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This NBA Gambling Probe is Going to Make for a Great Movie Someday
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From Robert Linnehan at our sister site, Sports Betting Dime:
FBI Director Kash Patel and Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. this morning provided details on two overarching sports betting and poker indictments that involve several current and former NBA players and coaches.
This morning, news broke that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier had been arrested through a federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for potentially manipulating a 2023 game performance as part of an illegal sports betting ring. Shortly after, news also broke that current NBA coach and hall of fame member Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones had also been arrested for their roles in an illegal poker scheme involving New York families of the mafia.
Whoah nelly! I guess now is not the time for a sidebar article, “Setting the Odds on the Next NBA Player or Coach to be Arrested in Federal Gambling Probe.”
Patel said the investigation was a multi-year thing that led to 34 arrests across 11 different states, amounting to tens of millions of dollars won through illicit means.
Bob says the Rozier investigation was centered around a March game two years ago “when Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier played less than 10 minutes in the game after leaving with what was described as a foot injury. Rozier averaged more than 35 minutes a game that season.”
A short time after this all broke, the NBA put out a statement:
There hasn’t been anything involving the Sixers in this. No Sixers players or coaches mentioned, nor did the Sixers play in any of the games that were mentioned as part of the alleged over/under rigging.
Funny enough, the Italian mafia was also mentioned in the press conference. La Cosa Nostra. So this isn’t some small beans thing that was taking place, ALLEGEDLY. We’re talking Italian mob and New York mob and all of that stuff, summed up very nicely in a tweet thread from Joe Pompliano.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I wonder if they had to send any of these alleged poker players to the bathroom. Why? Because they’re a fuckin’ jinx, that’s why! Leave him in there!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com