NBA coach accused of cheating? Unveiling Billups’ gambling scandal: High-tech cheating like a movie plot

On October 26th Beijing time, ESPN disclosed further details about Billups’ gambling scandal, revealing that this NBA coach is allegedly involved in a cheating ring. The advanced technology used to scam money resembled a movie production. The following is the ESPN coverage —

A basketball Hall of Famer, X-ray poker tables, and the mafia. These are said to be key elements of a multi-year illegal poker cheating scheme that led to 31 federal indictments this week. This poker cheating case is one of two recently exposed cases involving notable NBA figures.

Investigators stated that the cheating scheme at poker tables began in April 2019, when defendant Stroud and accomplices started devising a scam using technology to manipulate illegal poker games, mostly Texas Hold’em, deceiving wealthy players unaware of the fraud, referred to as “fish” or “whales.” These players knew they were playing high-stakes illegal games but believed they were fair contests against other wealthy opponents. In reality, in many cases, everyone at the table except them was involved in the scam. These fish players were also attracted by famous former pro athletes, called “face players,” with the biggest names exposed so far being Hall of Famer Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones.

How exactly did this operation work?

The scheme started with technology, primarily using shuffling machines that read the order of cards dealt and transmitted the information to operators outside the game. Sometimes X-ray tables were used, or hidden cameras installed in chip trays to help read cards. Players occasionally wore special invisible contact lenses or glasses to see marked cards.

Once the operators knew the cards on the table, they would relay the information to the “quarterback” at the table, who would secretly signal other members of the cheating team on what to do.

In a court document citing a September 2024 Miami game, defendant Mazola acted as the “quarterback.” If Mazola had the best hand, he would tap his arm or wrist. If another insider had the best hand, Mazola would touch his $1,000 chip, and so on. If a fish player had the best hand, Mazola would touch his black chip, signaling other insiders to fold.

To maintain the scam and keep unaware players at the table, accomplices communicated strategies via text messages in real time. They occasionally let victims win. In that same Miami game, defendant Renzulli messaged the accomplice group chat to let a player, called “No Name Four” in the case, win a hand so he would keep playing.

The games involving Billups and Jones followed the same operational logic, but due to their celebrity status, there were subtle differences. In an April 2019 game, defendant Sophia messaged the group saying Billups and defendant Earnest won two unlikely hands against the same player. Stroud replied that the player “acted like he wanted to lose money to Billups” because he was a “fan,” but Sophia insisted on adding another cheating team member to the game so Billups and Earnest could deliberately lose to him to ease the player’s suspicion.

Previously, reporter Shams reported that the investigation into Billups is expected to take 6 to 12 months, with most journalists believing Billups’ career is over and he faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years.