By Paul Garcia II/Cronkite News
PHOENIX – The news of widespread sports betting and Mafia-backed poker games that led to the arrest of an NBA coach and player did not surprise Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former underboss of the Gambino crime family.
“I’m not shocked at all,” Gravano told Cronkite News Thursday in a Zoom interview. “Sports have been rigged for years and years and years.”
Gravano lives in the Phoenix area, where he and his family moved after his release from federal prison following his confession to murdering 19 people. He agreed to testify as a government witness against John Gotti, the crime family’s boss.
On Thursday morning, the NBA and the sports world were rocked by the news that Portland Trail Blazers coach and Hall of Fame player Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested in two different gambling schemes.
Both schemes have mob ties with at least three of the “Five Families.” The Gambino, Genovese, and Bonanno crime families have appeared in court papers regarding the scandals.
Rozier is facing one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. That indictment is based on a scheme in which bettors placed bets using non-public information. A 2023 game between Rozier’s former team, the Charlotte Hornets, and the New Orleans Pelicans is one of the games in question in which Rozier allegedly told people he would be exiting early with an injury.
Billups also faces the same charges as Rozier, stemming from participating in a poker scheme where the mafia allegedly lured gamblers into rigged games by offering them a chance to play against former basketball players such as Billups. This scheme has cheated at least $7 million from unsuspecting gamblers, according to the FBI.
“It’s greed, it has nothing to do with threatening him or fear. It’s greed on his part,” Gravano said of Billups. “The enjoyment of rubbing elbows with mob guys, good-looking women, the whole nine yards.”
Like something out of a James Bond adventure, these illegal poker games used X-ray tables that read face-down cards, magic glasses and contact lenses that displayed premarked cards, and chip trays that read the cards as they were dealt. The only thing missing was a henchman with an eye patch.
Rozier’s allegations bring negative attention back to the NBA, which is still dealing with the fallout of former Toronto Raptors Center Jontay Porter, who received a lifetime ban from the association for his involvement in a 2024 gambling scandal in which he gave bettors non-public information about his playing status.
On ESPN’s morning show, Get Up, host Mike Greenberg discussed the arrests of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier and how networks such as ESPN and sports leagues stayed far away from sports gambling. During that segment, the bottom line showed an ESPN Bet promo of ‘bet $10, get $100’ in bonus bets. Suddenly, the bottom line ticker with the promo was removed from the broadcast.
Arizona has a history of involvement in illegal sports gambling, most notably the 1994 ASU men’s basketball point-shaving scandal, which involved two ASU players and an ASU student bookie who fixed multiple games. Gilbert Arenas, a former University of Arizona and NBA star, was arrested in July of 2025 after being indicted on a federal charge of running an illegal high-stakes gambling operation. Arenas was identified as “Agent Zero” in the United States Attorney’s Office press release.
When Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott was asked Thursday about alleged involvement of NBA personnel in the case, he said, “I obviously saw it, I’m aware. At this point, I have no comment on that. We were stuck in the film room watching film, and handling our practice and our games this weekend.”
Legal sports betting launched in Arizona on September 9, 2021. From that day through July of 2025, Arizona bettors have placed an astronomical amount in sports wagers – $27,225,065,515.
That’s right, Arizonans have wagered more than $27 billion in less than five years since sports gambling was legalized.
Sammy the Bull wasn’t surprised at the legalization either.
“Am I shocked that they (government) came in and took over gambling? No,” Gravano said. “With the mob, they were getting zero. Now, all of a sudden, they make it legitimate, and they’re making millions of dollars in tax money.”
Of that $27 billion in Arizona wagers, tax revenue has exceeded $142 million.
“Everyone’s got a reason,” Gravano said. “Greed.”
