Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday was spoiled by one of the highest-profile gambling scandals in recent history: the revelation of $4.5 million he allegedly paid to an illegal California bookie to cover his translator’s sports-betting debts.
While investigating an illegal gambling ring out of Orange County, federal prosecutors uncovered Ohtani’s name attached to two $500,000 wire transfers sent to a serial bookie named Mathew Bowyer, which ESPN reported were confirmed by bank statements. ESPN cited multiple sources who confirmed the payments were made to cover Ohtani’s translator Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling losses.
Ohtani, who is Japanese and doesn’t speak fluent English,…
