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Details have emerged about the technology used to rig poker games in the illegal betting scheme that allegedly included NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and retired NBA player Damon Jones.
Documents released by the FBI allege that the conspirators used a card shuffling machine that used hidden technology to read the cards in the deck, predict which player at the table had the best hand, and transmit that information over interstate cables to an outside operator.
According to the documents, that operator allegedly communicated that information to a lead conspirator at the poker table, who used signals to transmit the information to other conspirators at the table.
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The FBI documents also allege that cheating players used other technology, including electronic chip trays that could secretly read cards placed on the table, card analyzers that could also detect which cards were on the table, and invisible marks placed on cards that could only be seen with the aid of specially designed contact lenses or glasses.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. called it “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States,” and detailed the type of technology that was used at a news conference Thursday.
“They used commercially available shuffling machines that had been secretly altered to read the cards in the deck, predict which player at the table had the best poker hand, and transmit that information to an outside operator,” Nocella said.
NBA LEGEND CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, HEAT’S TERRY ROZIER ARRESTED AS PART OF FBI GAMBLING INVESTIGATION
A green poker table with poker cards is seen during the 2021 World Series of Poker at the RIO All-Suite Hotel & Casino on October 6, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Diego Ribas/PxImages)
“The defendants used other cheating technologies, such as poker chip tray analyzers, which are a poker chip tray that secretly reads cards using a hidden camera, special contact lenses or glasses that can read pre-marked cards, and an x-ray table that can read cards face down on the table.”
Billups and Jones were allegedly used as celebrity figures to attract competitors to supposedly rigged poker games.
The Justice Department said that in April 2019, Billups was one of five defendants who “arranged and participated in rigged poker games” in Las Vegas “using a rigged shuffling machine” and the victims lost at least $50,000. One of the defendants sent a text message to another accomplice telling him that Billups should lose a hand on purpose to avoid suspicions of cheating.
During that game, a defendant said one of the victims had “acted like he wanted Chauncey to have his money” because Billups “star-struck” him, according to officials.
In October 2020, Billups allegedly received a $50,000 transfer following a rigged poker game. Before a game, Jones allegedly asked for a $10,000 retainer and said he “needed” action badly. They gave him $2,500.
Poker cards and former NBA player Chauncey Billups (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Billups’ career earnings exceeded $100 million as a player, while Jones earned at least $20 million.
More than 30 people were arrested Thursday for their alleged role in both schemes.
