LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani looms large over Little Tokyo.

His towering 150-foot visage on the side of the Miyako Hotel is only the latest, most obvious sign of the mania — and huge financial prospects — surrounding the Dodgers’ two-way superstar.

Soon, crowds of tourists, from around the region and as far away as Japan, are expected to descend on Little Tokyo, and the small businesses there are ready. There will be special Ohtani-related deals at 31-year-old restaurant Mr. Ramen. Udon restaurant Marugame Monzo already has a window display with stuffed Totoros wearing Dodgers batting helmets and jerseys, an Ohtani pennant proudly centered.

Where Ohtani goes, the money follows. That’s why you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief when Ohtani categorically denied this week, ahead of the Dodgers’ home opener Thursday, that he never bet on sports, or anything else, for that matter.

And it wasn’t just relief from true-blue Dodger fans who are looking to Ohtani to bring World Series glory to the team they love. Many businesses, corporate sponsors and private investors, not to mention Major League Baseball and the city of Los Angeles, all have a big stake in Ohtani’s ongoing success. Never mind baseball, an unblemished Ohtani represents a sky full of financial rainbows.

“When you consider the upcoming role the Dodgers and MLB will play in his growing global notoriety, the continued globalization of sports business and baseball more specifically, his long-term potential, [including his] post-career, is enormous,” said David M. Carter, a sports business and marketing expert at USC.

“It is because of this remarkable potential that all those that make money from baseball want him to be in the clear across the board.”

That may take some time as both the MLB and the IRS are investigating the alleged gambling and theft by Ohtani’s friend and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. In his first public comments on the matter Monday, Ohtani also made clear that he never knowingly covered for Mizuhara’s losses, something that Mizuhara claimed Ohtani agreed to do.

While there are still many questions to be answered, and some investors are wary, most remain bullish on Ohtani and his future career and potential — as a ballplayer and marketable athlete.

“At least for the time being, I don’t think there’s any worry about what his value is,” said Mark Roesler, chairman and chief executive officer of CMG Worldwide, a Beverly Hills firm that has represented hundreds of famous athletes and other celebrities in branding, marketing and intellectual property management.

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