Ex-Milwaukee Bucks guard arrested in gambling bust

A former player for the Milwaukee Bucks is one of those arrested in a federal gambling investigation.

FBI agents arrested more than 30 people in the scandal involving illegal betting and poker scams. Those charged include current Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups. 

Federal officials also arrested Damon Jones. Jones was a journeyman guard who played for 11 NBA teams. He had two stints on the Bucks, first in 2003 and at the end of his NBA career in 2008 and 2009. He also served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jones is accused of selling non-public information about players that bettors used to place illegal wagers.

At a press conference Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation spanned years and involved “mind-boggling” fraud.

Jones and Billups are also defendants in a separate indictment involving a rigged poker game. That scheme began as early as 2019 and involved locations across the U.S., including the Hamptons, Manhattan, Las Vegas and Miami, according to the FBI.

An FBI memo describes sophisticated technology such as card shuffling machines that had been secretly altered to incorporate concealed technology that could read the cards in the deck, predict which players at the table had the best poker hand, and relay that information to offsite operators in other states.

Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.