Approximately two weeks have ed Southern California bookmaker.
Following a 5-2 win over the Padres on March 20, the Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s interpreter, amid reports that he owed at least $4.5 million in gambling debts to the bookmaker. The Dodgers left South Korea hours after Mizuhara retracted his on Ohtani’s knowledge of his debts. Back in Los Angeles, Ohtani vehemently denied betting on sports or making a payment on behalf of Mizuhara.
Now, more details have come to light on Matt Bowyer, the bookmaker in question. A prominent figure in Las Vegas sports betting circles, Bowyer is recognizable to almost anyone immersed in the scene, according to a source who spoke with Sports Handle on the condition of anonymity.
While the “whale player” has been reputed for making frequent six-figure wagers on sports, Bowyer is a much larger gambler than previous reports suggest, another source told Sports Handle last week. Bowyer, according to the source, might be one of the largest, if not the largest sports bettors in the country.
A high roller? 96b3j
By all s, Bowyer has an extensive history as a high roller, whether it is on sports or other casino games. Another source, who has known Bowyer for at least five years, says he has seen him lose more than $1 million in a single night. Bowyer, according to the source, has a proclivity for making wagers between $50,000 and $100,000 on a hand of blackjack. He also has wagered heavily on baccarat and craps, the source told Sports Handle last Sunday.
The confidential source says he has gambled with Bowyer more than 25 times at some of the world’s largest casinos — in Las Vegas, on the East Coast, and outside the U.S. In addition, he noted that he has gambled with Bowyer at two casinos in the Bahamas and a third in the Dominican Republic. He arrived at one gambling jaunt with Bowyer on a private jet, the source told Sports Handle.
Last October, federal law enforcement raided Bowyer’s Orange County home amid a comprehensive investigation into the illegal sports betting market in California. There, federal authorities seized electronic devices, computers, and phones, Bowyer’s attorney told KNBC in Los Angeles. While Diane Bass, Bowyer’s attorney, confirmed that he used to work as a bookmaker, he is not engaging in bookmaking activities at the moment, she emphasized. And while she confirmed that Bowyer is under federal investigation, Bass indicated that her client has not been charged with a crime.
Bass has been working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to resolve the case, she told the Associated Press.
Shortly after the October raid, Sports Handle obtained a warrant that authorized the feds to seize a phone of a Bowyer associate. The associate, according to the Nevada Current, has served as Bowyer’s casino host at Resorts World Las Vegas. Bowyer, however, had been on the feds’ radar long before last fall’s visit. Federal law enforcement searched his home approximately five years ago when they seized cash and bank records, the confidential source told Sports Handle. Prosecutors did not gather enough evidence to charge Bowyer with a crime.
Bigger than Nix? 2q556t
As the Ohtani case came to light, several federal law enforcement agencies continue to examine the connection between the underbelly of illegal sports betting in California with two major properties in Las Vegas. The multi-year probe has led to numerous convictions, most notably a guilty plea of Scott Sibella, a former president at MGM Grand.
Another California bookmaker, Wayne Nix, has been a main figure in the investigation. While employed at MGM, Sibella allowed Nix to gamble at the MGM Grand and d properties with illicit proceeds, according to court filings. Nix is awaiting sentencing in the case.
Source says bookmaker Matt Bowyer allowed people to believe Ohtani was a client in order to boost business. "He used to brag about it."
w/ @TishaESPN, @pinepaula https://t.co/cwPXNp4QP9
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) March 28, 2024
After leaving MGM, Sibella later became president of Resorts World Las Vegas, a $4.3 billion property at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. Sibella was subsequently terminated last fall for unspecified violations of Resorts World company policies.
In a sweeping settlement with the Justice Department, MGM itted to several anti-money laundering violations in connection with Nix’s association with Sibella. MGM, according to the settlement, accepted more than $4 million in illicit cash from the Nix sports betting ring. Several Nix clients, according to court records, cashed around $18 million collectively in checks from Celebrity Financial, a Sherman Oaks Check Cashing store. Among the celebrities who purportedly placed wagers with Nix include: former MLB All-Star Yasiel Puig, former NBA Champion Scottie Pippen, and Maverick Carter, who is LeBron James’ manager.
But there are indications that the enterprise run by Nix might pale in comparison to the dual betting-bookmaking operation spearheaded by Bowyer. Bowyer, not Nix, may be the central target of the investigation, one source told Sports Handle last week. While the full scale of Bowyer’s operations has yet to be determined, the bookmaker apparently employed more than a dozen agents and runners in California, according to multiple sources. When asked to make a comparison between the two bookmakers, Bowyer ran a far larger operation, the confidential source explained.
Interest in Jiu Jitsu 3h6y6e
Outside of gambling, Bowyer appears to practice Jiu Jitsu as a hobby. In June 2021, Bowyer ed Rysk Jiu-Jitsu LLC with the California Secretary of State. Also that month, Bowyer received a white belt in the sport, according to the World Series of Martial Arts, an industry website.
A martial arts school in Laguna Hills, California, Rysk has received high marks from customers on Yelp.com. While Bowyer has been scrubbed from the website since the Ohtani case surfaced, he appears to be close with Chico Lima, the lead instructor of the school.
For the most part, Bowyer is a “nice guy,” a former associate of the gambler told Sports Handle last week. But when it comes to business, Bowyer is not someone who should be messed with. Toned by frequent workouts, Bowyer has enough muscle to as a personal trainer, he added. In regards to the gambling operations, Bowyer also maintained a calm demeanor, according to the source, a prerequisite for the volatile nature of the business.
More than a decade ago, Bowyer filed for bankruptcy stemming from losses at two MGM properties, KNBC (NBCLA 4) reported. The 2011 bankruptcy filing is related to $425,000 in gambling losses at The Cosmopolitan and Aria casinos. The Cosmo surfaced in the Sibella case since it is one of two properties that entered into a non-prosecutorial agreement with the Justice Department that required them to pay a combined $7.45 million.
Bass, Bowyer’s attorney, did not respond to a request from Sports Handle for comment.
Federal prosecutors appear to be moving methodically in attempts to secure convictions against the central figures in the case. Following his guilty plea for a Bank Secrecy Act violation, Sibella is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Since a guilty plea in 2022 for running an illegal gambling operation, Nix has had his sentencing hearing delayed several times. After the most recent delay in March, Nix is now scheduled to be sentenced in September.
