The uproar around the arrests of Portland’s head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami shooting guard Terry Rozier has begun to subside — and the mechanics and scale of the alleged scheme have come to the fore. On , the FBI reported the arrest of 34 people as part of a federal investigation into an illegal bookmaking network linked to organized crime. Attention has now shifted to the details, and the biggest questions concern Billups’s role: how, according to investigators, the former NBA star ended up at the center of high-tech underground poker games in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami.
VIP Showcase: Why Organizers Needed Sports Stars
According to case materials, mafia structures used former NBA players — including Billups — as a “trust anchor” for wealthy clientele. The presence of recognizable figures created the aura of a closed elite club and lowered guests’ guard: it felt less like crime and more like a private amusement for insiders. As a result, potential victims relaxed and were more willing to sit down at higher limits.
Scripted Play: From a “Bait” Win to an Unstoppable Chase
Investigators say many evenings followed a prewritten script. First, the guest would be allowed to scoop a few pots — reinforcing the sense that “luck is on my side” and whetting the appetite. Then the tide turned sharply: opponents seemed to read the board perfectly, nudging the mark into outsized decisions and gradually emptying the guest’s stack.
Technology of Deception: When the Table Sees More Than the Player
The key edge was not only the cheaters’ craft but also their hardware. In play were:
- modified shuffling machines that set the “right” order of the deck;
- tables fitted with X-ray sensors that could scan face-down cards;
- decks with micro-markings visible only through special filters;
- contact lenses and glasses with filters to read hidden marks;
- hidden mini-cameras and Bluetooth links feeding data to a “dispatcher” outside the room.
That “dispatcher,” receiving a real-time view of the table, coordinated the collusion — turning each hand into a managed combination.
Signal Code: The 'Quarterback' Orchestrates the Action
The pivotal figure at the table, investigators say, was the so-called “quarterback” — a member of the crew who received prompts and silently issued commands through subtle gestures. A touch to the wrist signaled he held the best hand; a light tap on a $1,000 chip meant a partner had the advantage; a touch to the black chips ordered a fold if the victim unexpectedly pulled ahead. This simple “Morse code” let the group act in sync without saying a word.
Mafia Trail: The Middleman Who Opened the Door
How did Billups enter this story? Investigators point to a little-known go-between — 67-year-old Robert L. Stroud of Kentucky. According to law enforcement, they met at friendly poker nights where Stroud earned trust and then pitched a “high-yield” scheme, assuring everything was under control. It later emerged he had a murder conviction and ties to the Italian-American “Cosa Nostra.” His role was recruiting former professional athletes and easing them into closed games.
Money on the Shadow Route: From the Backroom to Crypto and Shell Companies
Organizers, the FBI says, financed the underground games, enforced debts through threats and intimidation, and laundered profits through an ecosystem of workarounds: cryptocurrency transactions, shell companies, and cash exchanges. In this way, underground poker became a steady cash stream fueling criminal structures. The total damage attributed to the scheme, by the investigation’s estimate, exceeded $7 million.
Scale and Timeline: How Long Could This Have Run
Investigators are confident the mechanism operated at least since 2019, and the thread may run further back. Their core conclusion: criminal networks deliberately cultivated contacts in the basketball world, leveraging status to legitimize underground games and funnel new “clients.”
Endgame Ahead: What to Expect from Court and Coverage
The Billups hearing is set for . It is highly likely this episode is only one chapter of a larger process: the prosecution has a trove of intercepts, technical material, and testimony, while the defense has its own narrative and arguments of noninvolvement. In the coming weeks, the priority is to separate legal facts from rumor: the state must prove every link in the chain, and the defendants will have the chance to answer. The story is only gaining momentum, and the basketball world will be living in a news squall until the court puts a dot over the i’s.
