More details are sure to follow after Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier were arrested for their part in a federal gambling scandal. Among the other NBA figures allegedly involved in the scheme was Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.
While he has been named, there haven’t been many details about what he did, and it may be a while before specifics emerge. However, we do have anecdotes from those in the know about Lue and how he played poker.
What’s the Inside Scoop on Tyronn Lue’s Poker History?
The Sporting News’ Steph Noh revealed his own personal history with Lue during his own time as a professional poker player, following up on the original report of Lue’s involvement in the scandal.
“According to reporting by Pablo Torre, Lue was advertised as a whale in order to entice players into attending that game,” Noh wrote.
“Here’s what you need to know about whales. You’re not necessarily a whale because you’re famous. The average person probably doesn’t know who Guy Laliberte is, but poker players are well aware of the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil because of the millions he’s lost in the game.
“Ty wouldn’t have been marketed as a whale because he was a former NBA player. Sure, it might make for a cool story down the line for Laker fans to recount playing with a former Kobe teammate. But the locals mostly were interested in playing with him because we assumed that he had money to burn and was bad at poker. It takes a lifetime of study to master the game. People with other careers rarely have the time to do it properly.”
Despite the reputation that whales have, Lue was anything but that according to Noh.
“The bad news for all of us was that Lue didn’t make a good whale. He turned out to be a solid poker player during the handful of times I played with him.”
Noh then revealed that people who play professional poker have varying approaches to the game. He then revealed what he knew about Lue and Billups in this case.
“Reputation means everything in the city. I once had a guy whose last name I didn’t know hand me $60k in chips from a big poker win to hold onto for a night without a second thought. He wanted to make sure he didn’t blow it on craps after heading to the club, and his friend vouched for me.
“Other players are sociopathic vultures, charming their way into loans from everyone in order to feed their degenerate gambling addiction.
“I don’t know Lue well enough to say which bucket he falls into. I never gambled big enough to play in the private games that he was at. But I have friends of friends that got cheated out of six figures in Billups’ rigged game, and you hear a lot of stuff when you spend most of 12 years inside of casinos. I’ve heard Lue has a good reputation in the poker community. I can’t say the same about Billups.”
Before I was an NBA writer, I was a pro poker player for 12 years. I played against many pro athletes, including Ty Lue a few times.
Here’s a snapshot of that period of my life, and thoughts on Lue’s alleged connection to Chauncey Billups’ private game:https://t.co/kDW3hALdso
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) November 7, 2025
This is an honest but rather ambiguous report on Lue’s involvement. He definitely played a fair amount, but it doesn’t confirm if he was in on it. If anything, it shows that while Lue may have played with Billups, he wasn’t involved in the scheme.
This could be good news for the Clippers. If it turns out Lue wasn’t involved in the scheme, then he has nothing to worry about. However, this is Noh’s experience, and there could definitely be more intel coming out over the next several months.
