Rigged poker games melded high-tech trickery with NBA star power, prosecutors say


Oct 16, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups gives instructions to his team during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

(Reuters) -The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, has been charged with helping to cheat high-stakes poker players out of millions of dollars through rigged card games allegedly operated by underworld crime figures.

A 22-page indictment, one of two unsealed on Thursday in separate but related federal gambling investigations, outlines alleged schemes to defraud high rollers lured to the games with the promise of playing with NBA celebrities only to be swindled through sophisticated cheating technologies.

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