Illegal bookmaker could be added to Nevada’s ‘black book’

The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday could make its first nomination to the state’s List of Excluded Persons since 2024 when it considers adding convicted illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer to the list of people banned from entering Nevada casinos.

Bowyer, the illegal bookmaker who collected millions of dollars taking sports bets from Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s former translator and de facto manager, was sentenced Aug. 29 to 12 months and a day in prison.

It’s unclear when the Nevada Gaming Commission would consider the nomination since Bowyer is incarcerated in California and regulations allow him to have a hearing to refute accusations.

Bowyer would be the first person since Neal Ahmad Hearne, 45, of North Las Vegas was added to the list by the commission in April 2024.

Hearne was added to the list, known as Nevada’s “black book,” after a unanimous vote by the commission, which was shown video clips of him grabbing thousands of dollars in casino chips from a blackjack table and bolting away.

Guilty plea

Bowyer pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges of running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return. He took sports bets from an estimated 700 gamblers, including Ippei Mizuhara, who was sentenced to four years in prison in February for stealing an estimated $17 million from Ohtani, a superstar designated hitter and pitcher for the Dodgers.

Bowyer received what was considered a light sentence because he had no previous criminal history, paid restitution of more than $1.6 million and provided prosecutors with evidence leading them to other illegal gamblers.

His name has come up in three previous disciplinary actions taken in 2025 involving fines of $10.5 million assessed to Resorts World Las Vegas and its parent company, Genting Berhad, in March, an $8.5 million fine against MGM Resorts International in April and a $7.8 million fine against Caesars Entertainment Inc. in November.

After his sentencing by U.S. District Judge John Holcomb in Santa Ana, California, in August, Bowyer offered apologies to Mizuhara and Ohtani in a press conference outside the courthouse.

Motivational speaker

He said when he is released from prison in Lompoc, California, in October, he plans to become a motivational speaker. In the weeks leading up to his sentencing, he made the rounds as a podcast and radio guest talking about his case and promoting a book he self-published, “Recalibrate,” which details his high-rolling lifestyle and illegal activities and admits to being “a degenerate gambler” who started taking bets as a teenager, surrounded by addictive behavior while growing up.

Representatives of the Gaming Control Board did not respond to inquiries about Bowyer’s wife, Nicole Bowyer, who was scheduled for disciplinary action by the Gaming Commission in January 2025.

On Jan. 30, the commission delayed action on a complaint against Nicole Bowyer, who worked as an independent agent with Resorts World Las Vegas.

Nicole Bowyer faced at least a five-year ban as an agent who encourages a gambler to play at a specific casino and is paid a commission from the casino based on the player’s losses.

Commissioners put off a decision on a stipulation for settlement with her because they wanted to see her hit with stiffer penalties. Commissioners separately said they wanted to see Nicole Bowyer fined or possibly have her agent status revoked for life.

Other adjustments could be ahead for the List of Excluded Persons because at least one of the 37 people currently on the list has died.

Anargyros Karabourniotis, also known as Archie Karas, died last fall. He was inducted to the list in September 2015 for cheating at card games. Karas became famous for “The Run,” which has been referred to as the biggest gambling winning streak in recorded history. Karas is famous for once turning $50 into $40 million during a legendary Las Vegas hot streak in the 1990s.

Another list inductee, 80-year-old Francis Citro of Las Vegas, formally requested removal from the list in November.

Commissioners are expected to consider whether it will hold a hearing for Citro, who through his attorney has documented how he has changed his life since being inducted to the list on Nov. 21, 1991.

Citro is an entertainer and hopes share stories with audiences of the city’s mob past.

If removed, Citro would be the first living person ever to be removed from the list.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.