Documents obtained by ESPN have revealed new details surrounding suspicious betting patterns tied to Terry Rozier during a 2023 NBA game.
A professional bettor reportedly placed 30 wagers in 46 minutes, all involving unders on Rozier’s stats ahead of a Charlotte Hornets game against the New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023.
The total amount wagered was $13,759, and all 30 bets hit after Rozier exited just ten minutes into the game citing a foot injury.
“In all, at least six sportsbooks in multiple states detected suspicious betting on Rozier props that day, with the bulk of the activity occurring in Louisiana and Mississippi,” according to ESPN’s David Purdum.
The largest of those bets, a $2,700 wager on Rozier to finish under 5.5 rebounds, was placed over the counter at Harrah’s Gulf Coast casino using a player’s card. The rest were made on self-serve kiosks starting at 9:37 a.m, before the counter opened.
Harrah’s initially refused to pay out the winning tickets, citing house rules on “rigging” and “suspicion of insider information.” An email from a Mississippi Gaming Commission enforcement team leader asked, “Has Caesars been able to come up with any evidence to support this being insider information? If not, the property which I believe is Harrah’s Gulf Coast/Caesars will need to pay out the wagers.”
On April 12, Caesars informed the commission that it was settling the bets, with the bettor collecting $13,017.70 in net winnings.
Rozier, who was not on the Hornets’ pregame injury report, finished with five points, four rebounds, and two assists, all under his listed props. He missed the rest of the season and was traded to the Miami Heat in January 2024.
Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty had this to say, “my client is not a target of the investigation.” Trusty said, “It’s unfortunate that he’s a big name in sports and is having to endure all this. My hope and expectation is that at some point that they’ll be done with their investigation and will be professional enough to let us know that it’s 100% over and that they reached the same conclusion that was reached in 2023.”
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