"Ammar Awawdeh, 34, played a key role in the sprawling plot to run the sprawling rigged poker scheme, the feds allege, operating one of the crooked games out of 80 Washington Place, a Greenwich Village townhouse where rapper Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner reportedly once lived that sold for $17 million in 2024. The conspiracy used Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones to draw in big-money players to underground poker games."
"They then used a sophisticated system of spying tech, including an altered automatic card shuffler, hidden cameras and an x-ray table, to make sure their victims lost, the feds allege. Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups exits the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse after his arraignment on October 23, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP, was charged for his alleged participation in a scheme that involved rigging illegal poker games."
"The Washington Place game merged with another poker game run by the Bonannos at 147 Lexington Ave. in 2023 when they started using the cheating technology, the feds allege. The two families split the proceeds. But in fall 2023, Awawdeh decided to restart the 80 Washington Place poker game on the same night as the rigged game on Lexington Ave., the feds allege."
Federal prosecutors allege that Ammar Awawdeh operated a rigged underground poker game out of a West Village townhouse at 80 Washington Place. The scheme used Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones to attract high-stakes players. Cheating devices included an altered automatic card shuffler, hidden cameras and an X-ray table to ensure targeted players lost. The Washington Place game merged with a Bonanno-run game at 147 Lexington Ave. in 2023 and the families split proceeds. Prosecutors allege Awawdeh restarted the Washington Place game on the same night as the Lexington game, prompting Bonanno-associated attackers to storm and assault him.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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