Gilbert Arenas accused of hosting high-end, illegal poker games at L.A. rental home

LOS ANGELES — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and a half-dozen other people are alleged to have run high-end, illegal poker games at a Los Angeles home rented by the player known as “Agent Zero,” federal authorities said Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and a half-dozen other people are alleged to have run high-end, illegal poker games at a Los Angeles home rented by the player known as “Agent Zero,” federal authorities said Wednesday.

The eight were charged in connection with games conducted from Sept. 12, 2021, to July 20, 2022, charging documents say.

Arenas "would rent out a residence located on Gable Drive in Encino," a suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, "for the purpose of hosting illegal poker games," prosecutors said in court records.

While hosting a cash poker game isn't illegal by definition, the operation crossed into a criminal act as organizers would "collect a 'rake' — that is, a fee the house would charge from each pot either as a percentage or a fixed amount per hand," according to charging documents.

The operation even included a poker felt labeled "ARENAS POKER CLUB" with the image of Arenas in his basketball uniform and the famed No. Zero, officials said.