According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the federal investigation into an illegal gambling ring allegedly targeting professional athletes has been expanded to look into possible links to a number of Las Vegas hotel workers.
In recent weeks, federal agents from California visited Resorts World Las Vegas in connection with their expanding investigation into the sports betting ring run by former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix, two people familiar with the matter told .
One of those who asked to remain anonymous said more than a dozen employees from Resorts World and MGM Grand, both icons of the Strip, have been subpoenaed as part of the investigation.
According to court documents, the Nix gambling ring operated at the highest level of professional sports, with ex-pro athletes acting as bookmakers and clients including an MLB coach, active NFL and MLB players, an NBA player’s CEO and a sports broadcaster.
According to sources, the federal investigation is investigating the possibility that current or former Las Vegas hotel employees acted as agents on the betting network or used casino resources to pay off their personal gambling debts to Nix.
In recent weeks, federal agents from California visited Resorts World Las Vegas (above) in connection with their expanding investigation into the sports betting ring run by former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix, two people familiar with the matter told
According to a source, more than a dozen employees from Resorts World and the MGM Grand (above), both icons of the Strip, have been subpoenaed as part of the investigation
The expansion of the Nix investigation in Las Vegas was first reported by Nevada Current, which quoted a state official as saying that federal agents interviewed or took testimony from several former employees of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB).
Federal agents are specifically looking into allegations that Las Vegas hotel workers used compes and promo chips to pay off personal gambling debts to Nix, The Current reported, and sources confirmed to .
They’re also looking into the possibility that employees acted as agents on the Nix network, luring players into the ring and sharing in their losses, the people said.
A GCB email obtained by reveals that members of the state agency are “aware” of the allegations being investigated by the government and are “already looking into them”.
A GCB spokesman declined to comment on the Nix investigation, telling : “The Nevada Gaming Control Board has no comment on your investigation.”
A subpoena is an investigative tool that must be approved by a judge. However, the issuance of a subpoena does not necessarily mean that a criminal offense has been committed or that charges will be filed.
The Las Vegas investigation is being led by federal investigators based in Los Angeles, where Nix’s case began last year, sources familiar with the matter say.
Sources say agents from the Homeland Securities Investigations and the IRS Criminal Investigations are conducting investigations for prosecutors in the US Central District of California.
“We have no comment,” a spokesman for the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles told .
MGM Grand and Resorts World did not respond to repeated requests for comment. An attorney for Nix did not respond to a request for comment.
The Las Vegas investigation is being led by federal investigators based in Los Angeles, where the case against Nix began last year, according to well-known sources (file photo).
According to sources, the federal investigation is investigating the possibility that current or former Las Vegas hotel employees acted as agents on the betting network or used casino resources to pay off their personal gambling debts to Nix
Nix pleaded guilty to his role in the gambling ring last year and has yet to be sentenced, but there are signs the investigation is active and widening.
Last month, a prominent Los Angeles accountant with a list of high-profile clients accepted a deal related to Nix’s sports betting program.
William “Eric” Fulton, the founder and managing partner of Fulton Management, pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal agents about his role in laundering illegal proceeds from the gambling ring.
Last year, former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig pleaded not guilty to lying to federal agents about bets he allegedly placed on Nix’s gambling ring. Puig is due to appear in court in January.
Although betting on legit sportsbooks has long been legal in Nevada and has been legalized in dozens of other states in recent years, it remains illegal in California, where Nix was based.
Illegal bookmakers can also offer services that legitimate sports betting companies ban, such as providing credit to customers who are in a tight spot. In addition, they operate in secret, which allows both players and bookmakers to avoid taxes on any winnings.
Yasiel Puig pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to federal agents investigating Nix’s illegal gambling operation. Puig is due to appear in court in January
Prosecutors also allege that Nix’s ring thrived by tapping into a customer base that would normally be barred from registering with reputable sportsbooks: professional athletes.
Nix, 45, started his illegal sports betting business in Los Angeles about 20 years ago after his six-year minor-league career ended in 2001, prosecutors said in the indictment.
His client list was created from contacts he had made in the sports world and included current and former professional athletes. The agents he hired helped expand that customer base.
Nix’s agents, which included former MLB players, would introduce new customers to the network and take their bets, typically taking 20 percent of customers’ lost money and passing the rest to Nix, one with the company said Matter source trusted to .
The agents are also tasked with collecting money when customers place bets on credit and lose, the source said.
“It’s very easy to think, ‘I can make a few bucks more because I know these people who like to gamble,'” the person said of the agents on the network.
“But it’s a tricky path.” It’s a damn thing to get into. Because then you start chasing after the money. You shouldn’t get involved with that.’
Court documents show that an unnamed professional football player paid Nix $245,000 for lost games in 2016. An MLB coach paid $4,000 in losses that same year. It has not been revealed if they are betting on their own games or their own sports.
In September 2019, a pro baseball player who already owed Nix text messages begged the bookmaker to increase his credit limit so he could take additional sports bets, prosecutors say.
According to prosecutors, in November 2019, the CEO of an NBA player was given a $25,000 per game betting limit on “NBA games” wagered on the Nix network.
MLB prohibits all league employees from betting on baseball or illegally betting on any other sport. NFL policy only allows players to place legal bets on sports other than football, but prohibits all employees from betting on football games or wagering illegally.
Court filings also allege that an unnamed sports broadcaster texted Nix in 2019 that it was refinancing its home mortgage to pay off personal gambling debts owed to Nix.
William Eric Fulton, the founder and managing partner of prominent accounting firm Fulton Management, has pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal agents about his role in an illegal gambling operation
John Holden, an associate professor at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business and a gambling law expert, told that the apparent notoriety of Nix’s clients could be a factor in the Justice Department’s aggressive pursuit of the case.
“From the sound of it, some of this sportsbook’s customers may have been bigger names than the general sportsbook customer,” Holden said. “So the DOJ has value in terms of the visuals of the case.”
He pointed out that illegal gambling in general has not been a top priority for the Justice Department in the decades since the September 11 terrorist attacks, compared to earlier times when it was a key front in the mob’s dismantling.
However, Holden added that state law enforcement agencies “are facing tremendous pressure from the regulated gaming industry to crack down on illegal gambling,” especially as legalized gambling increases in the US.
“They practically come out and say, ‘Look, we can’t compete with these offshore companies and supposedly guys like Wayne Nix, so we need you to enforce the laws,'” Holden said.
Nix pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling operation in April 2022 and failed to report $1.4 million in earnings in 2017 and 2018.
He has agreed to return $1.25 million in taxes and interest and withhold $1.3 million seized from bank accounts. He faces up to eight years in prison.
Nix’s longtime gambling partner, 45-year-old Edon Yoshida Kagasoff, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business in April 2022.
Kagasoff, who prosecutors say acted as enforcer and collected gambling debts for Nix, was sentenced on July 5 to six months’ probation, a $1,000 fine and confiscation of $3,164,563 in ill-gotten gains.
However, Nix’s sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for last July, has been repeatedly postponed and is currently scheduled for March 6, 2024.
Since filing the lawsuit, many documents related to his case have been sealed, which, among other things, could mean that they relate to an ongoing investigation.