An indictment unsealed in federal court Wednesday accuses former NBA All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and seven others of operating an illegal gambling enterprise, running underground poker games at Arenas’ home in Encino, among other locations.
Arenas, whose name appears on a custom-made poker table shown in a photograph in court papers, was arrested, according to jail and court records.
The indictment accuses Arenas and the others of conspiring to operate an illegal gambling business based on evidence gathered during a 2022 law enforcement raid on Arenas’ home in Encino, when Los Angeles Police Department detectives and federal agents said approximately 26 players and 12 workers were discovered.
The indictment said Arenas rented out his Encino mansion, allowing other defendants to host “high-stakes” illegal poker games while collecting rent.
After making his initial court appearance Wednesday, Arenas pleaded not guilty to all charges, including operating an illegal gambling business.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian ordered Arenas released on $50,000 bond.
After a status hearing on Sep. 15, his trial is scheduled to begin on Sep. 23.
A suspected Israeli mobster named Yevgeni Gershman used Arena’s Encino home to host illegal poker games, including “Pot Limit Omaha,” invited guests to play and collect a fee for each pot.
Gershman is also accused of hiring young women who served drinks, provided massages, and offered companionship to the poker players. The women, who were paid in tips, were also required to pay a“tax” – a percentage of their earnings from working the games.
The illegal gambling house was staffed with chefs, valets and armed security guards, authorities said.
If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.
Arenas, 43, attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen area of Los Angeles. He played college basketball at the University of Arizona before an NBA career that started in 2001 with the Golden State Warriors and included seasons with the Wizards, Magic and Grizzlies before his retirement in 2012.
The former NBA had a brush with the law in 2009 when he brought guns into the Washington Wizards’ locker room after he got into a heated argument with a teammate over a card game. No one was injured, but Arenas ended up serving 30 days in a halfway house, two years of probation as well as 400 hours of community service.