Professional poker player Matt Berkey said he wasn’t surprised by the gambling allegations against Chauncey Billups.
In a 2023 clip from his “Only Friends Podcast” that resurfaced after the scandal broke, Berkey recalled hearing about a suspicious poker game years earlier that he said “was all built around Chauncey Billups.”
“Cheating is mmmkay? There are a lot of stories about it,” Berkey said. “There was this game… it started in LA then came to Vegas for a few days. And it was all built around Chauncey Billups.”
In light of the Chauncey Billups arrest, we'll just leave this here. (Ep. 277 8/21/23). @PatMcAfeeShow @PabloTorre pic.twitter.com/lZaUOY0bFb
— Only Friends Podcast (@OnlyFriends_Pod) October 23, 2025
Though someone assured him the game was legitimate, Berkey said, “I know a lot of the people involved and I’m telling you 100 percent that it is not on the up and up.”
He didn’t play but said friends who did later confirmed, “It obviously was, like, for sure, cheating.”
Those claims now align with the FBI’s allegations that Billups took part in fixed high-stakes poker games linked to four New York crime families.
Billups was arrested in Oregon after coaching the Trail Blazers’ season opener, accused of serving as a “face card” to lure wealthy players into rigged games that used high-tech cheating tools.
Former NBA player Damon Jones and Heat guard Terry Rozier were also charged, with Rozier accused of illegal sports betting using insider NBA information.
The league placed both Billups and Rozier on immediate leave, stating, “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Video emerges of poker player describing ‘100 percent’ rigged Chauncey Billups poker game https://t.co/Abs7mly5t0 pic.twitter.com/YUzyWpnG5L
— New York Post (@nypost) October 23, 2025
