In a stunning development now shaking the league, the NBA Gambling Scheme known as “Operation Royal Flush” has placed Chauncey Billups—Hall of Famer and Portland Trail Blazers head coach—at the center of a sprawling federal investigation. Prosecutors allege Billups conspired with organized-crime associates to rig underground poker games and participate in illicit betting activities tied to Mafia-linked gambling networks.

Billups, who appeared Monday at the Theodore Roosevelt United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, pleaded not guilty.

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Billups Pleads Not Guilty in High-Profile Federal Case

According to prosecutors, Billups was allegedly the “face card” of a criminal enterprise that used professional athletes' star power to lure victims into illegal high-stakes poker games—games secretly rigged using X-ray card tables, altered shuffling machines, and other sophisticated cheating technology.

Billups’ attorney, Marc Mukasey, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Ramon Reye, stating his client “denies all wrongdoing.” Billups, dressed in a gray suit and light blue shirt, arrived nearly an hour early with his legal team.

The case includes 31 defendants, all arraigned during a joint status hearing. Federal authorities expect to turn over one terabyte of discovery data as the case proceeds. Prosecutors say the alleged conspiracy defrauded victims of at least $7 million since 2019.

“Operation Royal Flush”: A Mafia-Linked Scheme

Federal investigators say “Operation Royal Flush” involved members of New York’s La Cosa Nostra crime families who allegedly used “violence and extortion to collect debts” from victims ensnared in the poker scheme.

The indictment also links the probe to a broader federal investigation into illegal sports betting—one that has already rocked the NBA.

Former Cavaliers guard Damon Jones, Miami Heat star Terry Rozier, and other pro athletes are charged in related cases alleging insider betting on NBA games between 2022 and 2024. All have pleaded not guilty.

“This is a crisis for the league,” one federal official reportedly said, describing the scandal as “the largest sports-gambling investigation involving active NBA personnel in decades.”

Wider Fallout Across Professional Sports

The investigation extends beyond basketball. Earlier this month, Brooklyn prosecutors charged MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz with betting on their own pitches. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The NBA, facing pressure to restore public trust, has asked multiple teams—including the Los Angeles Lakers—for cellphone records and internal communications related to the gambling probe.

For More Information

Chauncey Billups arraignment: NBA coach pleads not guilty

NBA gambling scandal timeline: Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, Mafia

NBA asks Lakers, other teams for cellphones, records in gambling probe

What Comes Next

A federal case-status update for all defendants is scheduled for March 4, where prosecutors are expected to outline next steps in what one investigator called “a multi-layered criminal network infiltrating professional sports.”

Billups, currently in his fifth season coaching Portland, remains suspended from team duties as the case moves forward.