Las Vegas man charged over alleged illegal bookmaking claims entrapment after informant payment is revealed

A 57-year-old Las Vegas man accused of running an illegal sports betting operation is contesting the case against him after court records showed that an undercover witness was paid between $5,000 and $6,000 by law enforcement. The defendant, identified in the source by his initials W.W.R., was indicted last month on multiple felony charges linked to an alleged bookmaking operation that handled about $8 million in wagers through Nevada sportsbooks and an offshore website based in Costa Rica.

According to grand jury transcripts unsealed and reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the witness, Pietro Ventrella, placed bets through the defendant and secretly recorded meetings with him. He received the money after helping the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the FBI with their inquiry. Defense attorney Chris Rasmussen argues that the payment and the way investigators approached his client, including contacts made through his gym and his wife, raise possible entrapment concerns. Chief Deputy District Attorney Austin Beaumont said that compensating confidential sources who assist law enforcement is not unusual.

The investigation reportedly began almost four years ago, when the mother of the defendant's child, with whom he is in a custody dispute, told the Gaming Control Board he was acting as a bookmaker. Ventrella testified that he met the defendant through the man's wife and later at a steakhouse inside Caesars Palace, where he recorded the conversation on a phone supplied by investigators. Court documents describe the defendant discussing a Costa Rica-based operation and offering a commission of 15% to 20% for bringing in new customers. Investigators also said they placed several undercover wagers using account credentials he provided, and that he later texted to confirm balances.

Rasmussen says his client is a sports information provider, not a bookmaker, and that the Costa Rica reference concerned a website that publishes betting lines. The defendant runs Wild Bill Consulting Inc., a sports information service promoted on Instagram. The FBI and the Gaming Control Board declined to comment, and Ventrella could not be reached.

The defendant was arrested in April, and the case was briefly dismissed before a grand jury returned an indictment on September 29. Charges include operating an unlicensed gaming establishment, unlawfully receiving compensation for accepting wagers, attempted money laundering and accepting unlawful bets. Judge Carli Kierny initially released him on his own recognizance with electronic monitoring, ordered him to surrender his passport and barred him from gambling establishments.

Prosecutors now seek $1 million bail, alleging he kept accepting wagers the day after his arrest and used his gym and consulting business to launder money. Rasmussen disputes this, saying his client has complied with court orders, that the case began with a false tip, and that he rejected a plea offer in August. The allegations remain unresolved in court.