@DrGuru_ I’m trying to not hit the panic button just yet but, objectively, having two second round picks to show for Jordan Poole , cp3 , and Klay Thompson is fireable lol.
Scenario 1: Ippei is a terrible gambler who was lucky enough to be in Ohtani’s orbit which afforded him leeway with his bookie in the event a large payout was necessary. It was. Ohtani did his boy a solid & cleared the debt which left him way too close to illegal activity & lawyers got involved to clear Ohtani.
Scenario 2: Ippei was the middleman for Ohtani & the bookie. Ohtani could fund “Ippei’s” account & have Ippei place bets for him in Ippei’s name from Ippei’s account. Maybe they just got sloppy & Ohtani paying the bookie himself was a CLEAR Red Flag & they HAD to turn Ippei into a thief. Which would mean we should find out Ippei or someone else either had access to an account of Ohtani’s or gained access to one nefariously. Ippei becomes the fall guy.
All that to ask- if Ohtani himself is NOT betting on baseball then WHY the effort to conceal it if it’s legal? & WHY do we care that Ippei gambles?