Federal authorities have unmasked a sprawling criminal enterprise linking prominent NBA players with notorious Mafia syndicates, all centered around a series of rigged high-stakes poker games.
This meticulously orchestrated scheme, which allegedly operated between 2019 and 2025, has sent shockwaves throughout the poker community, sparking discussion on game integrity.
Yesterday US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. announced that Chauncey Billups, a former NBA superstar and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers was one of the arrested parties along with Terry Rozier and Damon Jones.
Victims are said to have been cheated out of at least $7,150,000 over a period of several years.
Did the Poker Community Know All Along?
Incredibly, only two years ago we heard Matt Berkey speak about these games on a podcast detailing how he knew from various sources that they were “not on the up and up.”
Did nobody take notice? Last year also saw Hustler Casino Live favourite Nik Airball — who lost $755K in one session last week — involved in a private game where marked cards were discovered.
Berkey said the games built around Chauncey Billups started in Los Angeles and moved over to Las Vegas where he had the chance to play around 2019. He confirmed that multiple friends had played and were convinced the game was rigged.
“People who clearly didn’t even understand the rules of no-limit Hold’em are just like jamming hundreds of big blinds in with like a gutty and then just drilling it.Only the pros are losing.”
In the rigged games listed on the indictment, the losers suffered massive losses with one victim referred to as “John Doe #1” going home $1.8 million lighter.
In light of the Chauncey Billups arrest, we'll just leave this here. (Ep. 277 8/21/23). @PatMcAfeeShow @PabloTorre pic.twitter.com/lZaUOY0bFb
— Only Friends Podcast (@OnlyFriends_Pod) October 23, 2025
FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that this is a multi-year investigation that covers tens of millions of dollars and includes charges of theft, extortion, money laundering, and wire fraud.
As well as multiple sports stars finding themselves behind bars, 13 members of the Gambino, Genovese, and Bonanno Mafia organisations were arrested, too.
Joseph Nocella Jr. explained to the media that this investigation was in two parts: the rigged high-stakes poker games and also sports corruption practices.
On the latter, six of the defendants are charged with passing on confidential information to sports bettors that could indicate a change in team performance. In other words, insider trading within basketball.
The poker games ran around invited pros who jumped at the chance to play with superstar athletes, assuming that the game would be easy pickings. Sadly for them, it was they who were the mark.
FBI Director Patel: "Individuals such as Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier were taking into custody today, former,current NBA players and coaches…this is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years." pic.twitter.com/L5vLj1XtvM
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 23, 2025
Central to the fraud were automatic card shuffling machines equipped with electronic sensors. These sensors scanned and recorded the complete order of every shuffled deck, transmitting actionable data to operatives outside the poker room.
These individuals then relayed instructions in real time to “quarterbacks” positioned at the table, who then relayed strategic information through coded gestures to co-conspirators present in the game.
Check out Doug Polk’s interview with Philip Wiszowaty below for more details on this unbelievable tale involving illegal gambling, and threats of debtors being blown up with a grenade if they don’t pay up.
