Israeli Crime Figure to Plead Guilty in Poker Ring Linked to Gilbert Arenas

Posted on: April 7, 2026, 01:58h. 

Last updated on: April 7, 2026, 01:58h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Yevgeni Gershman to plead guilty over high-stakes poker ring charges
  • Illegal games at Arenas mansion allegedly tied to criminal network
  • Hollywood Hills murder probe exposed broader underground gambling scene

An alleged Israeli Mafia figure is set to plead guilty to illegal gambling charges for his role in organizing high-stakes poker games at the Encino, Calif. mansion of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas.

Gilbert Arenas, Yevgeni Gershman, illegal poker ring, Hollywood Hills murder, LA gambling investigation
Gilbert Arenas, above, checks out the college basketball game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the USC Trojans on January 21, 2026, at Galen Center in Los Angeles. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of operating an illegal gambling business. (Image: Brian Rothmuller/Getty)

Yevgeni Gershman, 50, was arrested in July 2025 along with Arenas and four others in connection with the games, which, according to a federal indictment, were lavish affairs staffed by bartenders, chefs, valets, and women offering “companionship.” The games took place from September 2021 to July 2022, prosecutors said.

Last week, Gershman agreed to a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, money laundering, weapons possession, and making false statements in immigration documents.

The final charge relates to an alleged scheme to enter by Gershman into a sham marriage to obtain permanent legal status in the United States, prosecutors said.

Arenas Denies Charges

Arenas has been charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business, and making false statements to federal investigators. He denies the charges and is scheduled to go on trial in May.

The mansion was raided by LAPD and DEA agents in July 2022, where they found a game in full swing, according to the indictment. A DEA aircraft overhead captured images of guests fleeing through the backyard.

Police targeted the property after a gambler who said he lost $1.2 million in a single night reported being threatened by Israeli mob figures and identified Gershman as the person running the operation.

Ring Linked to Killing?

A year after the raid, another Israeli national, Emil Lahaziel, 39, who had suspected ties to criminal networks, was found shot to death outside a Hollywood Hills mansion that had been hosting another high-stakes poker game.

The investigation into Lahaziel’s killing prompted LAPD detectives to begin connecting the dots between a series of high-stakes poker games hosted in mansions across Encino, Sherman Oaks, and the Hollywood Hills. It ultimately led them to uncover a sprawling network of illicit card games.

While Gershman and Lahaziel are reported to have known one another, prosecutors have not accused Gershman of any involvement in the killing. Two gang members, Ricardo Corral and Jose Martinez Sanchez, have been charged with murder in connection with the case.

Additionally, several of the five defendants – excluding Arenas – were linked to an illegal poker operation in a downtown high-rise where missing Los Angeles woman Heidi Planck was last seen in 2021.