Ohtani's Bookie Is Out of Prison — And He's Talking

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Matt Bowyer — the illegal bookmaker at the center of the Shohei Ohtani–Ippei Mizuhara betting scandal — is back on The Hidden Third, and this time he's talking from the other side of federal prison.

The last time Matt sat down with me, it was 11 days before he self-surrendered to FCI Lompoc. His underground sportsbook had handled more than $1 billion in bets in a single year, taken action from roughly 700 to 1,200 clients (including Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, who stole nearly $17 million from the Dodgers superstar to cover his losses), and helped trigger one of the biggest gambling scandals in Major League Baseball history. Now he's out, released early after six months, and the story has only gotten stranger.

In our conversation, Matt takes me inside Lompoc: how contraband gets in, how the “cars” (prison crews) really run the yard, why a pouch of "carnitas" (shredded pork) is the closest thing to currency, and how he ran a full business from behind bars — concierge service, personal chef, the works. He tells me what he actually believes about what Shohei Ohtani knew — or didn't know — about Ippei Mizuhara's bets. He opens up about how prison changed him, why he thinks Resorts World Las Vegas got off easy with a $10.5 million fine, where he lands on the explosion of legal prediction markets and sports betting apps, and what he's building next now that he's a free man.

This is a rare, unfiltered look at how the illegal sports betting world really works, from the bookie known as "bookie to the athletes."

TOPICS COVERED

• The Shohei Ohtani betting scandal, explained by the bookmaker at the center of it

• Ippei Mizuhara and the $17 million embezzled from the Dodgers

• Life inside FCI Lompoc federal prison camp

• Running a business from behind bars

• What Matt believes Shohei Ohtani knew (and didn't know)

• How illegal sports betting operations actually work

• Resorts World Las Vegas, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and the $10.5M money-laundering settlement

• The Nevada Black Book and Matt's nomination

• Prediction markets vs. sportsbooks vs. offshore books

• Athletes, gambling addiction, and what MLB still doesn't want to talk about

• What Matt is building now that he's out

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