FFormer NBA star Gilbert Arenas was released on a $50,000 bail bond after being arrested in Los Angeles on federal charges related to an illegal poker operation. Arenas broke his silence shortly after his release.
The controversial analyst posted a video of himself running down a flight of stairs, as he yelled, “Can’t hold me, baby! They can’t hold me! Hello!”
He wrote, “I’m back on the streets. This ain’t got [expletive] to do with me, just rented the house. Wasn’t a part.”
Arenas was arrested alongside five other defendants — including an individual with links to an Israeli crime ring — for allegedly running an illegal gambling ring, which, according to the Department of Justice, was run out of his home in the Southern California town of Encino.
According to Christine Samra and Travis Schlepp of KTLA, Arenas’ trial date has been set for Sept. 23. The 43-year-old appeared in the U.S. District Court on July 30, where he was hit with three specific charges — one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.
Facing Five Years in Prison
The KTLA report provided additional details on the charges faced by Arenas.
“The three-time All-NBA point guard, who adopted the moniker “Agent Zero” in reference to his jersey number, could face a statutory maximum sentence of five years per count,” wrote Samra and Schlepp.
“Arenas and one of his associates, Arthur Kats, 51, of West Hollywood, “staged the mansion to host the games, found co-conspirators to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf,” prosecutors allege.”
The DOJ listed Arenas’ associates as follows:
- Yevgeni Gershman, 49, a.k.a. “Giora,” of Woodland Hills; a suspected organized crime figure from Israel
- Evgenni Tourevski, 48, a.k.a. “Eugene,” of Tarzana
- Allan Austria, 52, a.k.a. “Elica,” of West Hills
- Yarin Cohen, 27, a.k.a. “YC,” of Tarzana
- Ievgen Krachun, 43, of Tarzana.
Nick Young Rues Arrest
Former NBA player Nick Young, who routinely appears on Gilbert Arenas’ popular “Gil’s Arenas” podcast, had a viral reaction to his colleague’s arrest.
“My brother is an idiot, y’all, we’re gonna change the show from Gil’s Arena to Swaggy’s Arena,” he said while reacting to Arenas’ arest.
“Don’t worry about the show or nothing,” he continued. “I got that now. We might as well change the show to Swaggy’s Arena in conjunction with Gilbert’s. We’re gonna put a little Gilbert sign on the side, but it’s Swaggy’s Arena until you come back home.”
Gilbert Arenas, an 11-year veteran of the NBA, averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds across 552 games for the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, and Memphis Grizzlies. He earned selections to three All-NBA teams and was named an All-Star multiple times. At one point, he was considered one of the league’s best pure scorers.
The former All-Star’s career nosedived after the 2009-10 season for handgun violations stemming from an episode on December 24, 2009. Arenas was accused of violating both NBA rules and D.C. ordinances by bringing firearms into an arena.
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