A federal judge postponed Damien LeForbes’s sentencing after an Oct. 15 hearing in Santa Ana, California, while prosecutors and defence lawyers jointly urged probation rather than prison for the professional poker player who admitted operating an illegal gambling business and laundering money.
Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani set sentencing for Dec. 10 and sought further information before deciding whether probation was appropriate. The hearing minutes ordered briefing on an aggravated-role adjustment and directed a U.S. Pretrial and Probation Officer to outline terms that could apply if the court considered a noncustodial sentence.
The parties’ proposal called for probation with four months of home confinement. Its conditions included weekly Gamblers Anonymous meetings, continued individual therapy, abstinence from gambling and 50 hours of community service in the first year.
Prosecutors and the defence argued that a 15-to-21-month prison term would be excessive, pointing to LeForbes’s cooperation, counselling and legitimate employment record. Their joint filing described his conduct as “an aberration rather than a pattern.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry Quinn recommended that the first four months be served in home confinement.
LeForbes pleaded guilty in August 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to money laundering and operating an unauthorized sports-betting operation. Earlier reporting described a business that operated for nearly three years, accepted illegal bets in California and Nevada, and used cash, checks, payment processors, cryptocurrencies and multiple crypto wallets to collect from customers and pay winners.
Court documents identified the casino where LeForbes wagered about $148 million between 2022 and 2023 only as “Casino A.” Separately, Nevada gaming regulators documented more than $10 million in losses at Resorts World Las Vegas associated with him. The full scale of his sports-betting enterprise has not been made public.
The defence contrasted LeForbes with illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who was sentenced to 12 months and one day in August 2025. Bowyer’s operation handled hundreds of millions of dollars in wagers and had more than 700 customers, while LeForbes’s lawyers characterized their client’s business as much smaller. The two men appeared to have operated separate gambling businesses, although both were named in a 2025 Nevada Gaming Control Board complaint.
That complaint alleged that a Resorts World casino host knew LeForbes was an illegal bookmaker, continued providing him perks and promotional chips, and referred a prospective customer to his operation. Resorts World continued providing him complimentary benefits and luxury gifts before barring him in March 2024.
In March 2025, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a $10.5 million settlement with Resorts World and affiliated companies over anti-money-laundering deficiencies involving LeForbes and Bowyer. Resorts World did not admit wrongdoing. LeForbes’s sentencing had already been continued at least five times since January 2025; the court required the parties to submit further arguments by Nov. 5 and the probation officer’s proposed conditions by Nov. 19.
