Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been arrested for taking part in an alleged illegal poker gambling ring that has ties to organized crime, the New York Post reports.
Billups, 49, was arrested in Oregon Thursday night after his team’s home opener.
The former Detroit Pistons champion player was not the only NBA name swept up in the probe; Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested in a separate but related illegal gambling case.
According to the New York Post, “Billups, an NBA Hall of Famer, has been charged with partaking in an alleged illegal poker ring tied to the Bonanno, Genovese and Colombo crime families,” a source told the paper.
So far, the probe has resulted in the arrest of more than two dozen people affiliated with the illegal card ring that operated in The Hamptons, Las Vegas, and Manhattan.
According to reports from those familiar with the scheme, the games were rigged with technology and card-shuffling machines to give the house the advantage. The mob was paying the players to participate and win, and, when instructed, to lose.
Rozier was also arrested on Wednesday night at the team hotel in Orlando, Florida, mere hours after the Heat lost to the Magic. Rozier, 31, did not play in the game due to a coach’s decision.
The arrests mark another black eye for the league when it comes to gambling. Just last year, Toronto’s Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to informing gamblers of games he was going to rig as part of an effort to pay back gambling debts. It is reported that gamblers benefiting from Porter’s inside information made as much as $1 million.
“Billups is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Oregon federal court on Thursday, but will eventually appear in Brooklyn federal court in the Eastern District of New York, which handled the case against Porter,” the New York Post reports.
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