Former Washington Wizards star and three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of running an illegal high-stakes poker game out of his mansion, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
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Arenas, 43, was charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business and one count of making false statements to investigators. He was one of six men to be arrested in connection with running illegal high-stakes poker games.
Arenas is accused of renting out his mansion in Encino, California, for the purpose of hosting illegal high-stakes poker games. Arenas reportedly asked another man, Arthur Kats, to stage his mansion, find others to host games and collect rent from them for Arenas. Kats’ name was not listed as one of the arrested parties in the U.S. Attorney’s Office release Wednesday.
Per the indictment, authorities claim Arenas denied being involved with the party in question, despite allegedly texting a picture to a co-defendant of a poker table featuring his name, silhouette and jersey number in 2021.
That could be the poker table of any basketball player named Arenas with a No. 0 jersey. (Image from U.S. District Court filing)
(U.S. District Court)
Arenas made multiple posts on social media on Wednesday night, including a video in which he was seen running down stairs and saying, “they can’t hold me.”
Arenas spent 11 seasons in the NBA after he was taken by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft. His production far exceeded his draft spot. After winning the Most Improved Player award during the 2002-03 season, Arenas signed a deal with the Wizards, where he blossomed into a superstar.
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Nicknamed “Agent Zero,” Arenas averaged 27.7 points and 5.7 assists over thee seasons between 2004 and 2006. He made the All-Star in three straight seasons over that period.
Injuries affected Arenas’ career after that stretch. He played in just 15 games with the Wizards over the next two seasons.
Arenas returned during the 2009-10 NBA season, but played in just 32 games due to a suspension stemming from a gun-related incident. Arenas was suspended by the NBA after bringing unloaded guns into the locker room due to an argument over gambling debts. The incident reportedly started due to a high-stakes card game.
Arenas spent time with both the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies before retiring from the NBA following the 2011-12 season.
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Following his playing career, Arenas got into podcasting, hosting the popular “Gil’s Arena” show. The last episode of “Gil’s Arena” went up July 17.
Arenas’ son, Alijah Arenas, was set to star on the USC basketball team this season, but he tore his meniscus earlier this month and is expected to miss most — if not all — of the season due to the injury.
Four other men arrested Wednesday. Yevgeni Gershman, Evgenni Tourevski, Allan Austria and Yarin Cohen are accused of running the poker games, which featured “Pot Limit Omaha,” among other illegal games. They are accused of collecting a house fee from those participating in the games and hiring women who “served drinks, provided massages, and offered companionship to the poker players,” per the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Chefs, valets and armed guards were also reportedly hired for the games.
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Gershman is a “suspected organized-crime figure from Israel,” per the U.S. Attorney’s office release.
Ievgen Krachun was also arrested in connection with the illegal poker games. He was accused of tracking wins and losses, distributing chips and paying employees assisting with the games.
Gershman, Tourevski, Austria, Cohen and Krachun were all charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
All six men appeared and were arraigned at the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday. If convicted, they face “a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count,” per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.