According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Arenas, who spent most of his NBA career on the Washington Wizards, allegedly directed Arthur Kats of West Hollywood to stage a mansion “to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf.”
While hosting private poker games isn’t illegal, collecting a rake from them is against the law. Gershman, Tourevski, Austria, and Cohen were allegedly responsible for managing illegal Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) games and collecting a rake, which was “a fee the house charged from each pot either as a percentage or a fixed amount per hand.”
The indictment paints a picture of lavish poker games that included chefs, valets, armed security guards, and custom black and gold “Arenas Poker Club” tables.
Gershman allegedly hired young women who “served drinks, provided massages, and offered companionship to the poker players” and were charged a “tax” on their earnings from the games.
The Israeli faces a handful of other charges, including marriage fraud and making a false statement on an immigration document after allegedly entering into a sham marriage to obtain permanent legal status in the United States.
All defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of operating an illegal gambling business. Arenas faces an additional charge of making false statements to investigators.