Former NBA Player Alleged to Have Fed Info to Sports Bettors Had to Give His Pet Up as Collateral
Damon Jones' financial difficulties included eviction proceedings from a luxury Houston apartment and tens of thousands of dollars in debt to a casino, according to court documents.
Jones also listed his 2016 NBA championship ring as collateral for a personal loan and was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
When Jones filed for bankruptcy in 2013, he also had to list his beloved Yorkshire Terrier as an asset.
Jones has been accused of feeding inside information to sports gamblers.
He reportedly texted a co-conspirator and urged him to bet on the Milwaukee Bucks against Los Angeles because a top Lakers player, believed to be LeBron James, was out with an injury.
NBC News reviewed approximately 150 pages of court documents related to this matter.
Jones went from relative anonymity as a former NBA player and coach to the forefront of one of the biggest gambling scandals in modern sports when he was named by federal prosecutors last week in two separate indictments allegedly involving gambling and fixed, mob-linked poker games.
“Operation Nothing But Bet” is one of two sprawling federal investigations into illegal gambling that were unveiled Oct. 23, the other being a probe of rigged high-stakes poker games allegedly backed by the Mafia called “Operation Royal Flush” which led to the arrests of several people, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Prosecutors said the evidence in the latter case includes “financial records, telephone records, cellphone records and texts, cellphone extractions and location information, the contents of Apple iCloud accounts, witness testimony, and surveillance photographs.”
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(Gambling Scandal) - State Regulators Propose New Guidelines in Wake of NBA Gambling Scandal - New York Congressman Paul Tonko, who represents Saratoga County, has renewed his push for the SAFE Bet Act following a gambling scandal that rocked the NBA and allegedly involved members of the Mafia. Meanwhile, The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is implementing new safeguards to protect sports gamblers in the wake of the scandal that includes implementing proactive safeguards designed to detect and deter misconduct before it occurs.
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(Gambling Scandal) - UFC’s Vince Morales Says He Declined 70K Offer to Throw Fight - He revealed someone offered him $70,000 to throw a fight. Morales did not specify who.
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- In a follow-up post, Morales responded when asked about how much was at stake. “Penny’s considering how big of a deal it is. 70k,” he replied.
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(Prediction Markets) - Romania’s National Gambling Regulator adds Polymarket to its Operator Blacklist - Data from Polymarket shows that Romania’s presidential elections saw transactions valued at $600 million, while the Bucharest local elections pulled in a not insubstantial $15 million. As a prediction market, Polymarket allowed users to bet on the outcome of the elections.
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(Gambling News) - Maryland Could Revisit Legalized Sports Betting - Most people doubt lawmakers will vote for a total repeal but, like a number of other US states, Maryland lawmakers could seek to prohibit player prop bets (source: iGaming Today)
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(Gambling Scandal) - Sportsbooks Void Bets on Suspicious Dulgarian UFC Fight - Caesars Sportsbook said they would be refunding losing bets on a controversial UFC Vegas 110 outcome. A few other books have since followed suit.
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- Fans suggested the FBI should be looking into this fight following Isaac Dulgarian’s suspicious loss to Yadier Del Valle.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
