Nevada regulators reached a settlement with former Resorts World Las Vegas agent Nicole Bowyer as part of an illegal-bookmaking complaint in a case to be considered Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Bowyer agreed to have her registration as an independent agent revoked. The settlement came from a complaint alleging that Resorts World, its agent, and affiliated companies catered to illegal bookmakers with ties to organized crime involving millions of dollars and wagers.
In a stipulation filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Bowyer waived her right to a public hearing on the revocation. She agreed not to seek any gaming-related approvals for five years and cooperate with the Board and any law-enforcement agency in its investigation. No fine was assessed.
The complaint dates back to August. The Board detailed how investigators uncovered a lack of compliance at Resorts World, allowing “a culture that welcomed certain individuals with suspected or actual ties to illegal bookmaking, histories of federal felony convictions related to illegal gambling businesses, and ties to organized crime.”
The complaint asserted that individuals were allowed to place millions of dollars in wagers at Resorts World over many months and that the resort failed to adhere to its anti-money-laundering program.
Along with the primary complaint, a separate disciplinary complaint was filed against Bowyer as a registered independent agent who contracted with Resorts World, according to the Gaming Control Board.
Bowyer is the wife of Mathew Bowyer, who pleaded guilty in federal court to operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return. He will be sentenced in April.
Bowyer’s husband had a client list that included professional athletes and Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who confessed to funding his gambling activities by stealing from the star player.
“As an independent agent under contract with Resorts World, Ms. Bowyer was allowed to directly profit from casino wagering by her husband and his friends at Resorts World,” the complaint said. “Consequently, Ms. Bowyer received payment from Resorts World, despite surely knowing that her husband’s source of funds derived, at least in part, from illegal activity. To date, Ms. Bowyer has failed to cooperate with the NGCB investigation.”
