I don't know any facts but I can take a stab at a guess...

I would guess a bookie would be in the business of handling bets (accepting them and paying them out) but does a bookie take on the risk of the bets themselves? My guess would be no. I suspect they accumulate bets and call them in into their Vegas connections. Maybe the bookie then takes a cut in the payoffs when they hit. Does a bookie pay the same payout rate for parlays, etc? If anything of this is correct, maybe that guy who worked in the sportsbook stiff a few bookies.