Connect with us

Miami, FL

Antonio Gates allegedly hosted and played in rigged Miami poker game: report

Published

on

Antonio Gates allegedly hosted and played in rigged Miami poker game: report


Antonio Gates allegedly hosted and played in a rigged Miami poker game, according to a new report. 

Sports investigative journalist Pablo Torre reported on Sunday that the Hall of Fame tight end hosted and participated in an allegedly rigged game that was organized by Curtis Meeks, who was indicted by federal prosecutors as part of the massive gambling scandal that rocked the NBA. 

Details were limited, but Torre’s report follows a report by The Post on Saturday, where one purported victim said that he and his friends had been scammed of nearly $1 million, with an ex-NFL player serving as the “face card” for a game in which Meeks was a main participant.

Antonio Gates speaking at his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Aaron Josefczyk/UPI/Shutterstock

The federal indictment that was unsealed last week named more than 30 people and painted a picture of separate elaborate sports betting and rigged poker game schemes that involved Trail Blazers head coach Chauncy Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones. 

Advertisement

Federal prosecutors alleged that Billups had been involved as a “face card” for the rigged poker games, with mob-linked organizers using him to lure “fish” into the high-tech scheme. 

Gates has not publicly commented on the report and it’s unclear if his alleged involvement is related to the rigged poker scheme that federal prosecutors had been probing. 


Follow The Post’s latest on the gambling scandal rocking the NBA:


The source that spoke with The Post could not say if the game he played in was part of the same poker ring, but he said Meeks was participating in the game that they were playing in and noted that “we would never have been there if not for the professional athlete.”

Advertisement

The person did not name the athlete in The Post’s report. 

The FBI has arrested 31 people involved in a rigged poker game ring backed by the New York City organized crime families.

  • Ernest Aiello — reputed Bonanno mobster
  • Nelson “Spanish G” Alvarez
  • Louis “Lou Ap” Apicella
  • Ammar “Flapper Poker” Awawdeh
  • Saul Becher — professional poker player
  • Chauncey Billups — Portland Trail Blazers coach, NBA Hall of Famer and 2004 NBA champion
  • Matthew “The Wrestler” Daddino
  • Eric “Spooky” Earnest
  • Lee Fama — professional poker player
  • John Gallo
  • Marco Garzon
  • Thomas “Tommy Juice” Gelardo — reputed Lucchese mobster charged in 2013 for beating porn star girlfriend
  • Jamie Gilet
  • Tony “Black Tony” Goodson
  • Kenny Han
  • Shane “Sugar” Henne
  • Osman “Albanian Bruce” Hoti
  • Horatio Hu
  • Zhen “Scruli” Hu
  • Damon “Dee Jones” Jones — NBA player from 1998 to 2009
  • Joseph Lanni
  • John “John South” Mazzola
  • Curtis Meeks
  • Nicholas Minucci
  • Michael Renzulli
  • Anthony Ruggiero Jr.
  • Anthony “Doc” Shnayderman
  • Robert “Black Rob” Stroud
  • Seth Trustman
  • Sophia “Pookie” Wei
  • Julius Ziliani

The federal indictment sent shockwaves through the sports world and the idea that athletes from outside the NBA could be involved is sure to shake things up even more. 

Gates was just inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August after spending his entire career with the Chargers. 


San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates reacts after a reception.
San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates reacts after a reception against the Houston Texans during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. AP

In 16 seasons in the NFL, Gates recorded 11,841 receiving yards and 116 receiving touchdowns. 

He last played in 2018.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Miami, FL

MLS: Messi double helps Inter Miami slay Rapids in front of huge crowd

Published

on

MLS: Messi double helps Inter Miami slay Rapids in front of huge crowd


Argentine forward’s brace included the match winner against Colorado Rapids in front of over 75,000 fans in Denver.

Lionel Messi scored a brace and ‌German Berterame headed another as Inter Miami earned a ⁠3-2 win over ⁠the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer (MLS) on Saturday in Denver.

Messi scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute. He started a run just inside midfield and went ⁠unchallenged until the box, where he blasted into the upper left corner for a 3-2 lead.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

Rafael Navarro and Darren Yapi each scored for Colorado (4-4-0, 12 points) in front of 75,824 at Empower Field, the second-largest crowd in MLS history.

Miami (4-1-3, 15 points) took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute after Colorado goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s pass was intercepted by Yannick Bright. Josh Atencio offered a hard challenge ‌and was shown a yellow card after video review.

Messi took the resulting penalty and rolled his shot straight down the middle as Miami took a 1-0 lead.

Colorado had a solid look at the goal when midfielder Wayne Frederick attempted a one-touch lob. Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was out of position and well beyond the penalty arc after heading away a loose ball, but Frederick’s attempt sailed ⁠over the open net.

In the fifth minute of first-half stoppage ⁠time, Miami extended their lead to 2-0, connecting on a series of passes deep in their attacking third. Messi got the run of play started with a tight touch pass to Rodrigo De ⁠Paul.

Advertisement

De Paul sent Mateo Silvetti on a run to the boundary line. His inward-spinning cross floated to the front of ⁠goal, where Berterame rose above the Colorado defence and ⁠tucked a header under the bar.

Navarro’s goal cut Miami’s lead to 2-1. He started a run in midfield and used a step-over move to get an open shot a few steps into the ‌box that tucked inside the left post past a diving St. Clair in the 58th minute.

In the 62nd minute, second-half substitute Yapi settled on a direct pass from Lucas ‌Herrington ‌and sizzled a shot past St. Clair for the equaliser.

Miami closed the win playing a man down as Yannick Bright was sent off with a red card in the 87th minute.

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi scores his 13th-minute penalty against the Colorado Rapids [Geneva Heffernan/AP]



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Miami, FL

Former Titans GM mock Miami right tackle to the Cleveland Browns at 6

Published

on

Former Titans GM mock Miami right tackle to the Cleveland Browns at 6


The Cleveland Browns traded for an extended right tackle, former Houston Texan Tytus Howard, at the start of free agency as they began their rebuild of the offensive line that was awful in 2025. But Howard has played every position on the offensive line except for center, so if it’s all about getting your best five on the field, which it should be, there’s a chance Howard doesn’t play at right tackle in 2026.

While doing a mock draft on Peter Schrager’s podcast, former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon had the Browns drafting Miami (FL) right tackle sixth overall. He talked about the issue with Howard, but said Mauigoa could either take over the tackle spot or be a really good guard.

Carthon said he knows that Mauigoa would be one of their best five, whether it is at guard or tackle. Some will say that a guy who may be best at guard isn’t worth the sixth overall pick, and I have to disagree. You should draft the best football players, and Francis Mauigoa is my highest-rated offensive lineman and seventh overall. It might be at guard, but I have a good feeling that Mauigoa will find a home in the NFL as a high-quality offensive lineman.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Miami, FL

Inventory drops for first time since 2023 as sales rebound across coastal Miami, beaches

Published

on

Inventory drops for first time since 2023 as sales rebound across coastal Miami, beaches


Inventory of homes and condos across the coastal Miami mainland and Miami Beach and the barrier island markets fell in the first quarter, marking the first big inventory drops since 2023.  

The Corcoran Group’s first quarter reports don’t cover all of Miami-Dade County, but they offer insight into how the coastal markets, which have a higher share of luxury properties, are performing.

In Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside, Miami Beach, Fisher Island and Key Biscayne, single-family home inventory dropped 15 percent annually to 398 listings, and condo inventory was down 13 percent to 3,919 listings. 

On Miami’s coastal mainland markets, which include Aventura, Miami Shores, Upper East Side, Edgewater, downtown Miami, Brickell, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, inventory slipped 4 percent to 4,584 condo listings and 555 single-family listings, down 6 percent year-over-year. 

Advertisement

Here’s a closer look at the market: 

Miami Beach and the barrier islands

Single-family sales rose 13 percent year-over-year to 85 closings, the first time they have increased since the second quarter of 2024. Condo closings rose 15 percent to 693 closings, the first increase since the last quarter of 2024. 

Pricing dropped, with the median price of single-family homes down 4 percent to $3.5 million and the median condo price down 9 percent to $640,000. The average price per square foot was nearly flat at $1,119. 

Still, buyers set records with their purchases. Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg paid $170 million for the waterfront mansion at 7 Indian Creek Island Road, and Starbucks billionaire Howard Schultz paid $44 million, or $7,949 per square foot, for a penthouse at the Four Seasons Residences at The Surf Club. 

Advertisement

Coastal mainland 

Sales of single-family homes on the coastal mainland rose 16 percent to 220 closings. While markets like Coral Gables experienced declines in condo and single-family home sales, Coconut Grove home sales surged — up over 100 percent for single-family homes to 47 closings and up 55 percent to 87 condo closings. Condo sales rose 13 percent to 759 closings. 

The median price of single-family homes across the coastal mainland rose 11 percent to just over $2 million. The median price of condos increased slightly, up 1 percent, to $602,000. 

The priciest deals in the first quarter were the $32 million trade of 12 Tahiti Beach Island Road in Coral Gables, and the $19.8 million sale of a penthouse at Vita at Grove Isle. 





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending