Poker player pleads guilty, to be sentenced in Vegas bookmaking scheme

A Long Beach, California man has pleaded guilty to federal charges of money laundering and operating an illegal sports-betting operation in the U.S. District Court of Central California.

Damien LeForbes, 43, a professional poker player, on Thursday pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced Jan. 23 in Los Angeles. He faces up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A plea agreement was filed in August and court documents say LeForbes cultivated his bookmaking business in a Las Vegas casino, identified in records as “Casino A.” He was a frequent player at Resorts World Las Vegas, according to informants.

The plea deal was signed by LeForbes in June and says he took millions of dollars in illegal bets over three years and recruited casino hosts to enrich his enterprise, which court documents call “the LeForbes Gambling Business.”

According to court documents, the illegal operation took payments with checks, cash and payment processors and through cryptocurrency.

Earlier in August, the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a disciplinary complaint against Resorts World and its affiliated companies, alleging it allowed gamblers with ties to illegal bookmaking and histories of federal felony convictions to play at its casino. The complaint has yet to be adjudicated by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

In a 12-count, 31-page complaint, the Control Board said several individuals placed millions of dollars in wagers at Resorts World over several months, damaging the reputation of Nevada’s gaming industry.

Suspected or known felons wagering at Resorts World included Mathew Bowyer, who earlier in August pleaded guilty to operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return; Edwin Ting, convicted in federal court of conducting an illegal gambling business and known to have ties to organized crime; Chad Iwamoto, convicted in federal court of transmission of wagering information and failing to file monthly tax return for wages; and another individual suspected of being an illegal bookmaker.

A Resorts World spokesperson in August acknowledged the Control Board complaint and said the company is cooperating with authorities on the investigation.

“Resorts World Las Vegas is aware of the Nevada Gaming Control Board complaint,” an emailed statement said. “We are committed to doing business with the utmost integrity and in compliance with applicable laws and industry guidelines. We have been actively communicating with the GCB to resolve these issues so we can move forward and focus on our guests and nearly 5,000 team members.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.