Blazers’ head coach Chauncey Billups arrested in illegal gambling probe

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

NBA Hall of Famer and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested on Oct. 23, 2025, after the FBI announced his ties to rigged poker games run by La Cosa Nostra, an Italian mafia family.

According to the FBI, Billups was charged with participating in fixing high-stakes card games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan, and the Hamptons.

The scheme would lure thousands of people to play with a well-known former NBA player in Billups, only to be swindled using technology involving the facility’s shuffling machines and X-rays.

In the in-depth investigative report, the FBI discovered that X-rays that could read cards face down were used, including contact lenses that could reveal several marked cards.

“The fraud is mind-boggling,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.

“We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.”

The rigged poker system used by La Cosa Nostra reportedly cheated at least USD 7 million out of unaware gamblers.

After the gambling victims lost a huge amount of money to the Italian mafia, La Cosa Nostra would then extort them and use violence to make sure their debts were paid.

As a result, Billups has been placed on indefinite leave by Portland, leaving Tiago Splitter, their assistant coach, as the current acting interim head coach.

“We are aware of the allegations involving head coach Chauncey Billups, and the Trail Blazers are fully cooperating with the investigation,” wrote Portland in their statement.

The former NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons is fresh off signing a multiyear contract extension with the Trail Blazers and is entering his fifth season as Portland’s head coach.

Huge expectations were immediately put on Billups’ shoulders after former franchise player Damian Lillard made a surprising announcement during the off-season that he would be coming home to Portland and try to lead the team to an NBA championship.