NBA Players Linked to $7M Poker Scam Exploiting Hacked Card Shufflers
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 31 individuals, including alleged members of organized crime and former NBA players, in connection with a large-scale poker fraud scheme that exploited hacked Deckmate 2 automatic card shufflers, WIRED reports. The indictment has been made public via the CourtListener portal.
Deckmate 2 is an automatic shuffling system widely used in casinos and elite clubs across the globe. It can shuffle a deck in mere seconds, with an integrated camera monitoring the exact order of the cards. Investigators discovered that this very camera became the cornerstone of the scheme: by hacking the device, perpetrators could determine the sequence of cards before each deal began.
The investigation revealed that the criminal network organized private poker games featuring celebrities, including current and former NBA players such as Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones. A separate investigation is underway involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, whose name appears in the filing U.S. v. Eric Earnest.
According to prosecutors, the games took place in New York, the Hamptons, and Miami, attracting participants eager to play alongside basketball stars. The fraudsters then used modified Deckmate 2 machines and other concealed technologies to cheat their opponents, winning hundreds of thousands of dollars in each session. In total, the scheme is believed to have defrauded victims of over $7 million, with portions of the proceeds allegedly funneled into the Cosa Nostra crime syndicate.
The Deckmate 2 shufflers were reportedly reprogrammed to transmit card order data via Bluetooth to an accomplice’s phone, which then relayed coded signals to the designated “driver player,” guiding their bets. The indictment also mentions the use of invisible ink–marked cards, chip trays fitted with cameras, scanner-equipped phones, and even glasses and contact lenses with filters for reading hidden markings.
The FBI described the operation as “a fusion of technology and deceit to steal millions from honest players.” Bureau Director Kash Patel called it “a modern reimagining of a classic mafia con—powered by digital tools.”
Notably, the Deckmate 2 vulnerability had already been publicly demonstrated in 2023 at the Black Hat conference by IOActive researchers. They showed how an open USB port could be exploited to modify the device’s firmware and access its internal camera, transmitting the card sequence directly to a smartphone. At the time, researcher Joseph Tartaro described it as giving “complete control over the game,” warning that such flaws could easily be weaponized in real-world scenarios.
The manufacturer, Light & Wonder, later stated that it had patched all known vulnerabilities—updating firmware, disabling USB ports, and enhancing cryptographic verification. However, experts cautioned that these fixes likely do not extend to second-hand or unregulated machines used in underground poker clubs.
Professional player and poker club owner Doug Polk warned that Deckmate 2 remains a potential threat in informal settings: “If there’s a camera that sees the cards, you’re completely at the mercy of whoever installed it. If you spot one of these shufflers in a private game—run.”
Casinos security specialists agree that the case serves as a wake-up call for the industry. As gaming fraud consultant Sal Piacente aptly noted, “In the digital age, old tricks have found new weapons.”
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