Poker pro Damien Leforbes' sentencing in Resorts World bookmaking case postponed to 10 December

Sentencing of Damien Leforbes, a professional poker player caught up in the Resorts World Las Vegas investigation, has been pushed back by nearly two months. At a brief hearing on 15 October, US District Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani moved the date to 10 December. A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California confirmed the new date but gave no reason for the delay.

Leforbes pleaded guilty in August 2024 to money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business. He has reached an agreement with prosecutors under which they recommend probation, with the first four months served in home confinement and no prison time. Almadani has not accepted it yet. She ordered the parties to supply additional terms before she will consider a probationary sentence, and asked for briefing on the defendant's aggravated role adjustment. She also directed a US Pretrial and Probation Officer to report on the conditions that would apply under probation. Both submissions are due before the end of November.

A 2025 Nevada regulatory complaint said Leforbes lost more than $10 million at Resorts World Las Vegas over a 16-month period through December 2023. He allegedly wagered at least $148 million over an 11-month span, producing about $12 million in net losses. The complaint says he received promotional chips, comps and gifts, and that his casino host apparently knew he worked as an illegal bookmaker and steered business to his operation.

The case is closely tied to that of Matt Bowyer, the bookmaker for Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter. Leforbes' lawyers cited Bowyer's case more than a dozen times in an April pre-sentencing memo. In the joint filing, the parties agreed that Bowyer's operation ran at a significantly larger scale and handled greater sums. Bowyer, who had more than 700 clients, was sentenced in August 2025 to about 12 months in prison. He served roughly seven months at FCI Lompoc before moving to a halfway home in March.

Resorts World Las Vegas agreed to a $10.5 million fine over anti-money laundering failings, without admitting wrongdoing, in a settlement approved in March 2025. Since 2025 the Nevada Gaming Commission has imposed about $34 million in penalties on four Strip casinos in connection with Bowyer's case, most recently a $7.2 million fine against The Venetian in August. Leforbes' sentencing has now been continued at least five times since January 2025.