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Billups, Chauncey

High-Stakes Poker Scandal Rocks NBA: Basketball Stars Embroiled in Rigged Game Scheme

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Poker games in luxury homes across the United States, including a $22m townhouse in New York's Greenwich Village, were allegedly rigged by four New York crime families and NBA insiders to defraud unsuspecting players. Chauncey Billups, a former NBA Hall of Famer and current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier, a guard for the Miami Heat, were among those charged in the investigation. The scheme, which spanned 11 states and involved tens of millions of dollars in illicit gains, used sophisticated technology to read and predict players' hands, ensuring their losses.

Key Takeaways:

  • The investigation, known as "Operation Royal Flush," spanned 11 states and involved four New York crime families: Bonano, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese.
  • The scheme used sophisticated technology, including x-ray tables, fraudulent shuffling machines, and hidden cameras, to rig the games and ensure player losses.
  • Chauncey Billups, a former NBA Hall of Famer and current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, was charged with helping to rig poker games to defraud unsuspecting players.
  • Billups is accused of being a "face card" used to lure wealthy victims into playing in exchange for a cut of the profits.
  • Terry Rozier, a guard for the Miami Heat, was also charged and accused of providing information about upcoming games to his conspirators, who used straw bettors to place multiple bets.
  • The defendants allegedly used pre-existing illegal gambling infrastructure to organize the games, and the crime families provided security for the rigged poker sessions.
  • Billups and Rozier have been placed on leave from their teams, and both have been arrested in connection with the federal investigation.
  • The scheme spanned from 2019 to 2024, with some defendants accused of carrying out a gunpoint robbery to steal a specific model of the rigged card shuffling machine.
  • The defendants are accused of using technology to steal over $7m from victims in the New York area, with one victim allegedly being defrauded of $1.8m during rigged poker games in Midtown Manhattan in June and July 2023.
  • The investigation also uncovered a separate sports-betting scheme involving Rozier and other NBA insiders, who allegedly provided information about upcoming games to their conspirators.

Statistics:

  • The scheme spanned 11 states.
  • The defendants allegedly used technology to steal over $7m from victims in the New York area.
  • One victim was allegedly defrauded of $1.8m during rigged poker games in Midtown Manhattan in June and July 2023.
  • The scheme spanned from 2019 to 2024.
  • The defendants are accused of using extortion and threats of violence to collect unpaid debts from players.
  • The crime families provided security for the rigged poker sessions.

Sources:

  • US Department of Justice
  • US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr.
  • FBI Director Kash Patel
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Miami Heat
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • NBA

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