Five people accused of operating an illegal soccer World Cup gambling business out of luxury villas at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas have agreed to a plea deal, leaving the alleged ringleader, high-stakes poker player Wei Seng Phua, also known as Paul, and his son as the sole defendants in the case.
Phua, his son and six individuals from Malaysia and China were arrested and charged in July when FBI agents busted into the US$25,000-a-night villas as the occupants were watching the World Cup semi-final between and the Netherlands and Argentina.
Phua and his son have denied the charges.
Four men and one woman agreed to plead to one count each of illegally transmitting wagering information and will forfeit about US$1 million, according to documents filed in federal court in Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, Hui Tang, 44, pleaded guilty to felony transmission of wagering information, and Seng Chen Yong, 56, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor accessory after the fact charge.
That brought to five the number of people convicted in what prosecutor Kimberly Frayn told US District Judge Andrew Gordon was an illegal US$13 million gambling operation.
Charges were dropped against Yong’s 23-year-old son, Wai Kin Yong.
Hui Tang, the general manager of a soccer club in Shenzhen, China, is among the five who are pleading.
Under the plea agreement, Tang admits that he and the others operated an illegal sports gambling business, according to the filings. He has agreed to pay a US$250,000 fine as well as US$250,000 in forfeiture.
“Tang is a Chinese businessman with a wife and three children,” according to his lawyer’s request to be sentenced at the time of his plea hearing. “Tang desires to plead guilty and leave the United States so that he can return to China and take care of his family.”
Three more people, who entered guilty pleas on Tuesday, are Yan Zhang, Yung Keung Fan and Herman Chung Sang Yeung, all of Hong Kong. They were sentenced to five years’ probation during which they are not allowed to enter the US, a US$100,000 fine and US$125,000 forfeiture each.
Phua, a Malaysian citizen and a regular at million-dollar poker games, and the others were arrested after technicians at Caesars Palace discovered a villa occupied by his group was set up as a gambling hub, with banks of computers and monitors and three TVs switched to World Cup games. Phua had been arrested in Macau a month earlier for allegedly operating an illegal sports gambling business there.
Phua and his group were using SBOBet and IBCBet sports-betting Web sites, neither of which is licensed to operate in Nevada, to monitor odds and place wagers, prosecutors said. At the time of his arrest in July, Darren Phua told the FBI that his father owned IBCBet.
The Web sites are the two biggest online sports-betting commission businesses in the world, according to Chris Eaton, former head of security at FIFA, soccer’s governing body. Eaton, now a director at the Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security, has estimated that each company turns over about US$2 billion a week.
Phua and his son denied running an illegal gambling operation in Las Vegas and asked a judge to toss evidence collected by FBI agents masquerading as Internet-support technicians. The agents cut the villas’ network connection to gain entry and look around without a search warrant. Agents later obtained a warrant based in part on what they observed during initial entries, according to court documents.
Seng Chen Yong, also known as Richard, who organizes trips to bring high-rollers to the VIP rooms of casinos in Macau and elsewhere planned the group’s trip to Caesars Palace, where he and Phua negotiated a US$60 million credit, according to papers filed in court.
In a separate filing yesterday, Yong’s lawyer asked that he also be given five years’ probation, citing health issues.
Additional reporting by Reuters
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and