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NBA scandal: Ex-NFL star part of poker scheme? Man who lost $1M in one night makes shocking claim
Two pro basketballers were named in the poker case which alleges mobsters and fraudsters fixed games with the use of sophisticated technology for cheating.
The NBA scandal could expand to include at least one NFL player as well, as per a new report. A person who was a patsy in the poker scheme which involved NBA players and mobsters, told The New York Post that the fraudsters had used an ex-NFL player as their front man.
The man, claiming to be a victim of the Texas jeweler linked to the NBA cheating scheme, said he'd lost $1 million in one night. “During the game, we were around a bunch of bad guys, and they were trying to suck every bit away from us. And they did. They did a good job, and I’m still shell-shocked to this day from that night,” he told the Post on condition of anonymity.
What did the man say about the poker game
The man said he had been invited to a private, high-stakes game. “We would never have been there if not for the professional athlete,” he told the Post. While refusing to name the athlete, the man said it was a NFL player.
Thus far, the poker scheme had revolved around NBA players and a coach. Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones were named in the case. Prosecutors alleged that they were part of a scheme where fraudsters and mobsters allegedly fixed big-money games with the use of sophisticated technology like rigged X-ray card tables, crooked card shufflers. They also reportedly used items like special glasses or contact lenses to spy marked cards, in order to cheat in the games.
Also Read | NBA gambling, rigged poker scandals: Full list of people arrested - Damon Jones to Eric Earnest
Fixers called the victims ‘fish’ and the high-profile athletes luring them to the tables were called ‘face cards’. The man detailed how the ex-NFL star was used to lure them to a situation, which had otherwise seemed sketchy. Reportedly, they were midway through the game when they realized they were being scammed. While the athlete was initially supposed to join a game at a public location, the place was changed suddenly to his high-rise apartment, as per the man.
The alleged victim detailed other red flags, like the buy-in being hiked to $20,000 from $10,000 without prior intimation, and not exchanging cash to get in the game, rather playing on credit basis which would be payable afterwards. He claimed that the winning hands went to the ‘four guys who were in on the scam’. One of the man's friends reportedly caught on, and called them out before leaving the apartment. However, mobsters reportedly followed up with demands that they pay their dues.
“They wouldn’t let up in trying to get their money. It got scarier and scarier. Serious threats were made. Ultimately, we just agreed to pay them,” the man told Post, in a series of events which sound like how the poker scheme involving NBA players unfolded.
Is the NFL star part of same poker scheme as NBA players?
The person who was out of a million dollars couldn't say for sure if he was targeted by the same poker scheme as the one which the NBA players were a part of. However, he did say one person was common in both – Curtis Meeks of Texas.
In the NBA case, Meeks was named as the person who supplied cheating machines to scammers. The arrests in the poker scheme included those with ties to the Mafia. Among them are Thomas “Tommy Juice” Gelardo, who allegedly collected gambling debts using threats and intimidation, and Nicholas “Fat Nick” Minucci of the Gambino crime family.
