Bookie says Ippei Mizuhara's gambling addiction was clear early on - ESPN

The bookie for Ippei Mizuhara, who admitted to stealing millions from Shohei Ohtani, said in an interview with ESPN that the former interpreter for the Los Angeles Dodgers star showed signs of problem gambling within 30 days of betting with him.

«He was absolutely bananas, the amount of bets he was making,» Mathew Bowyer said in a new episode of «The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani» released Tuesday.

«He was trying to dig out a hole, and that hole made him even more poor of a gambler because he's betting big payout stuff.»

But the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Mizuhara's case told ESPN he did not believe Mizuhara's actions could solely be explained by his gambling addiction.

In a six-episode series, 30 for 30 Podcasts examines how Shohei Ohtani's relationship with his longtime interpreter Ippei Mizuhara unraveled amid a massive sports betting scheme. Listen now.

«I am not convinced he was just a gambling addict and had no choice,» said E. Martín Estrada, former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. «I think it's more he got this great opportunity, but then he saw a bigger opportunity to enrich himself and took advantage of that opportunity.»

Mizuhara admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts to Bowyer. The bookie said he recognized Mizuhara's behavior because he himself is a compulsive gambler, but the interpreter's betting still surprised him.

«Listen, I gambled bigger than most, right? I sleep, you know, I have a life too. He definitely was betting all night long, all the time,» Bowyer said. «I've never seen anything like it.»

Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return and is serving a 57-month prison sentence at a low-security federal prison in