In this first story: the Wall Street Journal has reported that Lee Amaitis, who is the President and CEO of Cantor Gaming, is under investigation by federal prosecutors. They are looking into whether Amaitis, who is Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s top gaming exec, was involved with the company allegedly taking illegal sports bets. These bets are said to have come a gambling ring known as Jersey Boys who are based out of New York.
Lee Amaitis, who is the one actually under investigation, started Cantor Gaming some nine years ago. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amaitis was suspected of being involved once a former director of Cantor Gaming pleaded guilty to accepting wagers illegally. This individual is Michael Colbert, who was a vice president of the company and director of the company’s risk management department. Colbert, who is 33, went to federal court on Sept. 21 and pled guilty in that New York court. It should be noted that according to the Wall Street Journal, no allegations have been made against Lee Amaitis to date.
A statement was released by Cantor Gaming official Robert Hubbell. It said: “We feel compelled to address this irresponsible and baseless rumor. The notion that Lee Amaitis is a target of federal prosecutors or that he participated in illegal bookmaking is baseless and false.”
The story on Colbert broke a few weeks ago.
According to press releases, Colbert, who is the former director of risk management for Cantor Gaming, pled to one felony charge. The charge was being involved with a conspiracy to take illegal sports bets on a national level for a betting ring based in New York. That ring was busted last year by police.
Colbert entered his guilty plea on Sept. 21. This was done in federal court in the state of New York and it came after the U.S. Attorney began to prosecute the case. This is according to court records.
Court papers say that Colbert was accused of knowing and allowing the New York-based betting ring to place illegal sports bets using what is called runners. It was said that runners are individuals who take and then place these illegal bets as part of their work with the ring. In Oct of 2012, police took into custody some 25 people who were alleged to be part of the bookmaking ring. Of those arrested, 8 were from Vegas. And of these, Colbert was among the most prominent.
It is no secret that Cantor Gaming is known for revolutionizing the then sports betting industry within the state of Nevada. Colbert played a major role in this when he was with M Resort in Henderson.
It is known that Colbert was very inventive with coming up with new betting options that were then offered by Cantor Gaming. One of his most popular ideas was with starting fantasy-sports wagering for football and basketball in 2012. Colbert never shied away from the media and would often analyze games and as well as betting patterns. He will be sentenced on Dec 9.