California bookie at center of gambling scandal thought link to Shohei Ohtani would help business

As a gambler, Mathew Bowyer bet big, often unsuccessfully, listing nearly half a million dollars in losses to two Las Vegas casinos in his 2011 bankruptcy.

As bookmaker, the Orange County man wagered that a client’s relationship with baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani would pay off by boosting Bowyer’s reputation in the gambling world.

Bowyer, who turns 49 next week, instead, ended up at the center of an international scandal over allegations by the Japanese-speaking Ohtani that a trusted...