The sports betting saga surrounding Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has made some big news over the last few months and that continued last week after poker player Damien Leforbes pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business.
Leforbes, who has more than $56,000 in live tournament winnings but was also known as a high-stakes cash game player, now faces up to 15 years in jail.
He was alleged to be one of the co-conspirators in an illegal sports betting outfit that Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, used to make millions of dollars in bets from the player’s bank account without his knowledge.
Laundering Money
Leforbes and others are alleged to have laundered money by gambling at several Las Vegas casinos.
Court documents showed the underground betting operation received payments via checks, cash, payment processors, and cryptocurrency.
Prosecutors didn’t reveal which casinos the operation used to funnel money through, but said that Leforbes wagered more than $148 million at “Casino A” over 11 months through December 2023.
“In some instances, Defendant recruited casino hosts to be agents of the LeForbes Gambling Business,” the plea agreement notes. “This included at least two hosts at Casino A, who referred at least two new potential bettors.”
Cash Game Appearances
The Nevada Current has reported that Leforbes gambled $12.5 million at Resorts World Las Vegas and that the casino turned over a bad check for $2.5 million to Clark County prosecutors.
The betting operation used websites and call centers to place wagers, running afoul of California and federal law.
At the poker table, Leforbes was known to appear on occasion on the Hustler Casino Live cash game stream, Poker After Dark, and High Stakes Poker. According to HighRollPoker.com, he has nine streamed game appearances for a total profit of more than $92,000.
