The former NBA star Charles Oakley pleaded no contest to a small felony charge of disorderly conduct to resolve a legal case which started from an alleged incident of cheating which took place in July at a Las Vegas casino. The plea bargain resulted in no jail time for the defendant but, reportedly, he faced a US$1,000 fine.
As explained by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Mr. Oakley got arrested in Las Vegas on July 7th, after being accused of committing, or attempting to commit, a fraud in a gaming venue. The 54-year-old NBA star was suspected of adding to or reducing his wager during a game at a Las Vegas gambling establishment after the outcome was already known.
At the time when the incident happened, no further details were made public. However, according to a TMZ report, Mr. Oakley pulled back a chip worth $100, after he realized that he was to lose the wager he had made. Then, he added more chips to two other hands in order to boost his winnings at the time he played Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
Oakley’s Attempt to Change Bets Confirmed by Security Footage
The above-mentioned actions, of course, are not permitted in casinos and are considered fraudulent, as the player has tried to reduce his losses and increase his subsequent winnings by tampering with the chips he had already wagered. As mentioned above, his fraudulent act has been categorized as “cheating” by some Nevada Gaming Control Board’s officials.
Oakley’s attempt to alter his bet on at least three occasions was later confirmed by security footage of his play at an Ultimate Texas Hold’em table in the gambling venue.
Originally, the former NBA player was charged with a Class B felony. In case that he was convicted in such an offense, he could have faced a monetary fine of up to US$10,000, as well as an imprisonment sentence of one to six years.
As revealed in a statement provided to ESPN by Oakley’s lawyers, Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff, the retired basketball player had pleaded no contest to the charge of a misdemeanor and appreciated the professionalism of the District Attorney and the Cosmopolitan in the way the incident was resolved.
The former basketball player has spent 19 seasons in the NBA and is most popular as a key contributor to the Knicks over 10 seasons. For the time being, he has an active civil suit against the Knicks owner James Dolan and Madison Square Garden, as he was forcibly removed from the arena’s security in February 2017, and later arrested on charges of misdemeanor assault and trespassing. Later, the former NBA star agreed to a plea deal, under which the charges were dropped. He subsequently filed a civil suit, which alleges libel and defamation.
