NBA Coach Billups Pleads Not Guilty to Poker Game Charges (1)

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to charges he engaged in rigged high-stakes poker games that prosecutors said had ties to the Mafia.

Billups’ lawyer, Marc Mukasey, entered the not guilty plea Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. Billups, 49, was charged along with 30 other defendants in the case.

Prosecutors said Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones acted as “face cards,” high-profile individuals who could help lure wealthy, unsuspecting players to poker games in locations including the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, Miami, Las Vegas and Manhattan.

Billups, who played ...