Nothing But Bet: The NBA Gambling Scandal; Is Trump’s Drug War a Smoke Screen?

It’s the gambling scandal shaking the NBA and the Mob underworld. Federal officials have charged more than 30 people in two sweeping investigations, “Operation Nothing But Bet” and “Operation Royal Flush.” The feds say the schemes involved illegal sports gambling and high-stakes poker rigging backed by organized crime. Among those arrested: Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA player Damon Jones. The charges include wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and illegal gambling, with victims allegedly cheated out of $7 million. Host Yasmin Vossoughian is joined by Jonathan Dienst, the chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC here in New York, as well as NBC Sports NBA writer and managing editor Kurt Helin. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military has launched a second deadly strike on vessels in the Pacific, part of what the administration claims is a crackdown on drug trafficking at sea. But are the strikes strictly about drugs? Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins the pod to break it down. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.