• Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas has been charged with federal offences for his alleged role in a high-stakes illegal poker ring operated from a mansion he owned in Los Angeles.
• Arenas and five co-defendants are accused of running a professional operation that took a ‘rake’ from games, a practice that makes poker games illegal under California law.
• The indictment alleges the ring employed armed security, chefs, and women who were hired to provide companionship to players.
• One of the co-defendants is an Israeli citizen suspected of being part of an international organised crime group, who also faces separate marriage fraud charges.
• Arenas has pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on bond, but faces up to five years in federal prison for each count if convicted.

Gilbert Arenas, a three-time NBA All-Star known for his flamboyant personality, has been arrested and charged with multiple federal crimes in connection with a sophisticated illegal poker operation. According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Arenas was arrested on Wednesday and faces one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

Five other individuals were also charged in the indictment. Arenas appeared in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a $50,000 bond.

A ‘Professional’ Illegal Operation

Federal prosecutors allege that this was far from a casual home game. The indictment claims that from September 2021 to July 2022, Arenas and his co-conspirators ran professional, high-stakes poker games, including Pot Limit Omaha, from a mansion Arenas owned in Encino, California.

Crucially, the organisers are accused of charging players a “rake”-a percentage or flat fee taken from the pot by the house. Under California law, taking a house cut from a poker game makes the operation an illegal gambling business. The indictment further alleges that the group hired armed security guards, valets, and chefs to service the games. Women were also reportedly hired to serve drinks and provide “companionship” to players, and were then allegedly required to pay a ‘tax’ on their tips back to the organisers.

Links to Organised Crime Alleged

The case takes on a more serious dimension with the involvement of one of the co-defendants, Yevgeni Gershman. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Gershman, an Israeli citizen, is suspected of being part of an organised crime group. In addition to the gambling charges, Gershman also faces separate federal charges for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and making false statements on an immigration document.

Arenas’s Defiant Response and History

Despite the gravity of the federal charges, Arenas has projected a nonchalant attitude publicly. Shortly after his court appearance, he posted a video to his social media showing him dancing, with a caption stating, “they can’t hold me,” and claiming he had merely rented the house out to the other parties.

This is not Arenas’s first high-profile controversy involving gambling. In 2009, during his time with the Washington Wizards, he was suspended for most of the NBA season after a notorious incident where he and a teammate brought firearms into the team’s locker room following a dispute over a card game. He later pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge. If convicted on the current charges, Arenas faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.