Ohtani accused this guy of “massive theft” just hours later lol pic.twitter.com/UwsY99sgCA

— Jim Russell (@JimRussellSD) March 20, 2024

Something doesn't seem quite right on this.

MLB and Ohtani pinning his 4 million dollar gambling debt on Ippei pic.twitter.com/BiZPwjnZT5

— Pod On Lansdowne (@PodOnLansdowne) March 20, 2024

me on LinkedIn applying to be shohei ohtani’s next interpreter after downloading rosetta stone 30 minutes ago pic.twitter.com/m973OuGZAq

— Emerson Lotzia, Jr. (@EmersonLotzia) March 20, 2024

He's currently playing in his 2nd game as a Dodger and just got a hit

One thing about gamblers like that is that they don't just decide one day to not bet big on gambling.

The question should be... how long will it take for Ohtani's next interpreter to get caught.

Basically this…

“Welcome back to SportsCenter Presented by ESPN Bet, for more on the Ohtani situation we go to our FanDuel MLB Insider Jeff Passan at our DraftKings Studio in Los Angeles brought to you by Caesar’s Sportsbook. Jeff, how could something like this happen?”

— JEFF (@jeffisrael25) March 21, 2024

Reading about this on another site and there are a couple of thoughts:

The problem with him saying Ohtani wired the money to cover his interpreter's gambling debts to associates of the bookmakers is that it may end up being a pretty big technical mistake if he truly was covering his interpreter's debts. Think taxes and such.

If he was merely giving/loaning the money to the interpreter, who then passed it on to pay off his debts, that would be one thing. I'd think there are way more ways to make that look palatable. He could simply paying the guy for his services. At that point, the interpreter does with it what he chooses, and if the interpreter chooses to pay off gambling debts, there's that layer of separation at least. But..

The biggest tell is the amounts transferred to the bookie over several months.
Multiple $500,000 payments. Ohtani's interpreter was contracted for $300,000 a year. There is no way Ohtani was just continuously paying off his friends debts. After the first 500,000, it's time to have a heart to heart with the friend about their gambling addiction

This, though, is money directly to a gambling interest from a player. That's not good. Even if they weren't his debts, it's still a player involved financially, directly, with a bookmaker to the tune of millions of dollars. Even if it is as described and for the interpreter's gambling debts, it can still look like influence and/or involvement.

So overall, you have:
His interpreter incurred $4.5 million in debt to an illegal California bookie, through an intermediary.
The bookie bragged about having Ohtani as a client.
All payments to the bookie came from accounts held by Ohtani.
And now the interpreter embezzeled money?

Occam's Razor

• Ohtani likes to gamble. But he doesn't want his fans knowing about it.
• So he gets his longtime friend and confident to place bets on his behalf.
• The only hitch is the bookie isn't sanctioned in California and gets busted for running an illegal gambling business.
• The feds start going through all the transactions, see large amounts coming from Ohtani's bank accounts. Then they start asking questions, and Ohtani panics.

And now does MLB cover for him due to the exposure or no? If they cover for him, does Pete Rose start looking...rosier (yes bad pun)?

~egon

If this was any other player they'd immediately be put on the MLB version of the commissioner's exempt list and suspended pending an investigation.

But not the golden boy

How many games will Ohtani get suspended for?

There has to be a suspension. Slap on the wrist because of who he is, but there has to be a punishment.

Some good thoughts here. I agree MLB may try a Michael Jordan like cover up / protection.

Coppell97 said:

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Some good thoughts here. I agree MLB may try a Michael Jordan like cover up / protection.

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Make sure Ohtani's dad doesn't take any long road trips any time soon.

I'd love to see the MLB burn him, but there is zero chance of that

Ohtani is the greatest friend in the world

gives a friend $4.5 MM...just because he is his friend

Its never the crime. Its always the coverup that gets you. And they covered up transferring large sums of money to an illegal gambling site. This isnt a MLB issue anymore. Its a federal crime issue. On many levels.

As much as Manfred would love to ignore this, the feds wont stop digging and it wont stay private.

At some point a suspension is coming. If for no other reason than to buy time. It may be a fake suspension like "Shohei is on the IL for a strained hip flexor" but something will happen.

Wonder how a suspension would be handled with the deferred money. Would a 1 season suspension cost him 1 mil or 70? Unlikely to happen but has me thinking.

At best Ohtani paid an illegal bookie.

He most likely had contact with that bookie even if covering for his pal. No way any bookie lets anyone carry a $4.5MM debt without some assurances from his backer.

Worst case is Ohtani was the one placing bets and they got sloppy in paying his bookie directly.

He seems like a very smart and savvy guy who knows what his brand is worth so while possible I doubt he was betting, but it's still not good that he most likely had contact and was in cahoots with an illegal bookie.

I'm not buying this theft theory they've thrown out there for one second.

It'll be intersting how they (Ohtani's team and MLB) try and make this go away. Ohtani's folks have already flipped stories multiple times.

Why does everyone keep saying they doubt he was betting because he knows his worth?

Jordan bet.
Tiger banged waitresses when he could have had a private harem.
Mickleson bets his ass off.

Good point

I guess for me it just doesn't fit his persona

With that said you're right. We don't know him personally nor do we know what kind of skeletons he has in his closet.

Gambling can be a massive addiction. Sure, he is worth a ton of money, but that also means he has a ton of money to gamble with.

This never would have happened when he was with the Angels because nobody cares about the Angels.

The answer is yes. This will absolutely be swept under the rug. Not really sure what it even is but it doesn't even matter imo.

You think the interpreter was able to get a $4.5 million debt without Ohtani backing him? No way

Ornithopter said:

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You think the interpreter was able to get a $4.5 million debt without Ohtani backing him? No way

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You don't owe $4.5m unless you've established a history of losing/paying.

So it really just comes down to whether the interpreter was betting on Ohtani's credit, or if they can prove it was actually Ohtani betting. I doubt the latter occurs.

Exactly

And even if he's just on his credit that would still entail Ohtani and the bookie to have a discussion and an understanding.

Which isn't the end of the world but that nothing scoff at especially is it's a federal crime.

Would a felony charge have any ramifications on his immigration work status?