Question of the Day - 01 December 2025

According to federal indictments, over a period of five years or so (2019 through at least 2024), the mob-run poker game fleeced players by using sophisticated high-tech cheating devices. This gave the rotating crew of mob-affiliated players, dealers, and spotters knowledge of opponents' cards -- without detection, indicated by how long the games lasted. 

First and foremost, the automatic shufflers were gaffed with hidden sensors that scanned and reordered cards, ensuring that the team received the favorable hands. In some cases, sleight-of-hand dealers manually false shuffled to ensure the fix and put players' minds at ease over the machines. The team also received information, transmitted wirelessly, on the cards dealt to the fish.

The backs of the cards were marked with luminescent ink that could be detected by custom contact lenses or tinted glasses worn by team members, who could discern suits and ranks from their positions on the table. In addition, hidden RFID scanners were embedded in chip trays and, in some cases, even players' cell phones; the tables were custom-built with X-ray machines tables to read face-down cards. All this data was also relayed to an off-site supervisor who monitored every hand via the secure feed. Finally, the signaling system— subtle gestures, vibrations on a hidden earpiece, or pre-arranged table taps — relayed the information to the team members at the table.  

All in all, it seems to us that the team had a perfect read on the game and was able to cheat its victims out of a reported $7 million.

Of course, markers were collected by mob enforcers who employed threats that escalated in conjunction with refusals to pay. We've read that these included beatings, kidnappings, and targeting of family members. In addition, the brutality ensured silence and the scheme wasn't uncovered until the FBI was finally tipped off; the feds ran a sting using wiretaps and undercover agents planted at the game.

For his part, Billups has denied knowledge of any of the cheating and beating; he has fully cooperated with investigators. So far, his role appears limited to promoting the games, but we'll probably find out more about that as the case makes its way through the courts, expected to begin sometime next year.

Our take on it was expressed by Anthony Curtis in his Couponomy column in the November LVA. 

"Last month’s FBI bust of a gambling ring involving NBA personnel was a front-page bombshell, but not all that surprising to those in the gambling business. It was the age-old cheating story, which allegedly took place in private poker games and in the manipulation of NBA proposition bets. The interesting element on the poker side is that gaffed shuffling machines were used. But again, nothing revelationary was involved. As for the prop-fixing, the biggest question is if and how the high-profile case will affect oversight, possibly causing some books to limit props or open the door for some level of federal regulation. Even with the scope and breadth of the scandal — more than 30 arrests, the NBA connection, and the involvement of four New York crime families — the likelihood of a comprehensive overhaul is remote."