Mathew Bowyer planned a lavish 50th birthday celebration this past Friday — 140 guests, a five-hour party at Bottega Angelina in Laguna Niguel, California, and a moment of closure after years of legal chaos. Instead, he received six more months of uncertainty. Bowyer, the bookmaker at the center of the illegal sports betting scandal involving Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was originally scheduled to be sentenced on April 4. But federal authorities pushed the date back to October 3, giving Bowyer more time to get his affairs in order — and more time to sit with the weight of his fate.

“I would have preferred to get this over with,” Bowyer told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just the anxiety of the unknown that sucks. I feel like I’m in a pickle between second and third base, but closer to second base.”

Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers look past gambling scandal

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani talks with translator Ippei Mizuhara in the dugout against the San Francisco Giants during a spring training baseball game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Southern California businessman pleaded guilty last year to operating an illegal gambling ring, money laundering, and submitting false tax returns. While he faces a potential 18-year sentence, Bowyer expects a reduced penalty — somewhere between 17 and 37 months — thanks to his cooperation with authorities. He’s expected to serve far less time than Mizuhara, who received a 57-month sentence for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani to feed a crippling gambling addiction.

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Mizuhara placed over 19,000 bets — totaling more than $300 million — with Bowyer from September 2021 to January 2024. While the federal investigation concluded Ohtani was completely unaware of Mizuhara’s actions and cleared him of any wrongdoing, Bowyer still wrestles with how much the baseball superstar might have suspected.

“I truly believe Shohei doesn’t gamble,” Bowyer said. “But I think he knew some area of demise with Ippei, just maybe not to that extent.”

Despite never speaking with the Dodgers two-way star, Bowyer admitted he had suspicions — especially when seeing Ohtani’s name on multiple $500,000 wire transfers. Still, he says he avoided digging deeper.

“There comes a point where you don’t want the answer, and I was afraid of the truth,” Bowyer explained.

Now sober, reflective, and focused on what’s next, Bowyer says he wants to help athletes avoid the gambling trap that ensnared Mizuhara and others. “I want to make them aware of making better choices, better decisions, and avoiding these things,” he said, expressing interest in working with the NFL or MLB in an advisory capacity.

Bowyer has written a 16-chapter memoir titled Recalibrate, chronicling his rise from restaurant server to millionaire bookmaker. He hopes to release it after his sentencing. “When you have $5 to $6 million on a football game, that adrenaline rush is really hard to replace,” Bowyer said. “But now I find it in rebuilding my life.” From FBI raids to birthday parties to pending prison time, Bowyer calls this chapter a blessing in disguise. “I never wanted the FBI to raid my home,” he said, “but it’s given me a chance to recalibrate.”