Former Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas, once dubbed “Agent Zero,” was arrested this week in connection with an illegal high-stakes poker operation allegedly run out of his luxury mansion in Encino, California. Federal prosecutors say Arenas, 43, operated a full-scale underground gambling den catering to L.A.'s elite, in violation of multiple federal statutes.
According to the indictment unsealed Monday, the poker ring ran between September 2021 and July 2022, featuring Pot Limit Omaha games, private security, hired masseuses, and waitstaff. The operation reportedly took a rake from each pot and offered cash chips off the books — a structure described by investigators as “organized crime–grade efficiency.”
“This wasn’t some friendly house game,” said one federal agent. “This was a commercial-grade gambling enterprise operating in plain sight.”
Diamond
The bust also includes six other defendants, among them Yevgeni Gershman, believed to have ties to an Israeli crime syndicate. Gershman faces additional charges for marriage fraud and immigration violations. The indictment describes a tightly-run operation that netted hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreported revenue.
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Arenas, who previously served a suspension in 2009 for bringing firearms into an NBA locker room, now faces up to five years in prison per count if convicted. His attorneys have declined to comment.
