Yes, you read that correctly. Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, who was accused of stealing $4.5 Million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts, allegedly bet over ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO MILLION DOLLARS over three years.
Mizuhara started gambling away the money at the end of 2021 before he was eventually caught a few months ago. Of the $182.9 Million he bet, he lost $40.7 of it. It is still unclear how much of the money (besides the $4.5 Million already reported) Mizuhara stole.
Unreal.
Ippei Mizuhara's account placed about 19,000 wagers between Dec. 2021-Jan. 2024, according to the complaint.
Average wager: About $12,800
Largest wager: About $160,000
Smallest wager: About $10
Total losing bets: $182.9 million
Net losses: $40.7 millionhttps://t.co/p5teofefNx pic.twitter.com/medlULVuMv— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 11, 2024
The big headline/conspiracy theory since this news broke has been that Ohtani was the one placing the bets while his poor interpreter was the fall guy. After todays news I think that theory has gone.
We do live in a world where 1 in 7 people believe the Earth is flat though, so maybe I’m wrong to make that assumption. Either way, it now makes sense how an interpreter on a 6-figure salary can afford to rack up a $4 Million debt with a bookie. The dude was averaging over $12,000 a bet. $12,000. Most of America would be thrilled to make $12,000 working a 9-5 job in a month. This dude was betting it on NRFI’s and over/unders.
His face in the Front Office Sports Tweet above is the face of someone who just lost 10 Grand on Russian table tennis at 4 in the morning. The dude is seeing ghosts worse than Sam Darnold. His life was literally crumbling from his own felony-led addiction and reporters were asking him to ask Ohtani what his favorite color is.
Nearly 25 sports bets a day while working for a major sports team/organization is nothing short of asinine. This dude was working for one of the biggest stars in sports, regularly tending awards shows, games, practices, interviews and press events but still, for some reason, decided to bet on a game once an hour.
I need to see the advanced analytics on how many games he actually watched after placing wagers. Did Ippei just think he could be like Billy Beane and “Money Ball” this thing by not watching the games? There is simply no way he had the time to research/watch 75% of the teams he was betting on.
AND EVEN IF HE DID THAT….THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS YOU DUMB F***.
There are so many people at blame here. Obviously Mizuhara is going to prison but Ohtani has some soul searching to do after this one too. For a guy that takes so much pride in living a private life and staying out of the headlines it’s wild to be so ignorant for years while money is just being fleeced from you.
Major League Baseball, and sports in general (yeah I’m talking about you Jontay Porter), need to take a step back and decide on ways to regulate this stuff. When I worked for the Commanders in 2021 I had to sign a document saying I wouldn’t bet on games. Are players/team staff not held to the same standard or are the chances of being caught so low they don’t care?
The crazy part is, after all this investigation and jail time imminent, I’m sure Ippei is foaming at the mouth right now trying to find a bookie that will take his action of Nick Castellanos to hit a home run tonight following the O.J Simpson news.
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