Resorts World casino in Las Vegas fined $10.5M in money-laundering case

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada gaming regulators have issued a $10.5 million fine against the Resorts World casino on the Las Vegas Strip over allegations of illegal gambling, many of which centered on a bookmaker with ties to the interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani.

The fine settles a complaint that the state Gaming Control Board filed last year accusing one of the largest casinos on the Strip of welcoming people with ties to illegal bookmaking and people with a history of gambling-related felony convictions, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The fine, issued on Thursday, is the second-largest handed down by the Nevada Gaming Commission, which has authority over disciplinary action.

As part of the settlement agreement, Resorts World and its parent company neither admit to nor deny the allegations. But the casino agreed to make changes to its leadership and implement stricter protocols for preventing money laundering, the newspaper reported.

Resorts World did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Many of the allegations centered on Mathew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani. Bowyer has pleaded guilty in federal court in Santa Ana, California, to running an illegal gambling business and is awaiting sentencing.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board alleged that Resorts World allowed Bowyer to play 80 separate days over about 15 months, while repeatedly failing to verify his source of funding. Bowyer lost over $6.6 million during that time, while the casino extended gifts, discounts and flights on its private jet, according to the complaint.

The complaint originally listed 12 counts against Resorts World - six related to Bowyer - including failing to distance from suspected illegal bookmakers, failure of casino hosts to report suspected illegal bookings and hosts referring prospective customers to suspected illegal bookmakers.

Other counts were related to hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit to others with histories of illegal gambling convictions or organized crime - one of whom was convicted of conducting an illegal gambling business and another who was convicted in a large-scale internet gambling operation.