The day before being sentenced in federal court, former bookie Mathew Bowyer joined host Gill Alexander during the Thursday, August 28 edition of A Numbers Game for the “Unscripted with Bill Krackomberger” segment. Bowyer, a longtime friend of Krackomberger’s, is best-known for being the bookie who helped facilitate bets for Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani.
Bowyer, who pled guilty to operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return in August 2024, was said to have taken 19,000 bets from Mizuhara from September 2001 to January 2024 per a Department of Justice press release.
In this 20-minute interview, Bowyer talked about how he got connected with Mizuhara and, by extension, Ohtani, and what he believes Ohtani knew about the large sports betting action.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
On how Bowyer got connected with Mizuhara…
Bowyer said that he had a good relationship with several Angels players and was invited to a private poker game with some players and coaches. Ippei was seen making sports bets and Bowyer extended him a credit line of $8,000, with a max bet of $1,000 per game.
How much was Mizuhara betting?
After blowing through the initial $8,000, Bowyer extended his credit to $40,000, then $300,000, then $500,000 and eventually out to $40 million, with a maximum of $100,000 per game.
Did Ippei Mizuhara bet on baseball?
No. With Bowyer, Mizuhara’s bets were said to be ‘80% soccer, little bit of football, little bit of basketball’. Bowyer specifically stated that Mizuhara made zero baseball bets during the time he was booking his wagers.
Did Shohei Ohtani know about Mizuhara’s betting? Was Ohtani betting himself?
Bowyer: “I definitely believe it was the interpreter. I do not believe that Shohei Ohtani made any wagers. What I do believe that has been brushed under the rug and hidden – and this is my speculation – I do believe that Shohei Ohtani was aware of Ippei’s either gambling or borrowing money or using some of his funds. To what extent and how long, that part is really up in the air. But my belief is that he [Ippei] did get approval or ask for permission or even had him [Ohtani] send money initially.”
Mizuhara is serving a 57-month prison sentence in Pennsylvania for one count of bank fraud and one count of submitting a false tax return.
Bowyer details his life as a bookie, his own high-stakes gambling, and what’s next in his new book, Recalibrate, which you can find on Amazon or wherever you get your books.
