Former NBA Star Gilbert Arenas Pleads Not Guilty To Allegedly Running High-Stakes Poker Game

Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas and five others were arrested Wednesday for allegedly running an illegal high-stakes poker game in Southern California, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Central California.

Arenas was arraigned Wednesday afternoon, pled not guilty, and was released on $50,000 bond. His trial is set for Sept. 23.

The arrest caps a month of current or former professional athletes suspected of being involved in illegal gambling activity. Arenas is the fourth current or former NBA player to be investigated by federal authorities for illegal gambling. Former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter July 10, 2024 pled guilty to a federal wire-fraud charge and is awaiting sentencing. Porter left two games early so that co-conspirators could win on “under” bets. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suspended Porter from the league for life in April 2024.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is currently investigating Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and free agent Malik Beasley for potential fixing offenses.

Arenas is being charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business, and making false statements to federal investigators for allegedly hosting and operating the card games at his Encino, California home.

Arenas and five others were scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon. The indictment was filed July 15 and unsealed Wednesday.

Israeli suspected organized crime player Yevgeni Gershman was also arrested, as were Evgenni Tourevski, Allan Austria, Yarin Cohen, and Ievgen Krachun.

Fine food, women also on hand

According to the U.S. Attorney’s press release, Arenas hired Arthur Kats to stage Arenas’ mansion, found hosts for the games, and collected rent from the hosts. The games ran from September 2021-July 2022.

Pot-limit Omaha was among the card games offered to players while young women hired by Kats served drinks and offered massages and companionship for a fee, according to the press release. The young women then paid Arenas’ group a percentage of their income. In addition, chefs, valets, and security guards staffed the games on which Arenas’ group charged a rake.

Initially drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2001, Arenas went to Los Angeles’ Grant High School and played college basketball at Arizona, where he was a First-Team All-PAC-10 player in 2001. Arenas played most of his NBA career with the Washington Wizards. He was three-time NBA All-Star before he retired in 2013.

The arrest is not Arenas’ first brush with the law — in 2009, he revealed that he had stored firearms in his Wizards locker at the Verizon Center, and in 2010, he and then teammate Javaris Crittenton reportedly pulled guns on each other in the team lockerroom over a gambling dispute. Arenas was suspended from the NBA during an investigation. He was ultimately charged with carrying a gun without a license.