Celebrities, professional sports stars, and wealthy gamblers sat at a table hoping to win big in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
But they didn't know it was nearly impossible. They were fishes allegedly being targeted by the mafia in an elaborate poker gambling scheme that included X-ray card tables, secret cameras, analysers in chip trays, and sunglasses and contact lenses that could read their hand.
In what sounds like an Ocean's Eleven film plot, prosecutors say these unwitting victims were cheated out of at least $7m (£5.25m) in poker games - with one person losing at least $1.8m.
The scheme, which U.S. prosecutors described as reminiscent of a Hollywood movie, was dismantled in a sprawling federal investigation that led to more than 30 arrests, including members of La Cosa Nostra crime families, Portland Trail Blazers basketball coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA player Damon Jones.
FBI Director Kash Patel called it a mind-boggling fraud scheme that cheated victims across cities including New York, Miami, and Las Vegas.
The underground poker scheme started as early as 2019, prosecutors say, and was allegedly operated by members of notorious mafia families including Bonnano, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese. A cut of the profits helped fund their criminal enterprises.
Former professional athletes, described by prosecutors as face cards, were enlisted to entice victims into playing. Wealthy, unwitting victims were recruited for illegal poker games where tens of thousands of dollars were at stake.
Unbeknownst to the players—referred to as fish—everyone else was in on the scam, according to a lengthy federal indictment. Sophisticated wireless technology manipulated the games, with details shared stealthily among conspirators.
Executions included X-ray tables that read face-down cards, chip tray analyzers, and a rigged shuffling machine. Information about the games was relayed to co-conspirators off-site, who communicated with those at the tables using coded signals.
Prosecutors have indicated that many conspirators engaged in agreements to let victims win some hands to prolong their involvement in the games.
In total, authorities estimate that each game could leave victims losing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, while profits from the scheme were allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency and cash exchanges.
The Portland Trail Blazers issued a statement acknowledging awareness of the allegations against their head coach Billups, who has been placed on leave. Damon Jones is also facing charges related to this and an NBA injury scheme.
