Alleged Fresno State Gambling Reportedly Is Tied to Costa Rica

FRESNO —  A reputed gambler linked to Fresno State’s basketball point-shaving investigation placed bets both locally and through a Costa Rica-based operation, The Fresno Bee reported Wednesday.

Krikor Vartanian placed between $5,000 and $20,000 in bets on at least five games near the end of last season, the newspaper said.

Most of the time, Vartanian bet the Bulldogs would fail to beat the point spread, according to sources the Bee said talked to the newspaper and the FBI.

But Vartanian switched for Fresno State’s final regular season home game Feb. 22 against Colorado State, the article added. He successfully bet at least $4,000 through an offshore operation that Fresno State would cover the point spread, The Bee said.

The Bee previously reported that Vartanian was seen talking to point guard Dominick Young at a local nightclub two nights before the Colorado State game in which Young broke out of a slump with 28 points.

Earlier on the night Vartanian and Young talked, Young missed three free throws in the last minute against Wyoming, including one air ball. A 19-point Fresno lead slipped to eight points in the last 3 1/2 minutes, putting the final margin below the 10-point spread by which Fresno was favored.

Vartanian, a used-car salesman, has repeatedly denied he was involved in point-shaving, an illegal practice in which a player tries to keep a game’s winning margin below the point spread to benefit certain gamblers.