A nonrecreational gambler who was accused by the Nevada Gaming Control Board of moving a multi-million dollar bookmaking cognition has had each transgression charges against him dismissed.
William West Roberts, 57, of Las Vegas, said helium is present looking to wide his name. He called the probe into him a “witch hunt” and said the lawsuit was started erstwhile the parent of his child, who is presently engaged successful Family Court proceedings with Roberts, contacted investigators and made what Roberts contends are mendacious allegations.
“The FBI said determination is nary nutrient connected this bone,” Roberts said. “We don’t spot thing successful this lawsuit astatine all. They privation thing to bash with it. The Gaming Control Board evidently kept it for immoderate unusual reason.”
Roberts is not rather retired of the proverbial woods yet, however. Clark County prosecutors served him with a Marcum notice, meaning helium is perchance the people of a expansive assemblage investigation. Clark County authoritative Austin Beaumont told the Las Vegas Review-Journal aft the dismissal of charges that helium intends to instrumentality the lawsuit to the expansive jury.
Roberts’ attorney, Chris Rasmussen, said the allegations against Roberts are false.
“My lawsuit is simply a gambler with a sports accusation service,” Rasmussen said. “The conception helium is simply a bookmaker was a fiction. The FBI investigated him for years and closed the matter. Bringing him to a authorities tribunal does not alteration the grounds that helium is innocent.”
The Nevada Gaming Control Board declined remark connected this story. The parent of his child, Catrina Andrino, denied trying to power their Family Court proceedings erstwhile she reported Roberts to authorities.
“Because determination is progressive Family Court litigation involving our child, I person been advised to beryllium highly cautious astir discussing those proceedings publicly,” Andrino said successful an email. “My precedence is protecting my kid and allowing the tribunal to code custody matters based connected grounds presented done the due process.”
She added: “I americium besides alert that Mr. Roberts has alleged that I initiated the transgression lawsuit successful an effort to power the Family Court proceedings. I powerfully quality that characterization.”
Roberts was arrested successful Las Vegas successful April. He was charged with felony operating a gaming constitution without a valid license, receiving compensation for bets without a gaming license, and a gross misdemeanor number of receiving unlawful wagers from a idiosyncratic successful Nevada. The charges were dismissed connected Aug. 13 and Roberts was served with the Marcum announcement connected the aforesaid day, according to online tribunal records.
The probe was started based connected an email from Andrino successful April 2022, the Gaming Control Board said successful an apprehension report. A lengthy probe relied connected an informant and undercover investigators posing arsenic gamblers, according to the apprehension report.
Authorities alleged Roberts was recorded by authorities talking astir the bookmaking operation. He is accused of taking bets utilizing a website based successful Costa Rica and commingling funds with finances from his 2 businesses, Ace’s Family Fitness, 7171 N. Hualapai Way, and his societal media gambling extremity concern called Wild Bill Sports Consulting Inc.
Roberts readily acknowledges helium is simply a prolific gambler, but helium said helium is not a bookie.
“I cognize I americium a degenerate gambler,” Roberts said. “I mean, that goes without saying.”
He said erstwhile helium files his taxes helium lists himself arsenic a nonrecreational gambler and submits his win-loss statements from the casinos. The lifestyle, helium said, is simply a roller-coaster ride.
“I wouldn’t accidental a batch of money,” Roberts said erstwhile asked if helium routinely places ample wagers. “I conscionable wager each the time.”
“Lots of ups and downs,” Roberts said.
He turned his gambling skills into a concern endeavor via his Wild Bill Sports Consulting Inc. gambling tout service, which sells sports betting picks to gamblers for a fee. He has implicit 1,300 followers connected Instagram, and helium records regular videos detailing his picks.
The Gaming Control Board, with the assistance of the FBI, said it reviewed casino records showing Roberts has wagered astir $8 cardinal successful Nevada sports books. The committee said his sports publication picks were aimed astatine “hedging” for the alleged bookmaking operation. It said aggregate fiscal institutions closed Roberts’ accounts owed to suspicious banking activity.
From January 2022 to January 2026, Roberts was listed successful 334 currency transaction reports totaling much than $7 million.
When authorities investigated further, they decided to deploy an informant arsenic portion of their investigation. The Gaming Control Board said from September 2025 done January 2026 the informant placed 23 wagers with Roberts done an online level successful Costa Rica.
The informant besides met with Roberts astatine a section steakhouse and gave him currency to wage down his equilibrium connected the online gambling account, the power committee said. Authorities besides deployed an undercover instrumentality enforcement cause to spot wagers with Roberts, the apprehension study states.
Any notation to a Costa Rican website is misleading, Roberts said, due to the fact that helium simply looks astatine offshore websites to show fluctuations successful sports betting lines and that wealth fixed to him by the informant were for sports picks. He said the allegations against him are false, aimed astatine unraveling the superior custody helium has of his child.
“We unrecorded successful a municipality of gambling — a satellite of gambling,” Roberts said. “If I was a bookie wouldn’t determination beryllium 20 to 30 radical coming forward? Nope. There is 1 person, and that idiosyncratic is an informant.”
He said the apprehension has had a devastating interaction connected him: his location and concern were searched by authorities and his finances person been torched aft paying for a ineligible defense. He said immoderate longtime associates person abandoned him. He was besides concisely banned from immoderate of his favourite casinos, but those bans are dilatory being lifted.
He said if anyone vets the facts successful the lawsuit they volition find helium didn’t bash thing wrong.
“There’s nothing,” helium said. “If you’re looking for h2o successful the desert, you’re not going to find it. There’s nary h2o successful the desert. I’m the desert. You’re not gonna find immoderate h2o with me.”
Contact Glenn Puit astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
English (US)·