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Read Full BioFormer NFL star Antonio Gates has denied hosting rigged poker games after reports surfaced that he was involved in the NBA mafia scandal.
ESPN host Pablo Torre reported that Gates hosted a game in Miami, but Gates’ business manager, Denise White, denies the allegations.
White stated, “Antonio Gates has not been involved nor has he been accused of any wrongdoing; assertions to the contrary are false and without merit. There will be no further comments on this matter.”
In a post on X on Sunday, Torre stated that “sources with direct knowledge” had informed him that Gates hosted one of the rigged poker games. Gates has not been named in any indictments.
Torre alleges that the game was organized by Curtis Meeks, who has been named in the indictment that also led to the arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones. In addition to the NBA stars, several members of Mafia crime families have also been indicted.
Torre also alleges that Tyronn Lue and Kevin Garnett attended games, but did not play. In Garnett’s case, he reportedly believed he was attending an afterparty and left early after learning it was a high-stakes poker game.
Anonymous Fish Lost $1M in Game Hosted By Pro Athlete
Meeks is accused of organizing some of the poker games and providing the cheating technology, including a rigged card shuffler, an X-ray poker table, and special contact lenses. He also played in some of the games himself.
The allegations that Gates is somehow connected to the scandal surfaced after an individual claimed he lost $1 million in a game hosted by a professional athlete. He did not name the player or the sport.
In a New York Post article, the “anonymous fish” also did not say that he participated in a game that has been mentioned in the indictments. He did, however, call out Meeks as “the most despicable human I’ve ever been around in my entire life.”
He added, “The level he will go to get other people’s money is just disgusting. I’ve since found out that what he’s done to us, he’s done to many other people. This was not a freak occurrence.”
Pro Athletes Encouraged High-Stakes Players to Attend
Despite Meeks seemingly inviting him to the game, he attended “with a really solid group of people.” But, he claims that, “We would never have been there if not for the professional athlete.”
Notably, he uses the word “athlete,” and there is no direct quote in the article mentioning an NFL player. Instead, the article says he indicated that the athlete was a former pro football player.
The reliability of his claims is therefore highly questionable. Whether basing his accusations on this story, Torre then named Gates.
The use of former professional athletes as “face cards” attracted high-stakes players to the games. In text messages revealed by the U.S. District Court – Eastern District of New York (EDNY), two of those indicted say that players were “star-struck.”
The messages were exchanged between Sophie Wei, who was recruited to play in the games, and Robert Stroud. Stroud allegedly recruited Chauncey Billups and other pro athletes to play in the games, which led to increased losses for the “fish.”
It is still unclear whether Billups and other athletes were aware that the games were rigged. The Portland Trail Blazers head coach was reportedly paid $50,000 to participate in one game. His salary as a coach was $4.7 million a year.
A UCLA psychologist claims that monetary incentives do not always motivate athletes to engage in illicit gambling. Rather than asking, “Well, why would anyone do this?” Dr. Timothy Wong says, “Well, why wouldn’t someone do it? Because they’re surrounded by availability, access, culture, and things that get them excited.”
Whether that applies to Gates or not remains to be seen. As his business manager notes, he has not been charged or noted as a person of interest in any criminal investigations.
