MLB deals A-Rod a poker probe

Robert Sabo/News

Alex Rodriguez denies allegations that he played in an illegal poker ring.

Yankees�slugger Alex Rodriguez is batting down a report he took part in Tinseltown's top-secret Texas Hold'Em circuit.

"Mr. Rodriguez has not participated in these poker games," spokesman Richard Rubenstein told the Daily News after Star Magazine reported A-Rod was one of the A-list ring's clandestine card sharks.

Star claimed to have three sources placing A-Rod at a high-stakes game at the home of one of the ring's regular high rollers.

"Initially, A-Rod came to the game and simply watched," an unnamed source told Star. "But once he knew what it was all about, he (bought) into the game. He played two or three times, I would estimate."

A-Rod's denial comes six years after the Daily News reported his visits to illegal poker parlors in New York and his vow to walk away.

"This is the first we have heard about this and we will look into it," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said when asked about the allegation.

Poker player Adam Bilzerian also told Star he played with A-Rod in Las Vegas a few years ago and at a private home in the last 18 months.

It's unclear if the home was in Los Angeles.

"Alex busted everyone except me. I was like whoa, this guy can play. He had an amazing run. He won about $20,000 and left with everyone's money," Bilzerian, 27, said of the encounter at the Bellagio in Vegas.

Bilzerian, a pro poker player who renounced his U.S. citizenship, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Back in 2005, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig was "very unhappy" with A-Rod's poker club visits, telling sources they sent the wrong message to young fans.

Hollywood's secret poker ring was exposed recently in a flurry of bankruptcy lawsuits tied to convicted Ponzi schemer Brad Ruderman.

The lawsuits claim the "exclusive" games were invitation-only and took place at high-end hotels, clubs or private residences with players betting hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Actor Tobey Maguire is being sued for his winnings, and other A-list names reportedly in on the games were Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

ndillon@nydailynews.com

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/gossip/~3/vrXQWm1y8fM/2011-07-01_mlb_deals_arod_a_poker_probe_yankees_alex_rodriguez_denies_being_dealt_in_highst.html

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