Resorts World Las Vegas accused of facilitating illegal gambling – NBC Los Angeles

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NVC) filed a disciplinary complaint on Thursday accusing one of the largest casinos on the Las Vegas Strip of welcoming illegal bookmakers, individuals with a history of gambling-related offenses, and individuals with ties to organized crime.

Many of the allegations against Resorts World Las Vegas centered on Mathew Bowyer, the Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from baseball star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter. Bowyer pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Santa Ana, California, to operating an illegal gambling business.

The board asked the Nevada Gaming Commission, which has jurisdiction over disciplinary action, to fine the company and take action against Resorts World's gaming license, which experts say would be a rare move.

“The commission has the power to decide what it wants to do on this issue,” says Michael Green, an associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who has long studied the Las Vegas casino business. “They can decide to revoke the license. They can decide that's too much and there should be fines. There are executives who may be forced out of office. So they have some leeway here. And they're always hesitant to go that far because you can't be sure of the long-term impact.”

The Commission did not immediately respond to an out-of-hours message seeking comment on the timing of a decision on Thursday.

Resorts World said it was in discussions with the board to resolve the issues so it could focus on its guests and its nearly 5,000 employees.

“We are committed to conducting our business with the utmost integrity and in accordance with applicable laws and industry guidelines,” it said in a statement.

The 31-page complaint alleges that Resorts World allowed Bowyer to gamble on 80 days over a period of about 15 months without verifying his source of funding. Bowyer lost more than $6.6 million during that time, while the casino offered him gifts, discounts and flights on its private jet, according to the complaint.

Bowyer was banned from Resorts World on October 6, 2023, after a federal warrant was executed to search his home. Prosecutors said Bowyer operated an illegal gambling business in Southern California and Las Vegas for at least five years, taking bets from more than 700 gamblers, including Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Diane Bass, Bowyer's attorney, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The complaint lists 12 charges against Resorts World – six of which relate to Bowyer – including failure to distance itself from alleged illegal bookmakers, failure of casino hosts to report alleged illegal bookings, and hosts directing potential customers to alleged illegal bookmakers.

The former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to two counts in federal court and could face a prison sentence of more than 30 years.

Other charges involved loans of hundreds of thousands of dollars to people with a history of illegal gambling or organized crime. One of the defendants was convicted of running an illegal gambling business, another in connection with a large-scale online gambling operation.

The complaint also alleges that Resorts World employees failed to report unusual or suspicious activity and violations of the anti-money laundering program to their supervisors. Program committee members acknowledged during the board's investigation that Bowyer's source of funding did not justify his level of gambling, the complaint states.

“This culture gives rise to the perception and/or reality that Resorts World is a conduit for laundering funds derived from illicit activities and/or facilitating criminal activities that harm the reputation of the State of Nevada and the Nevada gaming industry,” the board said in the complaint.

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Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.