NBA Coach & Players Arrested In Federal Probe Over Mafia-Linked Gambling Ring
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been arrested as part of a major federal investigation. The probe is targeting an illegal poker ring with alleged connections to organized crime families, including the Gambino, Bonanno, and Genovese.
Authorities charged 31 people nationwide. The operation is accused of using rigged card-shuffling machines and special technology in games held in Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Las Vegas to guarantee the mob-controlled “house” would always win.
Billups, 49, was taken into custody in Oregon just hours after coaching the Blazers’ season opener. He is a former NBA champion known by the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” during his 17-year playing career.
Other figures from the NBA world have also been implicated. Former player Damon Jones, 49, faces charges, as does current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in a related gambling case.
Rozier had previously been investigated for suspicious betting activity in 2023 while with the Charlotte Hornets, but the NBA found no rule violations at that time. His lawyer has criticized the handling of the recent arrest.
Prosecutors allege that players, including Billups, were paid by mobsters to win or lose on command. This was done to manipulate outcomes for profit, not to settle gambling debts.
Billups is expected to appear first in federal court in Oregon. The case is being led by prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York.
