Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Dragon, you're supposed to play a talk back after
low Hal Friday plays it for a little bit on Friday.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah, unfortunately Dragon's not here.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Oh my god, is that you?
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Is?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
That is the one, the one the Jesse is filling
in today.
Speaker 4 (00:13):
They called me in from the bullpen. Season went from
bad to worse. Here I am with you incredible.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
So the season sucks so bad if they're blaming you
so as punishing if they bring you in here today.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, they're like, I couldn't get anywhere for him.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
He'll do it, call him in and work for Brown. Yeah,
he's used to getting beat down over the summer. He
won't mind.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
But you know, for for a season. That's by the way.
If you guys don't really know, Jesse is the engineer
and I don't know what your producer engineer what.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
They actually call you, Michael, let's put some respect on it.
Executive producer of the Colorado Rockies Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Oh yes, oh okay, you know, okay, mister, I wouldn't
brag about that a lot, you.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Know, No, no, no, you're right. Let's move on.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So you got from loser to loser. So that's pretty good.
But here, you know, there's here's the good news. The
good news is Dragon just has laryngitis and bronchitis. The
bad news is he's not going to die from it.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
He said, whatever you do, if you have any questions,
you have to text me because I cannot speak.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So okay, yesterday we were talking about he was on air.
He was during during the program, he was trying to
make a doctor's appointment, and he was bitching about no,
he couldn't find the doctor wouldn't let him in. He
finally then got a ten minute appointment. I said, well,
why don't you just go to urgent care instead? To
screw the doctor. Go to an urgent care because they'll
run all the tests because they don't know use so
(01:43):
they're afraid of a malpractice lawsuit, so they'll run every
test in the country. So just go to urgent care instead.
So I don't know what he ended up doing, but
I don't know. About three or four o'clock yesterday I
finally texted him and said, so, what's the news. Are
you are you are? You know? What's the diagnosis? Something? Yeah,
he says, like about larogizing wrong guyness, And I said, oh, so,
so the bad news is you're not gonna die and.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Very nice, Michael.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I know. I tried. I tried to treat my coworkers
with the respect they deserve. And so I waited and
I waited and I waited, and about three or four
minutes later, because I thought you instantaneously, hey, have some
smart ass remark. It took him a little while, but
about maybe three minutes later, I got this reply, something
to the effect, oh, that's exactly what missus Redbeer said.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You got. He gets it at home and he gets
it here.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Poor dragon, poor poor dragon, my ass. It's just Friday,
and he wented the day off, so yesterday he was
trying to do this. You know, it takes a lot
of work today, kind of fake, like you got a
really bad thing.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
He's smart, he's smart, Darry March madness. I do the
same thing on Tuesday. I start coughing around the office.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You know what I mean? You got to set it up.
You can take that whole weekend off.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
See you're not nearly dumb, as people tell me.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
It work smarter. Yeah, yes, see again.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's right now. Many of you may not remember this.
I don't know. I think the reason I remember it
is because I've actually eaten at the steakhouse, but on
December sixteenth, nineteen eighty five, I know, before Jesse was
even born. Probably true or not true?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Uh, not true?
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Okay, all right, what nineteen eighty three.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
No, I'm a seventy eight guy, I'm old.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Oh are you really?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I just look good from all the clean living.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Wow, you know, not to get off topic here, but
you really do look good for you.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Thank you, thank you for being what I've been through.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, I was gonna say, yeah, considering the last few
seasons in the travel and everything else, you look damn good.
So let's be honest. I said. You don't take this wrong,
but you will. You look very healthy and kind of
like happy and good.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yeah the way, I have to go back and look
at some of my old photos and see how I
looked prior to this could but yeah, you were very
complimentary this morning.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I just kind of thought, you know, you've kind of
been beaten up for the entire season, and it's got
to be a right human. Because then I ask, because
I really wasn't sure whether you traveled.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
With the team yeah or not come in here looking
like a Civil War patient.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Or yeah, I kind of did on stretcher. You know,
they kind of haul you in on a stretcher you'd
put there, and you kind of just put your hands
up on the board and just try to push it
as best you could. That's kind of what I was expecting. Know,
you came in here kind of vibrant and lively and smiling.
I thought, Wow, he's on some sort of drugs. What's that?
I want whatever he takes, So anyway, it's good to
have you here. December sixteenth, nineteen eighty five, sparked Steakhouse,
(04:30):
which is located on I think it's on forty sixth Street,
somewhere between Second and Third Avenue. It's in midtown Manhattan.
I really don't know, honestly, whether it's still there or not.
I should have taken my granddaughter there a couple of
weekends ago. But on that day, Gambino Crant crime family
boss Paul Costellano and his bodyguard Thomas Bilotti were murdered.
(04:52):
I mean just it was a hit outside the entrance
to the steakhouse. Who ordered it, John who then took
over the leadership of the Gambino crime family. It shocked
New York because it occurred right, you know, it occurred
at the time you would expect all of the old
fart mobsters like yours truly, to go have dinner at
(05:14):
a steakhouse. It was five point thirty PM and he
was exiting for an early dinner. So you know, it's
why do I bring that up at all? The National
Basketball Association was rocked by what authorities are described are
calling the most sweeping sports betting case in modern history.
(05:35):
Federal prosecutors unsealed multiple indictments implicating both current and former
NBA figures incur, including some guy that may sound familiar
to Denver folks, Chauncey Billups. I think, let's see, I
made some notes here, Portland Trail Blazer's head coach Chauncey Bellops,
Miami heat guard Terry Rozier. I think there were some others,
(05:58):
but that's it. That's that's enough. So yesterday morning, while
we were on air, Cash Mattel and the US Attorney
announced the arrest of Phillips Rosier and demand Damon demon Jones.
Uh see, so much to know about the NBA. More
than thirty defendants. Thirty defendants charged in two interrelated federal
(06:20):
investigations out of the Eastern District of New York. Now,
according to the prosecutors, we'll get we'll get to the
crime family, the mafia in just a minute. But according
to the prosecutors, the dual indictments involved. And let me
just say right up front, as a kid from Oklahoma
(06:41):
and as a taxpayer in New Mexico, and as someone
who likes to go to Vegas and will sometimes gamble
a little bit, but I control my I control my
gambling and the fact that I come into this filthy
studio every day and risk, you know, getting some sort
of exotic disease. I know my limit. I go with
(07:02):
a certain amount of money. There are times when I,
you know, win a lot and I think, well, let's
just keep playing a little bit longer, and then I
lose it all and then that's it. Or sometimes I'll
actually do pretty well and I call it today, and
you know, then that pays for dinner, and I spend
it anyway. I see gambling as entertainment, but entertainment that
you could easily get addicted to. So I've always had
(07:26):
a little bit of a problem. Now get don't get
me wrong. I'm still libertarian, and I still think that
if people want to go gamble. Just like if people
want to go drink or they want to go smoke
marijuana or whatever, that's fine, just you know, just don't
just don't ruin your family, don't ruin your life with it. Okay,
that's my concern. But the incessant, absolutely and I know
(07:47):
at one time they sponsored this program and I don't
even remember which, you know, betting outfit it was, but
the incessant, constant gamble, and the parlays like whose fart's
going to be the most on the sideline, you can
bat on anything you can possibly imagine. It's just out
of control. And of course the lottery, the lottery drives
(08:10):
me bananas because it shows how now if you do
it like occasionally, if it gets to you know, well
here considering how much iHeart pays, if the Colorado Lottery
gets up to one thousand dollars, then we put in
a pool because we all want a thousand dollars because
we're all paid so poorly. But if it gets up
to you know, the billions of things, somebody in this
(08:33):
building will inevitably want to have a pool and all
throw in a couple of bucks. But I realized that
it's just for fun, because if you and you guys know,
having listened to me, I'm not very good at math,
but I do understand odds somewhat. When and when you
tell me that the odds are one in two hundred
(08:53):
and fifty million, you know, so like or three hundred
and fifty let's just take it to the US population,
so the odds are one in three hundred and fifty
nine million or whatever the current population in the United
States is. I know that whenever I'm, you know, putting
my money in to win a bazillion dollars in the lotto,
that my odds are, you know, it's more likely that
(09:15):
they're gonna walk in here today and say, hey, Brown,
you know what, we think you do a great job.
We're gonna triple your salary. I got better odds of
that happening than winning the lotto, which is why I
bet on the lotto, because you know that's a better
odd don't it. It just seems to me that we,
(09:35):
how do I say this kindly, we play on This
is not everybody's. I'm making a generalization, but I know
it doesn't apply to everyone. But I see too many
people if I stop to get a diet coke somewhere
at a convenience store, which I really do, rarely do anymore.
But if I do and somebody's in there buying five
or ten dollars worth of lotto tickets, yes I make
(09:57):
a judgment, and shame on me for making the job.
You can criticize me for all you want to, But
I think once you take that ten dollars and buy
something for your kids, you know, like to just take
them to McDonald's, give them something nutritious, don't buy them
a back of potato chips, take them to McDonald's, you know.
But they make the choice, and I support them being
(10:20):
able to make the choice. So back to the NBA story.
The court documents, which I've just skimmed through. There's not
a lot online, but I've skimmed through as much as
I can find. On Lexus and Nexus outline seven specific
games in which Rosier and this associates allegedly manipulated the
betting lines, including a March twenty third, twenty twenty three
(10:41):
Hornets Pelicans matchup where he reportedly feigned an early game
injury in order to benefit the gamblers holding pre arranged wagers.
In another case, former player demon James is accused of
leaking medical details about a Los Angeles These Lakers player
before a Bucks Lakers game in February of twenty three,
(11:04):
warning associates to that big on Milwaukee. So the FBI
investigators estimate the two year operation netted insiders seven million
dollars in illicit profit through both legal and offshore sports books. Now,
this is totally unrelated, totally unrelated, so does not draw
(11:26):
any sort of cause of link here. But I was
struck by the seven million dollars because we have a
Virginia governor's race in which the Democrat cannot account for.
She's been asked like, since you've been in Congress, you
made seven million dollars? How did you make seven million dollars?
(11:47):
She can't answer the question, or she refuses to answer
the question. And I know it's totally unrelated, but what's
with seven million dollars? If I wake up today and
there's seven million dollars in my bank account, well I'd
be like, we're the other three million dollars ago? Right? Ah,
in my dreams, seven million dollars through illicit profits through
(12:09):
both legal and offshore sports books. Bets were placed in
advance of lineup announcements using information obtained from coaches, trainers,
and even team personnel that were paid to provide tips.
This is pretty this is this is amazing. This is
(12:29):
really the It's just it's just the mafia's moved into
a new reil here now. In a In a parallel indictment,
Billets and Jones are alleged to have participated in the
high stakes underground poker ring operating in New York, Vegas
and Miami. This is a movie, isn't it. I mean,
what if I said you're under If you're hey, let's
(12:52):
start an underground poker ring. Where do you want to
do it? Well, maybe maybe back in the forties, you
might say Denver because of the Maldoons or whatever that
gambling family. But you would think, let's do it in New York, Miami,
in Las Vegas. It's like we're back in the sixties
or something. The federal agents say the games used altered
(13:15):
electronic shuffling machines designed to read cards and then feed
the modern technology game. Electronic shuffling machines. You've seen those,
and surely you've seen them in some casino somewhere to
read the cards, feed the information to outside operators. Then
that would allow the designated players to win predictably controlled hands. Wow,
(13:41):
modern technology put to fantastic use. I guess members of
organized crime syndicates reportedly manage debt collections, get the baseball
bat time to collect the debt, and took cuts from
the winnings. Prosecutors alleged that Billups, who is just as
(14:04):
a reminder of Hall of Famer and a former NBA
Finals MVP, acted as a celebrity magnet to attract wealthy
participants now unaware that some games were pre rigged for
NBA franchises. Lakers, Raptors, Hornets, Trailblazers have been cited in
(14:26):
the indictments for connection to relevant games or personnel, but
now they used to make clear they faced no allegations
of organizational wrongdoing. I would as of yet, I think
this investment, I mean, the investigations been going on for
quite a while, but just don't be surprised if at
(14:48):
some point it gets it gets to that point. So
the NBA released a statement yesterday. They put Billups and
Rosier on indefinite administrative leave, and of course they pledged
full co oper the authorities. Of course, you do. What
else were you supposed to do? Clam up? No, but
you better lawyer up. I'd suggest that the commissioner of
(15:08):
the NBA, who's a weird dude in my opinion. Do
you know him personally? Have you ever met him? Jesse?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I met him twice.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
We've done a couple of interviews when I was working
for Altitude back in the day. He is a very
strange guy. He needs to eat a sandwich. He looks
iron deficient. He's just a strange dude, for sure.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
It's like put on a little bit. It's like he's
anorexic and he's pale. He's been tied up in a basement.
David Stern would have never allowed this to happen. He
would have gotten around this somehow. But yeah, he's Silver's
it's it's a crazy story. I just mentioned the fact
that maybe I know somebody that's gotten a skating letter
from an NBA commissioner before.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
I might know that guy too. Really, I might know
that guy too. I went to the high school with
Chauncey Billups at George Washington too, So when I heard
this news yesterday, I'm like, no, this cannot be true. Smooth,
you know, they call him the King of park Hill,
like he I grew up them. Wow, he graduated ninety five.
I graduated ninety six in GW. So I was like,
this cannot be true. I hope it's I still hope
(16:07):
it's not accurate, but we'll see.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Well, usually when there's an indictment.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Well yeah, four year and long investigation in the FBI
comes knocking on your doors.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
They got the goods.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
He is presumed in this sit until proven guilty. But
there must be something there there to at least get
the indictment. Well, so we have man six degrees of separation.
Now I don't want to hear you separation. I'm impressed.
So of course politicians have to, you know, they got
(16:37):
to jump in too. So a congressman that you've never
even heard of before. I've never heard of this guy
in my entire life. Paul Tonko of New York, apparently
he's an outspoken critic of sports betting legalization, called the
scandal quote an inevitable consequence of the unchecked explosion of
gambling in professional sports. Well, you know, you might call
(16:59):
him master the obvious. Who could have ever seen this coming?
When you get inundated with betting commercials almost as much
as you do beer commercials or anything else they're selling.
Now it's like good grief. So the investigation remains ongoing,
and they've warned that further arrests are possible. Now that
(17:21):
was from one of the from one of the legal
things that I was reading, and I thought, when they
say further rests are possible, everybody out there, innocent or not,
is talking to a lawyer, because you never know when
the comes at the door. Even if you're just even
(17:45):
involved on maybe they just want you as a material witness.
They're still going to come knock on your door. And
even as a material witness, you're going to want to
be lawyered up because clearly anything that you say canon
will be used against you. You don't have to mirandize
you if you're going to be a material witness. But
I'd still win a lawyer. So here are some of
(18:06):
the charges wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering. Those carry potential
sentences up to twenty years per count. Billips and Jones
faced similar allegations tied to the poker operation. So here
you have the convergence of NBA figures, high profile NBA figures,
mafia affiliates, insider waging, and now we're going to have
(18:28):
a whole debate over legalized gambling, yep, which is probably
what we need to have. But here's a better question.
The better question is what about the mafia.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
I know you're not a sports guy, but Chauncey billups
was the king of basketball in Colorado. The FBI just
proved it was a fair of kings.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Pretty good.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
That was pretty good. And no, I'm not a sports guy,
but I know who Johncey Billups is. It's like, you know, uh,
who's this John Elway guy? Who's that? Who are the
Blake Street Bombers? I don't remember any of them? Don't
shut Yeah, I don't know't.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Know if you've been in Colorado for any amount of time,
you know Chauncey Billupsy.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah exactly. That's exactly right. And apparently some people know
him better than others. Some people. Yep, did you too
cheat on your tests during class or anything.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
I'm a little offended. I wasn't let in on this
as well. I'll talk about that with him later once
I have more information.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeah, exactly. It's like you could be off that plane
and living it down in you know, on South Beach
in Miami or something.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
He shot me a text man from.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
All instead, you have to sit here and work with
me today. Yeah, because you need the money just as
much as I did.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Insult to injury, thanks a lot, Chauncey.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
So I have I have a text message that says
I really wish you wouldn't talk about this all that,
although I know you have to. So I was really
curious about why do you not want me to talk
about this? Because this is an amazing story about American culture.
So goober number seventy nine to forty six row, I
suppose you do have to talk about this gambling thing,
(20:15):
but I wish you wouldn't. And I broke back something
you think about? Well, why explain? I suppose because I
really don't care about a bunch of rish at rich
ass sports people freaking doing illegal betting. Why is that
got asterix and then getting themselves hemmed up over it?
Maybe because I think there are issues out there that
(20:35):
affect regular people who don't have their heads in the
gambling tree.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
No.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
See, here's why I disagree. Because I think that gambling,
just take the word gambling. I think that has become
an an inherently widespread and I think I don't want
to say evil, because I don't think gambling is inherently evil,
but I think it's cruel because every time I, for example,
(21:06):
northbound on the twenty five near I think somewhere between
the Alameda exit and the sixth Avenue exit is a
giant billboard that shows how much the current Powerball and
Colorado Latto winnings are. If you're the winner, that is designed.
(21:29):
Gambling is designed to feed you a fun and it
plays on ignorance. It plays on absolute utter ignorance about odds.
Now again, don't get me wrong, I keep throwing this
caveat in there. If you approach gambling as I'm going
to limit my exposure and this is nothing but entertainment,
(21:51):
I have no problem with that. But if you're struggling
to pay bills, now, think about this. You're already struggling
to pay bills. And I know we all do things
we you know, most normal people, at one time or another.
I don't care how well you take care of your finances.
(22:11):
You worry about money. People always worry about money. So
if you're but in your if you're in a position
where you don't know if you'll have enough money to
pay for the groceries for the kids, or to make
the car payments, or to make the mortgage payment, or
to pay off the minimumount due in the credit cards,
for example, whatever it is. And you see that billboard
(22:32):
and you're you're you're inundated with the idea that you
could become a billionaire overnight. That's playing on your ignorance,
and I think it's cruel. And so when I see
people buying you know, scratch tickets and lotto tickets and
everything else, I confess I do make a judgment. And
(22:53):
my judgment is now and I don't know, so it's
it's a I shouldn't be making the judgment, but I do.
I think to myself, why don't you use that money
to do something productive? Now they may be doing it
out of you know, I don't know. Maybe they dress
like me, so they think, you know, I think that
they're you know, just a Porsche lub because I don't
(23:15):
dress very well. And so they you know, they may
be a millionaire and they're doing it for pure entertainment. Okay,
that's fine. But if you're doing it because you desperately
need money, then you ought to take that money you
have and figure out a better constructive way to use it.
(23:36):
And so I think that that is the number one
reason why this story is important. And I think the
number two reason that it's important is because, oh, the mafia,
which you know, Oh, you got supposed to use that word,
because you know, that's that's an old term. We don't
use that term anymore. Oh really, well, let me see
how many times I can use it in this segment,
(23:59):
because the mafia is a really crosy absolutely correct. So
let's take those child sex traffickers, Let's take the people
that traffic humans across the border. Let's take people that
do the drug dealing. Let's take all of that. They're bad.
Mafia does the same thing, except the mafia might be
(24:21):
involved in, I don't know, the garbage business, or the
concrete business, or you know, the construction business, or anything else.
So this is something that is an inherent part of
American history and our society, and now it's infused something
that we watch that we think is on the up
and up. Oh turns out maybe not quite so much. Anyway.
(24:45):
So back to I want to talk about the mafia
crime families for a moment they financed and managed key
aspects of these schemes. The FBI has confirmed that members
and associates of the Banano, the gamb you know, the
Genovie's and the Lucheesy fan crime families. Gee, it's like
(25:06):
it's that's the title of a movie right there, played
central roles in organizing, funding and enforcing enforcing. It's being
a baseball I think baseball bats or I don't know,
just to you know a thirty eight special that connected
NBA insiders to illegal betting and the rig poker games. Now,
(25:31):
I'm not an NBA fan. I like college basketball. I
think NBA is just well, I just don't find it
all that interesting. Now, aren't you at sometimes going to wonder, well,
is this game fixed? Is it fixed? This is like
the the This is like the big baseball controversy, really
(25:54):
where history repeats itself. So baseball, now we got basketball.
The affidavits describe a hierarchy. Of course, We're in the
capos and the soldiers from the Gambino on the Bonano
families front of the cash to bankroll of the illegal
poker ring, while the Genevies, Newkesey, the LUCIESI associates. They
(26:16):
managed all the logistics, the transportation of equipment, the laundering,
the money laundering through shell companies and guess what crypto? Yes,
bitcoin or ethereum or you know, but the cryptocurrencies. The
poker operation, which began around twenty nineteen, was described by
(26:38):
the FBI as a multi state traveling casino. I like
it when they insert a little humor in this, featuring
high stakes games in New York, the Hampton's, Miami Vegas
and often attended by celebrities and professional athletes. Now what
I'm curious about now, when are the tabloids going to
(26:59):
get hold to this? When are we going to find
out which of your favorite celebrities? And I don't even
dare name one because one, I don't want to get
sued for bibel and slander. But why wait? Wait until
the names start dropping about the celebrities that were involved
in the illegal poker games or that we're betting on
(27:20):
the basketball games? And how much did they know or
not know? You know, when it comes to the New
York Knicks, there's a guy that I know that is
always on the court side, that you know. Now I wonder,
I wonder how much he knew, so who knows. We'll
see what. We'll see whether or not he gets spiked
(27:42):
in this deck collection. You got mafia, you gotta have
the deck collectors. We're largely handled by the Bonano family
soldiers ernest Io and Julius Zilani. Oh my god. This
is just so stereotypical, isn't it. It's just like.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
I'm the Netflix documentary is going to be outstanding.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
It is going to be wonderful, And I'm sitting here
thinking I should take all of my notes and just
find somebody in Hollywood and here's my I just wrote
your screen I'm a screenwriter right now. So anyway, we'll
take a break, but I'll finish this up next and
then those of you who don't like to hear about
the gambling story will move on to something else. But
(28:30):
the thing about the intersection with the crime families and
the NBA players, that's next.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
If people think the NBA is rigged, wait till you
see what they uncover for the NFL.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Is there? Well, we got NBA, NFL, get MLB? I mean,
is soccer rigged? I just for some reason, I just
don't see soccer as being that. And maybe it's because
of the history of Major League Baseball, with all of
that storied history. But I just can't see soccer and
(29:08):
this really is you know, think about this. Here's how
the FBI described so. Oh, somebody asked me on the
text line, do I see rico charges coming?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Absolutely, I think they'll be rico charges coming in this thing.
And in fact, think about this, because here's how the
FBI described this whole case, the fusion of organized crime
with insider sports betting as the modern evolution of racketeering
in the digital age. That's actually a pretty brilliant statement.
(29:41):
I think this is a hybrid of old school mafia
extortion with technologically sophisticated fraud. Now, not to put you
on the spot here, Jesse, but you said something about
they use these machines in Vegas and that they can
even tell it cards missing or so.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
These X ray tables, they've been using them in Vegas forever,
so they know they can tell if a card's missing
from the shoe.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
So the table has xtra.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Correct underneath it, and they use it to know if
somebody pocketed a card, and they can tell exactly what
card is missing. Now, these guys from what I understand,
took that and then also marked the top of the
cards so that you could see with a special pair
of glasses what exactly what.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Cards they were.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Holy crap.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
Yeah, So there's some pictures online about these tables. It
looks like an MRI machine underneath the table.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
It's wild. Wow.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
So even so, that's why they would have the private games.
That's that's why they have the illegal games. Yep, so
they could they couldn't walk into the you know.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Now, these were back room deals for sure. Yeah, and
they've been going around for UNI. I said twenty nineteen.
I think there's a couple of clips out there. Some
guy knew about it a couple of years ago and
kind of called Chauncey out for it, and it never
got any attention, And now here we are.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I mean I got maybe didn't get any intention because
if somebody mentioned something, the FBI could have said.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
Yeah, it's kind of a squelch within the high limit
poker community, which I'm not a member of.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
And I don't think that's whatever.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Oh no, I actually I am.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
You know, but when they're you know, when you're risking
hundreds of thousands of dollars, you want to know that
the game's on the up and up, and apparently somebody
caught wind of it a few years ago that it
was not so well. We'll just have to see how
it all plays out. It's wild, wild story.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
It is.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
It's a totally wild story. And it really gets to
think about the fusion of everything that Jesse just described
about I was totally unaware of, like X ray machines
or MRIs or whatever it might be at a poker table.
But think about the fusion of technology, cheating, the human
(31:51):
nature of you know, always always trying to, you know,
find a shortcut to something, and then artificial intelligence. Now
what I had to do with anything, Because you know,
I've been talking about how I'm so sick. Now sometimes
they're enjoyable. I told you about the video I think
yesterday I told you the video I saw on Facebook
(32:13):
of Don Rickles where they had taken Don Rickles sitting
at the chair the couch with Johnny Carson and they
had used some AI platform to have Don Rickles now
telling current jokes about current events. And for when I
first saw it, for that split second, I thought, eh, yeah,
(32:35):
kind of funny, and then I thought this really actually
isn't funny at all because it's not real. It's fake.
And I don't like to live in a world where
I have to question where everything is real or artificial?
Is it real? Is it live or is it memorys?
(32:55):
That showed that you want to date me right there?
Is it live or is at memorys? This is the
kind of world that we now live in, and I
think it's going to get even worse. So is the
game on the up and up? Is the game really real?
Is the game rigged? Is it not rigged? Is what
I'm seeing on the screen? I mean, for example, you
(33:16):
walk into a movie theater. We watched a movie about
the fires in uh in California, the Cedar Fire. Now,
I think the Cedar Fire was when I was involved
in anyway one of the fires in in Los Ange
in California, and I was so mesmerized because I've been
in those wildfires, I know what they're like that I
(33:36):
couldn't figure out how the hell did they film that?
So I got online started digging into about this movie,
and it turns out that while it was filmed in Riodosa,
the fires were filmed on a campus in Santa Fe
where they took propane tanks tied pine trees all around them,
and they would light the pine trees catch that footage,
(33:58):
and that was the footage they would use. Oh, it's
the Lost Bus. The name of the movie was the
Lost Bus, and now that and I was doing that
while I was watching the film on TV at home,
and then it just kind of changed everything. While it
was still great, it was still a good story, but
then I realized that, yeah, what I'm really watching is
(34:20):
all fake, all filmed with CGI and other places. The
cost of everything is still sky high, and I know
a lot of people are relying on credit cards to
cover those costs. But guess what, You're not alone with
that debt piling up.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Americans collectively owe more than a trillion dollars in credit
card debt. And I know you might have thought about
reaching out to American financing, but then you hesitated, and
you hesitated because you don't want to do anything that
might affect your current loan mortgage rate. Well, here's the
good news, and it's called the smart Equity loan. This
is a solution designed to help you take control of
your finances and you don't touch your current mortgage and
(34:59):
it's not like he lock that might have a variable rate.
The smart equity loan offers you a fixed rate, meaning
that you get one predictable monthly payment and the peace
of mind that comes with that. So that allows you
to leverage the equity your home. You can pay off
higher interest at free up your cash flow, and keep
your existing loan mortgage. It only takes ten minutes to
get started, and remember there are zero upfront and there
(35:21):
are no hidden fees. So call American Financing today. Remember
you can call American Financing from anywhere in the country.
You just tell that Michael Brown sent you three zero
three six nine five seven thousand three zero three six
nine five seven thousand, or go online American Financing dot net,
NMLS one A two three three four NMLS Consumer access
dot org
Hey, Dragon, you're supposed to play a talk back after
low Hal Friday plays it for a little bit on Friday.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah, unfortunately Dragon's not here.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Oh my god, is that you?
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Is?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
That is the one, the one the Jesse is filling
in today.
Speaker 4 (00:13):
They called me in from the bullpen. Season went from
bad to worse. Here I am with you incredible.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
So the season sucks so bad if they're blaming you
so as punishing if they bring you in here today.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, they're like, I couldn't get anywhere for him.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
He'll do it, call him in and work for Brown. Yeah,
he's used to getting beat down over the summer. He
won't mind.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
But you know, for for a season. That's by the way.
If you guys don't really know, Jesse is the engineer
and I don't know what your producer engineer what.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
They actually call you, Michael, let's put some respect on it.
Executive producer of the Colorado Rockies Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Oh yes, oh okay, you know, okay, mister, I wouldn't
brag about that a lot, you.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Know, No, no, no, you're right. Let's move on.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So you got from loser to loser. So that's pretty good.
But here, you know, there's here's the good news. The
good news is Dragon just has laryngitis and bronchitis. The
bad news is he's not going to die from it.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
He said, whatever you do, if you have any questions,
you have to text me because I cannot speak.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So okay, yesterday we were talking about he was on air.
He was during during the program, he was trying to
make a doctor's appointment, and he was bitching about no,
he couldn't find the doctor wouldn't let him in. He
finally then got a ten minute appointment. I said, well,
why don't you just go to urgent care instead? To
screw the doctor. Go to an urgent care because they'll
run all the tests because they don't know use so
(01:43):
they're afraid of a malpractice lawsuit, so they'll run every
test in the country. So just go to urgent care instead.
So I don't know what he ended up doing, but
I don't know. About three or four o'clock yesterday I
finally texted him and said, so, what's the news. Are
you are you are? You know? What's the diagnosis? Something? Yeah,
he says, like about larogizing wrong guyness, And I said, oh, so,
so the bad news is you're not gonna die and.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Very nice, Michael.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I know. I tried. I tried to treat my coworkers
with the respect they deserve. And so I waited and
I waited and I waited, and about three or four
minutes later, because I thought you instantaneously, hey, have some
smart ass remark. It took him a little while, but
about maybe three minutes later, I got this reply, something
to the effect, oh, that's exactly what missus Redbeer said.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You got. He gets it at home and he gets
it here.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Poor dragon, poor poor dragon, my ass. It's just Friday,
and he wented the day off, so yesterday he was
trying to do this. You know, it takes a lot
of work today, kind of fake, like you got a
really bad thing.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
He's smart, he's smart, Darry March madness. I do the
same thing on Tuesday. I start coughing around the office.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You know what I mean? You got to set it up.
You can take that whole weekend off.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
See you're not nearly dumb, as people tell me.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
It work smarter. Yeah, yes, see again.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's right now. Many of you may not remember this.
I don't know. I think the reason I remember it
is because I've actually eaten at the steakhouse, but on
December sixteenth, nineteen eighty five, I know, before Jesse was
even born. Probably true or not true?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Uh, not true?
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Okay, all right, what nineteen eighty three.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
No, I'm a seventy eight guy, I'm old.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Oh are you really?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I just look good from all the clean living.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Wow, you know, not to get off topic here, but
you really do look good for you.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Thank you, thank you for being what I've been through.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, I was gonna say, yeah, considering the last few
seasons in the travel and everything else, you look damn good.
So let's be honest. I said. You don't take this wrong,
but you will. You look very healthy and kind of
like happy and good.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yeah the way, I have to go back and look
at some of my old photos and see how I
looked prior to this could but yeah, you were very
complimentary this morning.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I just kind of thought, you know, you've kind of
been beaten up for the entire season, and it's got
to be a right human. Because then I ask, because
I really wasn't sure whether you traveled.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
With the team yeah or not come in here looking
like a Civil War patient.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Or yeah, I kind of did on stretcher. You know,
they kind of haul you in on a stretcher you'd
put there, and you kind of just put your hands
up on the board and just try to push it
as best you could. That's kind of what I was expecting. Know,
you came in here kind of vibrant and lively and smiling.
I thought, Wow, he's on some sort of drugs. What's that?
I want whatever he takes, So anyway, it's good to
have you here. December sixteenth, nineteen eighty five, sparked Steakhouse,
(04:30):
which is located on I think it's on forty sixth Street,
somewhere between Second and Third Avenue. It's in midtown Manhattan.
I really don't know, honestly, whether it's still there or not.
I should have taken my granddaughter there a couple of
weekends ago. But on that day, Gambino Crant crime family
boss Paul Costellano and his bodyguard Thomas Bilotti were murdered.
(04:52):
I mean just it was a hit outside the entrance
to the steakhouse. Who ordered it, John who then took
over the leadership of the Gambino crime family. It shocked
New York because it occurred right, you know, it occurred
at the time you would expect all of the old
fart mobsters like yours truly, to go have dinner at
(05:14):
a steakhouse. It was five point thirty PM and he
was exiting for an early dinner. So you know, it's
why do I bring that up at all? The National
Basketball Association was rocked by what authorities are described are
calling the most sweeping sports betting case in modern history.
(05:35):
Federal prosecutors unsealed multiple indictments implicating both current and former
NBA figures incur, including some guy that may sound familiar
to Denver folks, Chauncey Billups. I think, let's see, I
made some notes here, Portland Trail Blazer's head coach Chauncey Bellops,
Miami heat guard Terry Rozier. I think there were some others,
(05:58):
but that's it. That's that's enough. So yesterday morning, while
we were on air, Cash Mattel and the US Attorney
announced the arrest of Phillips Rosier and demand Damon demon Jones.
Uh see, so much to know about the NBA. More
than thirty defendants. Thirty defendants charged in two interrelated federal
(06:20):
investigations out of the Eastern District of New York. Now,
according to the prosecutors, we'll get we'll get to the
crime family, the mafia in just a minute. But according
to the prosecutors, the dual indictments involved. And let me
just say right up front, as a kid from Oklahoma
(06:41):
and as a taxpayer in New Mexico, and as someone
who likes to go to Vegas and will sometimes gamble
a little bit, but I control my I control my
gambling and the fact that I come into this filthy
studio every day and risk, you know, getting some sort
of exotic disease. I know my limit. I go with
(07:02):
a certain amount of money. There are times when I,
you know, win a lot and I think, well, let's
just keep playing a little bit longer, and then I
lose it all and then that's it. Or sometimes I'll
actually do pretty well and I call it today, and
you know, then that pays for dinner, and I spend
it anyway. I see gambling as entertainment, but entertainment that
you could easily get addicted to. So I've always had
(07:26):
a little bit of a problem. Now get don't get
me wrong. I'm still libertarian, and I still think that
if people want to go gamble. Just like if people
want to go drink or they want to go smoke
marijuana or whatever, that's fine, just you know, just don't
just don't ruin your family, don't ruin your life with it. Okay,
that's my concern. But the incessant, absolutely and I know
(07:47):
at one time they sponsored this program and I don't
even remember which, you know, betting outfit it was, but
the incessant, constant gamble, and the parlays like whose fart's
going to be the most on the sideline, you can
bat on anything you can possibly imagine. It's just out
of control. And of course the lottery, the lottery drives
(08:10):
me bananas because it shows how now if you do
it like occasionally, if it gets to you know, well
here considering how much iHeart pays, if the Colorado Lottery
gets up to one thousand dollars, then we put in
a pool because we all want a thousand dollars because
we're all paid so poorly. But if it gets up
to you know, the billions of things, somebody in this
(08:33):
building will inevitably want to have a pool and all
throw in a couple of bucks. But I realized that
it's just for fun, because if you and you guys know,
having listened to me, I'm not very good at math,
but I do understand odds somewhat. When and when you
tell me that the odds are one in two hundred
(08:53):
and fifty million, you know, so like or three hundred
and fifty let's just take it to the US population,
so the odds are one in three hundred and fifty
nine million or whatever the current population in the United
States is. I know that whenever I'm, you know, putting
my money in to win a bazillion dollars in the lotto,
that my odds are, you know, it's more likely that
(09:15):
they're gonna walk in here today and say, hey, Brown,
you know what, we think you do a great job.
We're gonna triple your salary. I got better odds of
that happening than winning the lotto, which is why I
bet on the lotto, because you know that's a better
odd don't it. It just seems to me that we,
(09:35):
how do I say this kindly, we play on This
is not everybody's. I'm making a generalization, but I know
it doesn't apply to everyone. But I see too many
people if I stop to get a diet coke somewhere
at a convenience store, which I really do, rarely do anymore.
But if I do and somebody's in there buying five
or ten dollars worth of lotto tickets, yes I make
(09:57):
a judgment, and shame on me for making the job.
You can criticize me for all you want to, But
I think once you take that ten dollars and buy
something for your kids, you know, like to just take
them to McDonald's, give them something nutritious, don't buy them
a back of potato chips, take them to McDonald's, you know.
But they make the choice, and I support them being
(10:20):
able to make the choice. So back to the NBA story.
The court documents, which I've just skimmed through. There's not
a lot online, but I've skimmed through as much as
I can find. On Lexus and Nexus outline seven specific
games in which Rosier and this associates allegedly manipulated the
betting lines, including a March twenty third, twenty twenty three
(10:41):
Hornets Pelicans matchup where he reportedly feigned an early game
injury in order to benefit the gamblers holding pre arranged wagers.
In another case, former player demon James is accused of
leaking medical details about a Los Angeles These Lakers player
before a Bucks Lakers game in February of twenty three,
(11:04):
warning associates to that big on Milwaukee. So the FBI
investigators estimate the two year operation netted insiders seven million
dollars in illicit profit through both legal and offshore sports books. Now,
this is totally unrelated, totally unrelated, so does not draw
(11:26):
any sort of cause of link here. But I was
struck by the seven million dollars because we have a
Virginia governor's race in which the Democrat cannot account for.
She's been asked like, since you've been in Congress, you
made seven million dollars? How did you make seven million dollars?
(11:47):
She can't answer the question, or she refuses to answer
the question. And I know it's totally unrelated, but what's
with seven million dollars? If I wake up today and
there's seven million dollars in my bank account, well I'd
be like, we're the other three million dollars ago? Right? Ah,
in my dreams, seven million dollars through illicit profits through
(12:09):
both legal and offshore sports books. Bets were placed in
advance of lineup announcements using information obtained from coaches, trainers,
and even team personnel that were paid to provide tips.
This is pretty this is this is amazing. This is
(12:29):
really the It's just it's just the mafia's moved into
a new reil here now. In a In a parallel indictment,
Billets and Jones are alleged to have participated in the
high stakes underground poker ring operating in New York, Vegas
and Miami. This is a movie, isn't it. I mean,
what if I said you're under If you're hey, let's
(12:52):
start an underground poker ring. Where do you want to
do it? Well, maybe maybe back in the forties, you
might say Denver because of the Maldoons or whatever that
gambling family. But you would think, let's do it in New York, Miami,
in Las Vegas. It's like we're back in the sixties
or something. The federal agents say the games used altered
(13:15):
electronic shuffling machines designed to read cards and then feed
the modern technology game. Electronic shuffling machines. You've seen those,
and surely you've seen them in some casino somewhere to
read the cards, feed the information to outside operators. Then
that would allow the designated players to win predictably controlled hands. Wow,
(13:41):
modern technology put to fantastic use. I guess members of
organized crime syndicates reportedly manage debt collections, get the baseball
bat time to collect the debt, and took cuts from
the winnings. Prosecutors alleged that Billups, who is just as
(14:04):
a reminder of Hall of Famer and a former NBA
Finals MVP, acted as a celebrity magnet to attract wealthy
participants now unaware that some games were pre rigged for
NBA franchises. Lakers, Raptors, Hornets, Trailblazers have been cited in
(14:26):
the indictments for connection to relevant games or personnel, but
now they used to make clear they faced no allegations
of organizational wrongdoing. I would as of yet, I think
this investment, I mean, the investigations been going on for
quite a while, but just don't be surprised if at
(14:48):
some point it gets it gets to that point. So
the NBA released a statement yesterday. They put Billups and
Rosier on indefinite administrative leave, and of course they pledged
full co oper the authorities. Of course, you do. What
else were you supposed to do? Clam up? No, but
you better lawyer up. I'd suggest that the commissioner of
(15:08):
the NBA, who's a weird dude in my opinion. Do
you know him personally? Have you ever met him? Jesse?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I met him twice.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
We've done a couple of interviews when I was working
for Altitude back in the day. He is a very
strange guy. He needs to eat a sandwich. He looks
iron deficient. He's just a strange dude, for sure.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
It's like put on a little bit. It's like he's
anorexic and he's pale. He's been tied up in a basement.
David Stern would have never allowed this to happen. He
would have gotten around this somehow. But yeah, he's Silver's
it's it's a crazy story. I just mentioned the fact
that maybe I know somebody that's gotten a skating letter
from an NBA commissioner before.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
I might know that guy too. Really, I might know
that guy too. I went to the high school with
Chauncey Billups at George Washington too, So when I heard
this news yesterday, I'm like, no, this cannot be true. Smooth,
you know, they call him the King of park Hill,
like he I grew up them. Wow, he graduated ninety five.
I graduated ninety six in GW. So I was like,
this cannot be true. I hope it's I still hope
(16:07):
it's not accurate, but we'll see.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Well, usually when there's an indictment.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Well yeah, four year and long investigation in the FBI
comes knocking on your doors.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
They got the goods.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
He is presumed in this sit until proven guilty. But
there must be something there there to at least get
the indictment. Well, so we have man six degrees of separation.
Now I don't want to hear you separation. I'm impressed.
So of course politicians have to, you know, they got
(16:37):
to jump in too. So a congressman that you've never
even heard of before. I've never heard of this guy
in my entire life. Paul Tonko of New York, apparently
he's an outspoken critic of sports betting legalization, called the
scandal quote an inevitable consequence of the unchecked explosion of
gambling in professional sports. Well, you know, you might call
(16:59):
him master the obvious. Who could have ever seen this coming?
When you get inundated with betting commercials almost as much
as you do beer commercials or anything else they're selling.
Now it's like good grief. So the investigation remains ongoing,
and they've warned that further arrests are possible. Now that
(17:21):
was from one of the from one of the legal
things that I was reading, and I thought, when they
say further rests are possible, everybody out there, innocent or not,
is talking to a lawyer, because you never know when
the comes at the door. Even if you're just even
(17:45):
involved on maybe they just want you as a material witness.
They're still going to come knock on your door. And
even as a material witness, you're going to want to
be lawyered up because clearly anything that you say canon
will be used against you. You don't have to mirandize
you if you're going to be a material witness. But
I'd still win a lawyer. So here are some of
(18:06):
the charges wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering. Those carry potential
sentences up to twenty years per count. Billips and Jones
faced similar allegations tied to the poker operation. So here
you have the convergence of NBA figures, high profile NBA figures,
mafia affiliates, insider waging, and now we're going to have
(18:28):
a whole debate over legalized gambling, yep, which is probably
what we need to have. But here's a better question.
The better question is what about the mafia.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
I know you're not a sports guy, but Chauncey billups
was the king of basketball in Colorado. The FBI just
proved it was a fair of kings.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Pretty good.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
That was pretty good. And no, I'm not a sports guy,
but I know who Johncey Billups is. It's like, you know, uh,
who's this John Elway guy? Who's that? Who are the
Blake Street Bombers? I don't remember any of them? Don't
shut Yeah, I don't know't.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Know if you've been in Colorado for any amount of time,
you know Chauncey Billupsy.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah exactly. That's exactly right. And apparently some people know
him better than others. Some people. Yep, did you too
cheat on your tests during class or anything.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
I'm a little offended. I wasn't let in on this
as well. I'll talk about that with him later once
I have more information.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeah, exactly. It's like you could be off that plane
and living it down in you know, on South Beach
in Miami or something.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
He shot me a text man from.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
All instead, you have to sit here and work with
me today. Yeah, because you need the money just as
much as I did.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Insult to injury, thanks a lot, Chauncey.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
So I have I have a text message that says
I really wish you wouldn't talk about this all that,
although I know you have to. So I was really
curious about why do you not want me to talk
about this? Because this is an amazing story about American culture.
So goober number seventy nine to forty six row, I
suppose you do have to talk about this gambling thing,
(20:15):
but I wish you wouldn't. And I broke back something
you think about? Well, why explain? I suppose because I
really don't care about a bunch of rish at rich
ass sports people freaking doing illegal betting. Why is that
got asterix and then getting themselves hemmed up over it?
Maybe because I think there are issues out there that
(20:35):
affect regular people who don't have their heads in the
gambling tree.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
No.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
See, here's why I disagree. Because I think that gambling,
just take the word gambling. I think that has become
an an inherently widespread and I think I don't want
to say evil, because I don't think gambling is inherently evil,
but I think it's cruel because every time I, for example,
(21:06):
northbound on the twenty five near I think somewhere between
the Alameda exit and the sixth Avenue exit is a
giant billboard that shows how much the current Powerball and
Colorado Latto winnings are. If you're the winner, that is designed.
(21:29):
Gambling is designed to feed you a fun and it
plays on ignorance. It plays on absolute utter ignorance about odds.
Now again, don't get me wrong, I keep throwing this
caveat in there. If you approach gambling as I'm going
to limit my exposure and this is nothing but entertainment,
(21:51):
I have no problem with that. But if you're struggling
to pay bills, now, think about this. You're already struggling
to pay bills. And I know we all do things
we you know, most normal people, at one time or another.
I don't care how well you take care of your finances.
(22:11):
You worry about money. People always worry about money. So
if you're but in your if you're in a position
where you don't know if you'll have enough money to
pay for the groceries for the kids, or to make
the car payments, or to make the mortgage payment, or
to pay off the minimumount due in the credit cards,
for example, whatever it is. And you see that billboard
(22:32):
and you're you're you're inundated with the idea that you
could become a billionaire overnight. That's playing on your ignorance,
and I think it's cruel. And so when I see
people buying you know, scratch tickets and lotto tickets and
everything else, I confess I do make a judgment. And
(22:53):
my judgment is now and I don't know, so it's
it's a I shouldn't be making the judgment, but I do.
I think to myself, why don't you use that money
to do something productive? Now they may be doing it
out of you know, I don't know. Maybe they dress
like me, so they think, you know, I think that
they're you know, just a Porsche lub because I don't
(23:15):
dress very well. And so they you know, they may
be a millionaire and they're doing it for pure entertainment. Okay,
that's fine. But if you're doing it because you desperately
need money, then you ought to take that money you
have and figure out a better constructive way to use it.
(23:36):
And so I think that that is the number one
reason why this story is important. And I think the
number two reason that it's important is because, oh, the mafia,
which you know, Oh, you got supposed to use that word,
because you know, that's that's an old term. We don't
use that term anymore. Oh really, well, let me see
how many times I can use it in this segment,
(23:59):
because the mafia is a really crosy absolutely correct. So
let's take those child sex traffickers, Let's take the people
that traffic humans across the border. Let's take people that
do the drug dealing. Let's take all of that. They're bad.
Mafia does the same thing, except the mafia might be
(24:21):
involved in, I don't know, the garbage business, or the
concrete business, or you know, the construction business, or anything else.
So this is something that is an inherent part of
American history and our society, and now it's infused something
that we watch that we think is on the up
and up. Oh turns out maybe not quite so much. Anyway.
(24:45):
So back to I want to talk about the mafia
crime families for a moment they financed and managed key
aspects of these schemes. The FBI has confirmed that members
and associates of the Banano, the gamb you know, the
Genovie's and the Lucheesy fan crime families. Gee, it's like
(25:06):
it's that's the title of a movie right there, played
central roles in organizing, funding and enforcing enforcing. It's being
a baseball I think baseball bats or I don't know,
just to you know a thirty eight special that connected
NBA insiders to illegal betting and the rig poker games. Now,
(25:31):
I'm not an NBA fan. I like college basketball. I
think NBA is just well, I just don't find it
all that interesting. Now, aren't you at sometimes going to wonder, well,
is this game fixed? Is it fixed? This is like
the the This is like the big baseball controversy, really
(25:54):
where history repeats itself. So baseball, now we got basketball.
The affidavits describe a hierarchy. Of course, We're in the
capos and the soldiers from the Gambino on the Bonano
families front of the cash to bankroll of the illegal
poker ring, while the Genevies, Newkesey, the LUCIESI associates. They
(26:16):
managed all the logistics, the transportation of equipment, the laundering,
the money laundering through shell companies and guess what crypto? Yes,
bitcoin or ethereum or you know, but the cryptocurrencies. The
poker operation, which began around twenty nineteen, was described by
(26:38):
the FBI as a multi state traveling casino. I like
it when they insert a little humor in this, featuring
high stakes games in New York, the Hampton's, Miami Vegas
and often attended by celebrities and professional athletes. Now what
I'm curious about now, when are the tabloids going to
(26:59):
get hold to this? When are we going to find
out which of your favorite celebrities? And I don't even
dare name one because one, I don't want to get
sued for bibel and slander. But why wait? Wait until
the names start dropping about the celebrities that were involved
in the illegal poker games or that we're betting on
(27:20):
the basketball games? And how much did they know or
not know? You know, when it comes to the New
York Knicks, there's a guy that I know that is
always on the court side, that you know. Now I wonder,
I wonder how much he knew, so who knows. We'll
see what. We'll see whether or not he gets spiked
(27:42):
in this deck collection. You got mafia, you gotta have
the deck collectors. We're largely handled by the Bonano family
soldiers ernest Io and Julius Zilani. Oh my god. This
is just so stereotypical, isn't it. It's just like.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
I'm the Netflix documentary is going to be outstanding.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
It is going to be wonderful, And I'm sitting here
thinking I should take all of my notes and just
find somebody in Hollywood and here's my I just wrote
your screen I'm a screenwriter right now. So anyway, we'll
take a break, but I'll finish this up next and
then those of you who don't like to hear about
the gambling story will move on to something else. But
(28:30):
the thing about the intersection with the crime families and
the NBA players, that's next.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
If people think the NBA is rigged, wait till you
see what they uncover for the NFL.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Is there? Well, we got NBA, NFL, get MLB? I mean,
is soccer rigged? I just for some reason, I just
don't see soccer as being that. And maybe it's because
of the history of Major League Baseball, with all of
that storied history. But I just can't see soccer and
(29:08):
this really is you know, think about this. Here's how
the FBI described so. Oh, somebody asked me on the
text line, do I see rico charges coming?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Absolutely, I think they'll be rico charges coming in this thing.
And in fact, think about this, because here's how the
FBI described this whole case, the fusion of organized crime
with insider sports betting as the modern evolution of racketeering
in the digital age. That's actually a pretty brilliant statement.
(29:41):
I think this is a hybrid of old school mafia
extortion with technologically sophisticated fraud. Now, not to put you
on the spot here, Jesse, but you said something about
they use these machines in Vegas and that they can
even tell it cards missing or so.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
These X ray tables, they've been using them in Vegas forever,
so they know they can tell if a card's missing
from the shoe.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
So the table has xtra.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Correct underneath it, and they use it to know if
somebody pocketed a card, and they can tell exactly what
card is missing. Now, these guys from what I understand,
took that and then also marked the top of the
cards so that you could see with a special pair
of glasses what exactly what.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Cards they were.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Holy crap.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
Yeah, So there's some pictures online about these tables. It
looks like an MRI machine underneath the table.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
It's wild. Wow.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
So even so, that's why they would have the private games.
That's that's why they have the illegal games. Yep, so
they could they couldn't walk into the you know.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Now, these were back room deals for sure. Yeah, and
they've been going around for UNI. I said twenty nineteen.
I think there's a couple of clips out there. Some
guy knew about it a couple of years ago and
kind of called Chauncey out for it, and it never
got any attention, And now here we are.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I mean I got maybe didn't get any intention because
if somebody mentioned something, the FBI could have said.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
Yeah, it's kind of a squelch within the high limit
poker community, which I'm not a member of.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
And I don't think that's whatever.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Oh no, I actually I am.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
You know, but when they're you know, when you're risking
hundreds of thousands of dollars, you want to know that
the game's on the up and up, and apparently somebody
caught wind of it a few years ago that it
was not so well. We'll just have to see how
it all plays out. It's wild, wild story.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
It is.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
It's a totally wild story. And it really gets to
think about the fusion of everything that Jesse just described
about I was totally unaware of, like X ray machines
or MRIs or whatever it might be at a poker table.
But think about the fusion of technology, cheating, the human
(31:51):
nature of you know, always always trying to, you know,
find a shortcut to something, and then artificial intelligence. Now
what I had to do with anything, Because you know,
I've been talking about how I'm so sick. Now sometimes
they're enjoyable. I told you about the video I think
yesterday I told you the video I saw on Facebook
(32:13):
of Don Rickles where they had taken Don Rickles sitting
at the chair the couch with Johnny Carson and they
had used some AI platform to have Don Rickles now
telling current jokes about current events. And for when I
first saw it, for that split second, I thought, eh, yeah,
(32:35):
kind of funny, and then I thought this really actually
isn't funny at all because it's not real. It's fake.
And I don't like to live in a world where
I have to question where everything is real or artificial?
Is it real? Is it live or is it memorys?
(32:55):
That showed that you want to date me right there?
Is it live or is at memorys? This is the
kind of world that we now live in, and I
think it's going to get even worse. So is the
game on the up and up? Is the game really real?
Is the game rigged? Is it not rigged? Is what
I'm seeing on the screen? I mean, for example, you
(33:16):
walk into a movie theater. We watched a movie about
the fires in uh in California, the Cedar Fire. Now,
I think the Cedar Fire was when I was involved
in anyway one of the fires in in Los Ange
in California, and I was so mesmerized because I've been
in those wildfires, I know what they're like that I
(33:36):
couldn't figure out how the hell did they film that?
So I got online started digging into about this movie,
and it turns out that while it was filmed in Riodosa,
the fires were filmed on a campus in Santa Fe
where they took propane tanks tied pine trees all around them,
and they would light the pine trees catch that footage,
(33:58):
and that was the footage they would use. Oh, it's
the Lost Bus. The name of the movie was the
Lost Bus, and now that and I was doing that
while I was watching the film on TV at home,
and then it just kind of changed everything. While it
was still great, it was still a good story, but
then I realized that, yeah, what I'm really watching is
(34:20):
all fake, all filmed with CGI and other places. The
cost of everything is still sky high, and I know
a lot of people are relying on credit cards to
cover those costs. But guess what, You're not alone with
that debt piling up.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Americans collectively owe more than a trillion dollars in credit
card debt. And I know you might have thought about
reaching out to American financing, but then you hesitated, and
you hesitated because you don't want to do anything that
might affect your current loan mortgage rate. Well, here's the
good news, and it's called the smart Equity loan. This
is a solution designed to help you take control of
your finances and you don't touch your current mortgage and
(34:59):
it's not like he lock that might have a variable rate.
The smart equity loan offers you a fixed rate, meaning
that you get one predictable monthly payment and the peace
of mind that comes with that. So that allows you
to leverage the equity your home. You can pay off
higher interest at free up your cash flow, and keep
your existing loan mortgage. It only takes ten minutes to
get started, and remember there are zero upfront and there
(35:21):
are no hidden fees. So call American Financing today. Remember
you can call American Financing from anywhere in the country.
You just tell that Michael Brown sent you three zero
three six nine five seven thousand three zero three six
nine five seven thousand, or go online American Financing dot net,
NMLS one A two three three four NMLS Consumer access
dot org
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.