Fri Oct 24 02:50:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the text:

Mafia-Linked Poker Ring Used High-Tech Cheating to Fleece Celebrities and Athletes Out of Millions

NEW YORK – A sprawling FBI investigation has uncovered a sophisticated poker scheme allegedly run by the mafia, cheating celebrities, professional athletes, and wealthy gamblers out of at least $7 million. The scheme, described by prosecutors as resembling a Hollywood heist movie, involved X-ray card tables, secret cameras hidden in light fixtures, analysers in chip trays, rigged shuffling machines, and marked cards detectable through special sunglasses and contact lenses.

According to prosecutors, members of notorious La Cosa Nostra crime families, including Bonnano, Gambino, Luchesse, and Genovese, operated the underground poker games starting as early as 2019. A portion of the ill-gotten gains allegedly funded the mafia’s criminal enterprises.

Former NBA players such as Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones were allegedly enlisted as “face cards” to lure unsuspecting victims into the high-stakes games. The victims, referred to as “fish,” were drawn in by the opportunity to play with high-profile celebrities, unaware that everyone around them was in on the elaborate scam.

The technology allowed conspirators to read opponents’ cards and communicate secretly, effectively rigging the games and making it impossible for victims to win. Prosecutors say the defendants laundered the stolen funds through cryptocurrency, cash exchanges, and shell companies.

More than 30 arrests have been made in connection with the scheme, including members of the mafia and former professional athletes. Billups has been placed on leave by the NBA, and the Portland Trail Blazers said they are cooperating with the investigation. Jones faces multiple charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

The arrests were announced alongside those in a separate alleged basketball betting plot, where NBA players are accused of faking injuries to influence betting odds.

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