The Bicycle Casino Donated $16K to Rob Bonta While AG Investigated Cardroom

Posted on: January 28, 2025, 12:21h. 

Last updated on: January 28, 2025, 12:45h.

The Bicycle Hotel & Casino contributed the maximum allowable amount to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s campaign when it was controlled by its previous owners in 2021 and under federal and state investigations.

The Bicycle Casino California cardroom Ron Bonta
California Attorney General Rob Bonta participates in a July 4th parade in Alameda on July 4, 2022. Bonta’s 2022 campaign reportedly accepted a substantial cash gift from The Bicycle Casino while his office was investigating the cardroom on alleged failures to combat money laundering. (Image: Shutterstock)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Bonta to the AG role in April 2021 following Xavier Becerra’s resignation to become the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. As Bonta became the state’s chief legal advisor, his office, as well as federal authorities, were amid a probe of The Bike, as the cardroom is commonly called.

Despite Bonta’s Department of Justice overseeing the California Bureau of Gambling Control, which was probing allegations that the casino for many years looked the other way when it came to suspected money laundering, his 2022 campaign accepted a significant cash contribution from The Bicycle.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that The Bicycle Casino owners in 2021 gave the maximum allowable amount of $16,200 to Bonta’s campaign. Bonta went on to win the following November.

Casino Campaign Contribution 

In November 2021, the US Justice Department announced a Non-Prosecution Agreement with The Bicycle. The settlement resulted in The Bike paying a $500K fine and agreeing to implement new procedures to ensure compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act.

The cardroom admitted that a high-roller Chinese national gambled at the casino approximately 100 times during eight months in 2016. He played high-limit baccarat in a private VIP room with large sums of cash.

Federal authorities suspect he moved over $100 million in cash-in and cash-out transactions. The Bike conceded to failing to file Suspicious Activity Reports as mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act.

When the feds announced the $500K settlement with The Bike, Bonta said his office’s probe was ongoing.

The federal government has taken action against The Bicycle, and now it’s time to hold the casino accountable,” Bonta said at the time.

Several years later, however, Bonta never came down on the casino. His office’s investigation quietly concluded last fall.

There is no evidence to suggest that The Bicycle’s 2021 donation to Bonta’s 2022 campaign swayed his office’s decision to eventually drop the case against the cardroom.

Leo Chu, a Chinese-American entrepreneur who had owned The Bicycle Casino with Thousand Palms Enterprises and its CEO Hashem Minaiy, sold the cardroom for $103 million in April 2022.

The buyer of the 100K-square-foot gaming floor and 99-room hotel and spa was John Park and his Park West Casinos, Inc. Before the sale, Park held a minority stake in the establishment.

Park rebranded The Bicycle Hotel & Casino to Parkwest Bicycle Casino to fall in line with his other California cardrooms — Parkwest Casino Lotus in Sacramento, Parkwest Casino 580 in Livermore, Parkwest Casino Lodi, Parkwest Casino Manteca, and Parkwest Casino Cordova.

Bonta Gubernatorial Run

Newsom is term-limited and expected to make a run for the White House when his governorship ends in January 2027. Bonta is considered a 2026 front-runner for the Governor’s Mansion.

On Kalshi, bettors give Bonta a 9% chance of winning the Democratic ticket for the state’s 2026 gubernatorial election. That trails Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis at 26%, former Vice President Kamala Harris at 16%, and former California Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins at 14%.

The only others currently with better odds than Bonta are former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 13%, and former US Rep. Katie Porter at 11%.