to date of any NFL futures bet at any sportsbook across the country.
  • Ed Scimia is a freelance writer who has been covering the gaming industry since 2008.
  • In Las Vegas, the Nix investigation has already knocked former MGM Grand and Resorts World Las Vegas president Scott Sibella out of the gaming business.
  • Mizuhara, who pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in June, allegedly stole more than $16 million from Ohtani, the current favorite for National League MVP.
  • Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s most geographically diversified casino-entertainment company.
  • At the time, he said, it wasn’t clear if those banned bookies would be accused of anything more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  • “A casino record obtained by the Current reveals Resorts World turned over a bad check for $2.5 million from Leforbes to the Clark County District Attorney for prosecution,” according to the report.
  • Several companies, including Betr, SuperBook and Wynn have opted to shut down operations in various US jurisdictions this year, including Maryland.
  • Around January 2021, Damien LeForbes first set up his illegal sportsbook and the business ran until about December 2023.
  • Although LeForbes faces the potential of a long prison sentence, don’t expect one.

We seek to demonstrate how policies, institutions and systems make life harder for Nevadans than it needs to be; document how things got that way, and; explore what it might take to fix them. The plea agreement says from January 2022 through December 15, 2023, LeForbes gambled $148 million at Casino A. Private equity is turning up everywhere lately – there’s been an influx into the gambling world, and now the NFL has agreed to allow franchises to sell up to 10% of common shares to private equity companies.

They also accepted cryptocurrency, cash, and payment processors like PayPal. On his LinkedIn profile, Damien Forbes is the president of DLJ. At a time legalized sports betting has become the hottest story in the gaming industry, the federal investigation has revealed a coziness between some casino operators and members of the illegal bookmaking fraternity. Among those named in the NGCB filing was California bookie Mathew Bowyer, 49. In August, he pled guilty to operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return. LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A professional poker player pleaded guilty in federal court to running an illegal bookmaking business.

  • Separately, bookmaker Wayne Nix is scheduled to be sentenced next March, a spokesman for the Central District told Action Network this week.
  • Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos.
  • The status of Nix as a former minor-league baseball pitcher gave his investigation and circle of clients enough caché to attract media attention at a time of unprecedented acceptance of sports wagering in the country.
  • To help run his business, LeForbes hired agents who were responsible for bringing new bettors to the platform in exchange for their betting losses.
  • Earlier this spring, a federal judge sentenced former MGM Grand President Scott Sibella to probation in connection with his failure to file a suspicious transaction report, pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act.
  • Sean Lucero will plead guilty to charges of attempted theft and oppression, his attorney said.
  • For roughly three years, Forbes took millions in business across Nevada and California.

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  • The company was able to access New York, which is capped at nine platforms, when Wynn exited the market.
  • In 2022, former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix also pleaded guilty from illegal bookmaking.
  • The company fired Sibella a month later, saying he violated company policy.
  • Terms and Conditions apply to all advertised bonus offers on this website.
  • For months, LeForbes’s name remained in the shadows of the case.

Damien LeForbes is an American poker player and entrepreneur from Anaheim, California, USA. LeForbes has been seen in some of the highest stakes cash games in the world, making guest appearances on High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark, and Hustler Casino Live. Leforbes has been connected to Bowyer as the two were under investigation at the same time and both allegedly racked up gambling losses at Resorts World. “A casino record obtained by the Current reveals Resorts World turned over a bad check for $2.5 million from Leforbes to the Clark County District Attorney for prosecution,” according to the report.

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Damien LeForbes

According to his plea agreement, Bowyer operated an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that focused on sports betting and violated a California law that prohibits bookmaking. Professional poker player Damien LeForbes, a customer at Resorts World and a number of Las Vegas casinos, agreed Monday to a federal plea deal for money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business. He faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offenses.

Another California illegal bookie pleads

Bowyer’s connection to former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara turned the bookmaking story into an international headline. His friendliness and lack of arrogance might have helped attract customers to his lucrative foray into illegal bookmaking. Being a regular presence in poker rooms in California and Las Vegas, his business was no secret, but for a time he managed to keep a low profile. Multiple reports have linked LeForbes to the investigations into Resorts World Las Vegas and illegal bookmakers Mathew Bowyer and Wayne Nix. LeForbes ultimately wagered more than $148 million at “Casino A” over several months, according to the court filing.

Damien LeForbes

Judge Sets Leforbes’ Bond at $50K in Southern California Illegal Sports Betting Case

  • LeForbes lost about $12.3M in close to 50 visits to Resorts World, the Current reported.
  • That timeline is later than the company has previously pointed to.
  • The NFL Players Association has sued DraftKings for roughly $65 million after the operator closed its non-fungible token business in July.
  • Leforbes, according to multiple sources, is connected with Matt Bowyer, a bookmaker who allegedly accepted hundreds of millions in wagers from Shohei Ohtani’s former translator.
  • Professional Poker Player Damien LeForbes has entered into an agreement to plead guilty to running an illegal sports betting operation in California, as well as engaging in money laundering via a Las Vegas casino.
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In some cases, he recruited hosts from the casino to refer potential customers and took its chips as payment from bettors. Thursday’s meeting was the last for director of sports betting Bruce Band, who is retiring. Band has more than 45 years of casino operations and gambling regulatory experience. State agents reportedly also contacted Bowyer’s host at the Venetian, which is a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management. Attorney who last week charged Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani, with illegally transferring $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to alleged illegal bookmaker and gambler Matt Bowyer.

“This included at least two hosts at Casino A, who referred at least two new potential bettors” to LeForbes. Sports Handle is home for information on the legal U.S. sports wagering industry — legislation, business, and policy. For the latest news, follow along on Twitter at @sports_handle. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has taken action against Resorts World and its affiliate entities, filing a disciplinary complaint earlier in August. The complaint accuses the casino of allowing gamblers connected to illegal bookmaking and those with histories of federal felony convictions to gamble at its facilities.

Fallout from the Wayne Nix federal illegal bookmaking and money laundering case continues in Las Vegas with the state Gaming Control Board’s reported interest in the widening investigation. According to court documents, LeForbes wagered a total of more than $148 million at Casino A over an 11-month period during 2023. The Current also cited a source who claimed that LeForbes owes $1 million to the Venetian.

A casino spokesperson has said the gaming property is cooperating with authorities. Bowyer allegedly operated in illegal sportsbook in California for five years up until October 2023. Although he is being described as a professional poker player — which most likely came from his LinkedIn account — Deforbes has no real tournament results and is apparently a multi-million dollar loser at Resorts World. Several Strip casinos have been outed for being either lax in their anti-money-laundering enforcement or essentially complicit in allowing action from high rollers whose bankrolls are generated by illegal means. That makes it interesting, but not new in Las Vegas – or anywhere casinos operate.

In his time as a freelancer, Ed has worked for About.com, Gambling.com, and Covers.com, among other sites. He has also authored multiple books and enjoys curling competitively, which has led to him creating curling-related content for his YouTube channel “Chess on Ice.” Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s most geographically diversified casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, 75 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions and now operates casinos on four continents.

To reiterated, this operation includes Ohtani’s disgraced translator, the 39-year-old Ippei Mizuhara. He began betting inside the ring in late 2021 and ran up massive amounts of losses. Mizuhara made 19,000 wagers, which netted him losses of around $40 million. LeForbes additionally operated an illegal sportsbook for at least five years in California, according to KSNV. The Current also reports that Resorts World has been investigated by federal authorities from California — where the bookies are based — since last year.

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