Rumors of Alex Rodriguez participating in illegal, high-stakes poker games are nothing new. Back in June, Radar Online released a report that connected A-Rod with an illegal poker ring that included Hollywood celebrities Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ben Affleck among others. While millionaires do things like this all the time because they have more money than they know what to do with, the latest report of A-Rod’s involvement with illegal poker games could result in a suspension.
Hardball Talk passed along another report from Radar Online on Wednesday, this time claiming Rodriguez was seen at yet another poker game at record label owner Cody Leibel’s mansion in Beverly Hills. This time however, an eye witness is claiming cocaine was being openly used.
Professional poker player Dan Bilzerian, who says he was at the game along with A-Rod and others, claims some participants (not A-Rod) were using cocaine and a fight nearly broke out when Leibel refused to pay what he lost in the game. Bilzerian did say that Rodriguez distanced himself from the confrontation and did not look like he wanted to deal with it at all. He claims A-Rod lost around a few thousand dollars in the game.
While most of us will chalk this up to millionaires being millionaires, ESPNNewYork.com’s Wallace Matthews is reporting that Bud Selig is “totally fed up” with A-Rod and that a suspension could be looming. Matthews’ source, an MLB executive, says the league is taking the latest accusations very seriously. Since A-Rod has been warned about the same thing before the source says “a suspension is very much in play.”
If the league takes action against A-Rod for his alleged involvement in the game, I’m sure the Yankees will not be happy. Rodriguez is already on the shelf nursing an injury and New York is amidst a tight race with the Red Sox in the AL East. Can’t this guy just go to Vegas?
