The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday fined Venetian Las Vegas Gaming LLC, doing business as The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, $7.2 million for the property’s failure to stop an illegal bookmaker from playing at the casino between 2019 and 2021.

Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve a stipulation and settlement that included the fine, the sixth-highest ever assessed against a Nevada gaming company, with two commissioners recusing because of potential conflicts of interest.

The fine and the illegal activity centered around play by a convicted felon, illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who was a key figure in three previous violations involving three other Strip operators. State fines over his activities now total $34 million.

The illegal activity occurred prior to Venetian’s current operator, Apollo Global Management, purchasing the property. Apollo inherited the problem when it acquired The Venetian from Las Vegas Sands Corp. in a deal that closed in 2022.

The June 11 complaint from the Nevada Gaming Control Board states that “the current owners of the Venetian … assumed all liabilities relevant to this matter relating to the business” when it purchased the resort and its operations from Las Vegas Sands. Successor liability is common in regulated industries, including casino gaming. Venetian CEO and President Patrick Nichols signed the stipulation of settlement.

Nichols and Venetian’s contracted attorney attended the hearing and answered commissioners’ questions.

Las Vegas Sands on Thursday declined comment.

Bowyer, who was banned from gambling at The Venetian in March 2024 after Apollo-hired compliance officers were on board, has since been placed on Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons — Nevada’s “Black Book” — and was forbidden from entering Nevada casinos as of April.

Bowyer pleaded guilty to federal charges of running an illegal gambling business, filing false tax returns and money laundering. In August 2025, he was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and surrendered to federal authorities two months later. He was released in March.

Among Bowyer’s many clients was Ippei Mizuhara, the former Japanese translator for Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani. Mizuhara was sentenced to four years in prison in February for stealing an estimated $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and designated hitter.

Bowyer has been connected to three previous disciplinary actions against Las Vegas casinos, resulting in state fines of $10.5 million against Resorts World Las Vegas and its parent company, Genting Berhad, $8.5 million against MGM Resorts International and $7.8 million against Caesars Entertainment Inc.

In Thursday’s hearing, commissioners said they were mindful of Apollo managers not being in charge when the illegal activity occurred, but still chastised Venetian executives for failing to react faster when they did learn of Bowyer’s identity.

“I appreciate where we are today,” Commissioner Brian Krolicki said. “But again, the smoke’s coming down my ears for what’s transpired. Mr. Bowyer played at The Venetian properties for 25 years, and Lord knows what happened before. We poked back in for the beginning of 2019. I suspect the folks who I really want to have in front of me are not in front of me today, so Mr. Nichols, thank you for being here.

“Apollo bought this in ’22, and, warts and wonders all, you own it.”

Nichols said during the hearing that executives learned a lot, and he said the company would be in compliance in the future.

“I wasn’t at The Venetian when the majority of this happened,” Nichols told commissioners. “(Earlier) if there were doubts about source of funds, it’s ‘Let’s keep the player.’ I know today, certainly at The Venetian, that is the exact opposite. If we have doubts on where money is coming from, if we can’t validate source of funds, that individual is not playing with us. And I think that is the big difference that I see, and it’s not just me,” he said.

“The tone starts with me, certainly, but our team knows that there’s no one player, no one deal worth my reputation, our team’s reputation, Venetian’s reputation, the state of Nevada’s reputation. We take it incredibly seriously, and we did learn a lot from this. One of my philosophies is make new mistakes, and we will not be making this mistake again.”

The Review-Journal is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Patrick Dumont.

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