{"id":101670,"date":"2025-11-07T06:38:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T06:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/israeli-crime-figure-accused-of-shaking-down-high-stakes-la-poker-games\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T06:38:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T06:38:43","slug":"israeli-crime-figure-accused-of-shaking-down-high-stakes-la-poker-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/israeli-crime-figure-accused-of-shaking-down-high-stakes-la-poker-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Crime Figure Accused of Shaking Down High-Stakes LA Poker Games"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"post-content__sub-title\">\n        Posted on: November 6, 2025, 04:35h.\u00a0\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"post-content__sub-title\">\n        Last updated on: November 6, 2025, 04:35h.\n    <\/p>\n<div class=\"post-info-panel\">\n<div class=\"post-info-panel__author-holder js-open-close\">\n<div class=\"post-info-panel__author-logo\">\n                <img alt=\"Avatar photo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-50x50.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-100x100.png 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-50 photo\" height=\"50\" width=\"50\" decoding=\"async\"\/>            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Affidavit outlines threats in Los Angeles\u2019 underground poker circuit<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Israeli national accused of extortion, not direct violent crimes<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Hollywood Hills murder adds fear to L.A.\u2019s poker elite<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em>Federal prosecutors say an alleged Israeli organized-crime figure tried to muscle into L.A.\u2019 high-stakes private poker scene with threats and \u201cprotection\u201d demands.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_367304\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-367304\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-367304\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Waknine-858x482.jpg\" alt=\"Assaf Waknine, Hai Waknine, Los Angeles poker, extortion, organized crime, Hollywood Hills murder\" width=\"858\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Waknine-858x482.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Waknine-430x242.jpg 430w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Waknine.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-367304\" class=\"text-description\">Assaf \u201cAce\u201d Waknine, above, faces a charge of transmitting threatening communications linked to alleged extortion in Los Angeles\u2019 high-stakes poker scene. (Image: US DOJ)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A newly filed affidavit accuses Assaf \u201cAce\u201d Waknine, 52, of transmitting threatening communications in interstate and foreign commerce in connection with his alleged threats to the host of a big-money game.<\/p>\n<p>One threat referenced a man who had been shot dead in an apparently targeted killing at an earlier game in the Hollywood Hills.<\/p>\n<p>Waknine is not currently in custody. The Israeli national, who has convictions for assault, burglary and forgery, was deported from the U.S. in 2011 and is believed to be living in Mexico. His attorney, Brett Greenfield, told <em>The L.A. Times<\/em> his client denies making threats or extorting anyone.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Hollywood Home Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, exclusive private poker games <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/former-nba-star-arenas-arrested-in-illegal-gambling-bust\/\">flourished in L.A. and Beverly Hills<\/a>. These games attracted celebrities, wealthy entrepreneurs, and professional gamblers, according to prosecutors, with buy-ins starting at around $20K. Hosts could make $100K a night from tips and rake, the affidavit states.<\/p>\n<p>They were luxurious affairs, with dealers, DJs, bartenders, cocktail waitresses, chefs, and security \u2013 and prosecutors say Waknine and his brother, Hai Waknine \u2013 once described as a henchman for Israel\u2019s Abergil crime family \u2013 wanted a piece.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>From mid-2023, it was clear some of these games were being targeted by bad actors. There was a series of arson attacks, and then there was the fatal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-hills-murder-exposed-gambling-ring-that-embroiled-gilbert-arenas\/\">shooting of Emil Lahaziel<\/a>, also an Israeli national with connections to organized crime.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Waknine is not accused of participating in any of these incidents, but he did leverage Lahaziel\u2019s death to put the frighteners on the host he was trying to extort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess you really want to end up like your other bitch-ass poker buddy,\u201d Waknine wrote in a text message after being rebuffed by the host, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Who Was Emil Lahaziel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lahaziel had relocated to L.A. from Florida not long before his death. According to a federal affidavit, he had heavy debts and connections to criminal circles that included the Waknine brothers. Divorce records cited by <em>The Times<\/em> show that Lahaziel once warned his wife that people wanted to kill him \u201cbecause of some of the activities he did out of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Israel, he had declared bankruptcy, reporting more than $1.5 million in liabilities, even as he posted images of private jets and high-end cars on Instagram.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>On the night he was killed, Lahaziel was attending a poker game hosted by social-media personality Tony Toutouni, according to police testimony. Shortly after 2 a.m., he stepped outside to meet someone \u2014 minutes later, he was fatally shot in the face.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Two gang members, Ricardo Corral and Jose Martinez Sanchez, have since been charged with his murder. Investigators linked the two to a stolen Dodge truck captured on surveillance footage near the scene and corroborated by phone records and witness statements, court filings show. Both men have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/israeli-crime-figure-accused-of-shaking-down-high-stakes-la-poker-games\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Posted on: November 6, 2025, 04:35h.\u00a0 Last updated on: November 6, 2025, 04:35h. Affidavit outlines threats in Los Angeles\u2019 underground poker circuit Israeli national accused<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gambling"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}