Former Knicks star Charles Oakley arrested in Las Vegas casino on gambling fraud charge
Former New York Knicks player Charles Oakley waits for an NBA basketball game to begin between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2017. Credit: AP / Tony Dejak
Former Knicks player Charles Oakley was arrested at a Las Vegas casino on Sunday and is accused of attempting to change his wager “after the outcome was known,” according to a statement by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The specific charge — attempting to commit a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment — is a felony in Nevada and carries a jail sentence between one and six years and a fine of $10,000. The board said the arrest took place at the Cosmopolitan, a Las Vegas Strip hotel and casino.
Oakley was booked and later released from jail, according to The Associated Press.
“The truth always comes out, right?” Oakley told Newsday. “The truth always comes out and that’s all I’ve really got to say.”
Oakley, 54, declined to discuss the specifics of the case. He currently is a head coach in the BIG3 summer basketball league.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board declined to provide any further information. An attorney for Oakley, David Chesnoff, told the AP he is “presently investigating the facts.”
The arrest comes five months after a Manhattan judge officially dismissed the five misdemeanor charges that Oakley faced in relation to his scuffle with Madison Square Garden security guards during a Knicks game in February 2017.
Oakley has since filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Madison Square Garden and MSG executive chairman and chief executive officer James Dolan in response to that televised incident. Attorneys for MSG and Dolan recently asked the judge to throw out the case; the judge has yet to rule.
Oakley had a previous run-in with security at a Las Vegas hotel and casino. A Newsday story in February 2017 detailed a lawsuit Oakley filed against the Aria hotel and casino. He said he suffered “a gang-style beatdown” in 2010 stemming from a disagreement over the pool’s closing time and added that the injuries cut short his NBA coaching career. The casino said Oakley pushed, punched, kicked and bit the officers. Those dueling lawsuits were settled in 2014.
