Professional gambler Matthew Berkey called out rigged Chauncey Billups poker game 2 years before coach's arrest Chris Cwik October 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM 41 Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in connection with an alleged illegal poker game tied to th...
- - Professional gambler Matthew Berkey called out rigged Chauncey Billups poker game 2 years before coach's arrest
Chris Cwik October 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in connection with an alleged illegal poker game tied to the Mafia. That news may have come as a shock to many, but it didn't surprise professional gambler Matthew Berkey, who said Billups' poker game was "not on the up and up" on a podcast in 2023.
Berkey's comments — which have now resurfaced following Billups' arrest — came during a May 2023 episode of the "Only Friends" podcast. After Berkey described the game — which he said may have started in 2019 in Los Angeles — he noted that this particular game was "all built around Chauncey Billups."
Berkey said the person who told him about the game claimed it was "100 percent on the up and up," but Berkey — who knew some of the people involved in the game — was skeptical. He ultimately decided to not take part in the game, likely saving himself a lot of money based on Thursday's indictments.
Berkey, however, did speak to some friends who played in the game multiple times. After hearing their stories, Berkey said the game was "for sure confirmed to be cheated." As Berkey explained, people who did not understand how to play Texas Hold 'Em would go in with suboptimal hands and then get the exact cards they needed. "Only the pros were losing," Berkey said before adding, "They got absolutely filleted."
The clip below contains some NSFW language.
In a 2023 podcast episode, poker player Matt Berkey told a story about how he heard people playing poker with Chauncey Billups and knew he was scamming and stealing money from an illegal gambling ring pic.twitter.com/kGsbYZOH5B
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 23, 2025
Berkey said, despite losing, some pros wanted to return to the game because the opposing players were so bad at poker. He called out why that was a foolish idea.
"Yeah, they know what's f***ing coming, man," Berkey said. "You don't have to be good if you can know the deck start to finish. Of course they look bad. They are putting it in with no equity knowing that they are going to win the f***ing hand. Pretty tough, you know?"
Berkey and co-host Conrad Simpson also discussed why it's so hard for poker players to call it out when they believe they are being cheated. Berkey said it's always tough to call out someone high-profile like Billups because those people "carry a lot of weight and hold a lot of power." Simpson added that those engaging in cheating are often prepared to deal with those accusations when they come.
Later in the conversation, Berkey said poker players really need to consider whether they want to "go down this rabbit hole," if they feel they are being cheated during a game. It's a big accusation to make, and poker players need to be fully prepared to deal with the consequences of it.
Billups was far from the only person arrested in connection with illegal gambling probes Thursday. He was one of over 30 individuals arrested by the FBI. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were the other two men arrested with NBA ties.
Berkey did not mention Jones or Rozier in the May 2023 podcast.
Source: "AOL Sports"
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