NBA head coach and player charged in sprawling sports betting and Mafia-backed poker schemes

NEW YORK (AP) — The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a player for the Miami Heat have been arrested along with more than 30 other people in a takedown of two sprawling gambling operations that authorities said leaked inside information about NBA athletes and rigged poker games backed by Mafia families. Portland coach Chauncey Billups was charged Thursday with participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million. Heat guard Terry Rozier was accused in a separate scheme of exploiting private information about players to win bets on NBA games.

How cheaters rigged high-stak

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