Shohei Ohtani Interpreter's Bookie Lost $8M At Casino In A Year
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is accused of stealing $16M from the MLB superstar to pay gambling debts, and a recent report details where that money was sent.
ESPN’s Tisha Thompson writes that the funds were “forwarded to California and Las Vegas casinos,” then exchanged for chips by bookmaker Mathew Boyer.
The series of $500,000 payments Ippei Mizuhara sent from Shohei Ohtani‘s bank account to an illegal bookmaking operation were forwarded to California and Las Vegas casinos, where the money was deposited in gambling accounts, converted to playing chips and later cashed out to pay the bookie, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the operation told ESPN.
Thompson also says that the money was used by Boyer, a supposed high roller, to gamble. It was not uncommon for him to bring at least a quarter of a million dollars to the casino, which he reportedly visited two-to-three times a week.
On some occasions, that number is said to near $1M.
Bowyer is known in Vegas as a “whale,” a high-stakes gambler unafraid to lose millions on the casino floor.
One particular casino reportedly used to funnel money to Boyer was Resorts World in Las Vegas. He’s said to have visited regularly upon its opening in 2021, alongside his wife and a small entourage.
It’s there that he lost nearly $8M in a little over a year between June of 2022 and October of 2023.
According to the ESPN report, the casino “was served a federal subpoena last August that sought, among other things, documents related to its anti-money laundering policies.”
Mathew Boyer was ’86’d’ from other Vegas establishments, even before the investigation into Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter.
Thompson says that those casinos included MGM Grand, the Palazzo and the Venetian, though the bookie was later reinstated at the latter two.
He was also sued in tribal court by a casino in Connecticut over a $1.2M line of credit.
The ESPN story sheds further light on just how the money was both transferred and used, offering deeper insight to the operation as a whole.
Ippei Mizuhara is reported to have run up a debt of more than $40M in total, using Shohei Ohtani’s bank accounts to make payments.
Ohtani has not been directly linked to the scandal, unaware that the funds were being stolen.
