Nevada gaming regulators voted to fine Caesars Palace $7.8 million Thursday over failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules, settling a case that centered on an illegal bookmaker with ties to the former interpreter for the baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board alleged that Caesars Palace failed to verify bookmaker Mathew Bowyer’s source of funds as he gambled millions of dollars between 2017 and 2024, despite suspicions being raised on several occasions and an anonymous tip that Bowyer was a bookie.
It’s the third casino to be fined at least partly in relation to Bowyer’s activity; a $10.5 million stipulated fine handed to the Resorts World casino earlier this year was the second-largest ever from the gaming board.
Caesars executives said their systems for catching such behavior had failed.
“There is no customer that’s worth illegitimate profits. We didn’t catch Bowyer and we should have,” Tom Reeg, the CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said at Thursday’s hearing.
Bowyer pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2024, which included running an illegal gambling business and money laundering. Prosecutors said Bowyer took bets from hundreds of people, including Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara — who translated for the Japanese athlete — was sentenced in federal court earlier this year to five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s bank account.
The settlement between Caesars Palace and the Gaming Control Board includes requirements for the casino company to better ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws, including more training for staff.
“The way our (anti-money laundering) program operated in this instance was unacceptable,” said Gary Carano, the executive chairman of Caesars Entertainment’s board of directors, at the hearing. “We will do everything possible to prevent this from coming before you ever again.”
Earlier this year, MGM Resorts International was fined $8.5 million for actions related to Bowyer and another bookmaker, the Nevada Independent reported.
MGM Resorts International and Resorts World did not immediately respond to requests for comment.