Cantor Gaming is a big operation. The company runs about a dozen legal sportsbooks in the Las Vegas area and carries a high profile in the industry.
Mike Colbert, the former Vice President of Risk (what a title!) at Cantor Gaming was arrested back in October at his Las Vegas home and charged with enterprise corruption, money laundering and conspiracy.
Colbert was back on the street right away after posting bond but the investigations still continue into Cantor Gaming and Colbert’s personal involvement. The charges stem from a tip from the New York District Attorney’s office back in 2011 when Colbert was still managing the sportsbook operations in Las Vegas for Cantor.
Nevada Gaming Control Chairman A.G. Burnett told the press, “We continue to monitor that indictment and work with our federal counterparts. We’re doing two, fairly large investigations, one into Colbert and the second into the entire company as a whole.” The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for mid-June.
According to the 259-page indictment from the New York DA, Colbert called the 718 area code, which is in New York City, and spoke with co-defendant Gadoon Kyrollos to set up a transfer of gambling proceeds amounting to $100,000. Apparently they have this all on tape but surely the lawyers will be arguing the legality of the phone tap as part of the process.
Mike Colbert is a 10 year resident of Las Vegas. He spent 4 of those years as Vice President of Risk for Cantor Gaming. Colbert has worked in the sports wagering business his whole time in Vegas and is often sought out for his opinions by the media (and probably some bettors) concerning various aspects of the wagering industry.
One very positive sign for Colbert is that Burnett and the NGC have not taken any action against his Nevada Gaming License while the investigation proceeds. Colbert has appeared on numerous talk shows coming out of Las Vegas and is quite a well known figure around town. That could be part of the problem.
Mike Colbert’s commentary about the status of the sports wagering industry has been both outspoken and at times controversial. Recently, when asked about the leagues resistance to legalized sports wagering, Colbert replied, “In my opinion, the reason is that they want a piece of the money. They’re not going to let people bet on the NFL in Jersey without the NFL getting a piece of the pie.”
