Hall of Fame football star allegedly hosted and played in rigged poker game
In this DML Report…
Former NFL tight end Antonio Gates allegedly hosted and participated in a rigged poker game in Miami organized by Curtis Meeks, according to a report by sports investigative journalist Pablo Torre posted on X. Meeks is among more than 30 individuals indicted in a federal gambling scandal unsealed last week by prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, involving illegal sports betting and rigged high-stakes poker games backed by New York City organized crime families, including the Lucchese, Genovese, Gambino, and Bonanno. The FBI arrested 31 people in connection with the poker ring, which used advanced technologies like rigged card shufflers, X-ray tables, and marked cards visible only through special lenses to defraud victims of at least $7 million since 2019. In one instance during the summer of 2023, a single victim reportedly lost $1.8 million.
The schemes allegedly employed professional athletes as "face cards" to attract high-rollers, or "fish," into what appeared to be fair games but were manipulated by coordinated cheating teams. NBA figures named in the indictment include Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player Damon "Dee Jones" Jones, with Billups accused of luring victims and Jones implicated in both the poker and betting operations. A purported victim, speaking anonymously to The Post, claimed he and his friends lost nearly $1 million in a game involving Meeks and an unnamed ex-NFL player as the "face card," stating they would not have participated without the athlete's presence. The victim described being "shellshocked" and "shaken down" but could not confirm if the game was part of the federal probe.
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Gates, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August after a 16-season career with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers where he amassed 11,841 receiving yards and 116 touchdowns, has not publicly commented on the allegations. It remains unclear if his involvement is directly tied to the federal case. Other indicted individuals include reputed mobsters Ernest Aiello (Bonanno family) and Thomas “Tommy Juice” Gelardo (Lucchese family), professional poker players Saul Becher and Lee Fama, and others such as Nelson “Spanish G” Alvarez, Louis “Lou Ap” Apicella, Ammar “Flapper Poker” Awawdeh, Matthew “The Wrestler” Daddino, Eric “Spooky” Earnest, John Gallo, Marco Garzon, Jamie Gilet, Tony “Black Tony” Goodson, Kenny Han, Shane “Sugar” Henne, Osman “Albanian Bruce” Hoti, Horatio Hu, Zhen “Scruli” Hu, Joseph Lanni, John “John South” Mazzola, Curtis Meeks, Nicholas Minucci, Michael Renzulli, Anthony Ruggiero Jr., Anthony “Doc” Shnayderman, Robert “Black Rob” Stroud, Seth Trustman, Sophia “Pookie” Wei, and Julius Ziliani.