Pro poker player alleges Chauncey Billups poker games were 100% rigged by 2019

The ex-NBA star and Portland Trail Blazers coach was arrested by the FBI for rigged poker games. Professional poker player Matt Berkey said pros already knew.

Oct 8, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups reacts during a time-out in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. | John Hefti-Imagn Images

October 23, 2025 might be a day that changes the NBA and sports gambling forever.

In news that shocked the world, the FBI has arrested ex-NBA star and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and and former player and assistant coach Damon Jones.

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Sep 29, 2025; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups during media day at the Moda Center. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Billups, 49, is still not charged with the splashier headline of rigging games, at least not yet, but was indicted for allegedly fixing poker games with Jones and New York mafia families.

Professional poker player Matt Berkey says it was known amongst professionals to avoid Billups' high-stakes games as far back as 2019.

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Apr 13, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups (right) listens to Trail Blazersí general manager Joe Cronin answer a question during a press conference before Portland plays their last season game against Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center. | Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

Appearing on his "Solve For Why" podcast, Berkey asserts that a game that started in Los Angeles came to Las Vegas, "and it was all built around Chauncey Billups."

After Berkey was told about the game being 100% legitimate, the 43-year-old Pennsylvania native, who has millions in career earnings as a professional poker player, countered, "And I was like, well, I know a lot of the people that are involved and I'm telling you 100% that it is not."

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Mar 10, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups watches the game against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Chase Center. | John Hefti-Imagn Images

Berkey then claims that while he never participated, his friends said it was "for sure, confirmed to be cheating."

Berkey goes on to say that there was really no recourse at the time, other than to let professionals know to avoid these games, and then lamented, "It's tough too, whenever you're dealing with with somebody, like, high profile like that because they carry a lot of weight and hold a lot of power, so all you can do is... unite together and threaten to publicly out him, or extort him in some sort of capacity. In which case, good luck."

If you watch the clip, Berkey is somewhat laughing at the final statement, but his allegations against Billups claim that these games were already happening by 2019, and of course the arrests didn't happen until 2025.

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