Ohtani interpreter bookie Matt Bowyer reports to California prison

Even with millions riding on the Super Bowl, Matt Bowyer displayed an ability to remain calm as pressure mounted.

Bowyer maintained his composure at halftime of Super Bowl LVII before the Kansas City Chiefs completed a double-digit rally to secure his $4.5 million wager. But as the calendar turned this week, one of the nation’s largest illegal bookmakers admitted to feelings of heightened anxiety. On Friday, Bowyer reported to federal prison in California to begin a sentence of approximately one year.

A veteran bookie and professional gambler, Bowyer accepted in the neighbourhood of $325 million in wagers from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani. After Bowyer received his sentence in August, he embarked on an extensive media blitz to plug his book, “Recalibrate”.

Over 45 days, Bowyer appeared on close to 100 podcasts and made appearances on some of the nation’s largest broadcast networks in an effort to publicise his reclamation project.

Staying in California

The former bookmaker reported to FCI Lompoc, a minimum-security facility located about 60 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. Bowyer’s surrender caps a whirlwind period that began in late August when US District Judge John W Holcomb sentenced him for operating an illegal gambling enterprise.

Bowyer surrendered on Friday by a noon deadline, according to his attorney, Diane Bass. Bowyer said that one of the most challenging parts of spending the next year in prison will be the limited time to see his family.

Prison regulations allow Bowyer’s wife, Nicole, to visit him a maximum of three times a month, he told iGB. On Friday Bowyer posted a video on Instagram of himself driving to the facility, where he said he was only minutes away from the prison entrance.

“Obviously, anxiety is high, I’m going to go in there with my head held high,” Bowyer said in the video. “I’m proud of what I built, I’m proud of everything I accomplished in life.”

Lifestyle transition from bookie to inmate

On Thursday night, the couple stayed at the luxurious Rosewood Miramar Beach hotel, a beachside property in Montecito. This month, mid-week rates hover near $2,000 a night.

Speaking on Instagram, Bowyer expressed gratitude to a podcaster for footing the bill.

“We love this hotel, but can’t really afford it right now. He chose to put us up before I report to prison as a special gift,” Bowyer said.

One of the largest table gamblers in Las Vegas, Bowyer indicated that he received more than $150 million in comps from Strip casinos over a period of three decades. His accommodation over the next 12 months will be decidedly more spartan.

Bowyer’s year away less than others

Bowyer received the sentence for convictions on transactional money laundering, providing a false tax statement and running an illegal gambling operation. Bowyer, 50, paid the government more than $1.5 million in restitution before his sentencing. Because of the false information Bowyer provided, he owes the court additional back taxes, not including interest and penalties, according to federal prosecutors.

While a US probation officer recommended a 36-month sentence, prosecutors sought a sentence of between 15 and 21 months.

The sentence pales in comparison to the 57-month term Holcomb gave Mizuhara in February. Mizuhara, who is incarcerated in Pennsylvania, embezzled nearly $17 million from Ohtani to repay massive gambling debts with Bowyer. Ohtani was cleared of wrongdoing by federal authorities and Major League Baseball.

Nicole Bowyer, who served as a host at Resorts World Las Vegas, has been granted full immunity, according to sources.

Bookie fallout a hot topic at G2E conference

In March, Resorts World agreed to a $10.5 million settlement with the Nevada Gaming Commission, the second-largest in state history. The broader investigation served as a hot topic this week at the Global Gaming Expo, one of the world’s largest gambling conferences.

One panel on Monday featured top compliance officials from the three casinos involved in the case. Jennifer Roberts, chief compliance officer at RWLV, noted that she has been pleased with the remedial measures the casino employed since she joined the company this year.

The panel was preceded by one on combatting illegal gambling, where Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer emphasised that the state has approached the extensive AML investigation with the utmost seriousness.

How Bowyer plans to spend prison sentence

As a co-founder of a Southern California martial arts studio, Bowyer wants to exercise vigorously at Lompoc.

At his peak, he burned through three gruelling workouts per day. The prison camp has an outdoor running track, as well as a recreation yard and indoor gym for inmates to join organised leagues in football, basketball and softball.

“I’m going to lift weights, work out harder than I ever have, read, possibly write another book and show the world what I’m made of,” Bowyer said Friday on Instagram.

Upon his release, Bowyer says, he would like to travel the nation to caution athletes on the pitfalls of gambling.

“This will be just another step to overcome adversity, to rebuild my mindset and to show my children that we all make poor choices; it’s about how you handle them that matters the most,” Bowyer added on the video.

Home for the 2026 World Series?

Nevertheless, Bowyer and other California bookies have not gone without criticism in Las Vegas where the sports betting industry continues to deal with the fallout of the broader scandal.

Three other California bookmakers – Wayne Nix, Damien LeForbes and Christopher Scott King – await sentencing. At G2E, a former Las Vegas sportsbook executive lamented the fact that numerous casino executives lost their positions partially because of the investigation.

Scott Sibella, a former president at RWLV, was terminated in October 2023 for violation of company policy. Sibella later received a sentence of one-year probation for failure to file a Suspicious Activity Report when he served in a similar capacity at MGM Resorts.

With good behaviour, federal inmates can receive statutory credits that may reduce their prison sentence by about 20%. Inmates can also receive earned-time credits for participating in evidenced-based recidivism reduction programmes.

There is a possibility that Bowyer could get out by 1 August 2026. If Bowyer is released on that date, it will fall on the two-year anniversary of his guilty plea in the Santa Ana courtroom.

Bowyer is confident he will receive an early release. He might be released to a halfway house even sooner, and there is also a possibility that he could spend the latter stages of his sentence in home confinement. Regardless of the exact date, he will likely return by next year’s World Series to his Southern California home, where a signed Ohtani jersey is framed on a wall of his man cave.