New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez played in an underground, illegal poker game where cocaine was openly used, and even organized his own high-stakes game, which ended with thugs threatening players.

A blockbuster Star investigation, published on RadarOnline.com, has uncovered the sordid charges being made by eyewitnesses who played in games with A-Rod, in the top-secret Texas Hold ’Em circuit.

Star first blew the lid off Tinseltown’s clandestin...bling ring in June, revealing that A-list stars including Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon were deeply involved in the illegal games.

Now, in a dramatic turn, A-Rod is facing potential fallout from Major League Baseball, which previously warned him to stay out of illegal poker clubs and now has two investigators looking into his activities.

While the 36-year-old boyfriend of actress Cameron Diaz previously denied participating in the celebrity games, former players in the ring say otherwise and have indicated they’re willing to provide testimony to MLB investigators.

The insiders tell Star exclusively that A-Rod gambled on at least two occasions, in games organized by stunning brunette Molly Bloom, who coordinated the sophistic... operation.

Poker pro Dan Bilzerian told Star how the slugger’s first foray into the elite poker circle quickly turned into a fiasco.

That game was hosted at investor and record label owner Cody Leibel’s $16.5 million Beverly Hills mansion, and cocaine was openly used.

Bilzerian revealed that a fight nearly broke out when Leibel refused to pay after losing more than a half million dollars.

Bilzerian told Star: “Molly ran one game at Cody’s mansion. [One player] got all coked up. Everyone had to chase Cody down for the money, and he later paid me a sum and gave me a watch but stiffed me for $100,000.”

Star has chosen not to disclose the name of the person using cocaine but can reveal that others at the game included Rick Salomon, and Kenny Tran, a professional poker player who won the 2008 World Series of Poker, according to Bilzerian.

With tempers at the table flaring, A-Rod tried to distance himself from the game, another insider told Star. “He just shook his head, not knowing what the hell happened,’’ the whistle-blower revealed.

“He didn’t want to deal with it at all. He was like, ‘OK, whatever. It’s your game.’ I would estimate A-Rod lost, like, a few thousand dollars that night. After everything that happened, he paid-up and left.”

Leibel did not return several requests for comment.

He is one of many being sued by the victims of Ponzi schemer Bradley Ruderman, a Beverly Hills financier who embezzled $25 million of his clients’ money and used $5.2 million of it to pay off monster poker debts to a host of Molly’s players, including Tobey Maguire and The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes.

The Las Vegas–based Bilzerian told Star: “Molly was supposed to vouch for anyone who stiffed, but [she] didn’t cover the loss, and that’s why [in part] she left Los Angeles to go to New York to run games.

“It was a rough initiation to high-stakes for poker for A-Rod,” added the whistleblower, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But Star can reveal the source was on Molly’s payroll and had intimate knowledge of her business’ inner workings, regularly working at her games, which were held at private homes and luxury venues.

Star also has learned that Molly, 33, claimed to have had a steamy affair with A-Rod.

Molly bragged to friends that she helped him put together his own hush-hush game in Miami in November 2009, just weeks after Leibel’s fateful event.

Molly and dealer Manny Lopez flew to Florida to oversee the high-stakes game, Star has confirmed.

Lopez, who is one of those being sued by Ruderman's victims, refused to comment when contacted.

But the Florida gathering also ended in controversy when one “dubious” card shark lost tens of thousands of dollars and called in several thugs in a bid to intimidate rival players and avoid paying his debt.

“The thugs were big and aggressive and were sent to the game with one goal in mind: so their friend could attempt to escape paying what he owed,” the insider told Star.

“A-Rod was freaked out by the company he was keeping and left the game with Molly.”

The source said A-Rod later called some of those involved in the game to discuss what had happened but never again played in Molly’s high-stakes games.

Complicating A-Rod’s woes, it now appears that he has given misleading statements about his involvement in the ring.

On June 26, the Yankees third baseman sought to deny Star’s report that he had secretly attended one of the games.

“Mr. Rodriguez has not participated in these poker games,” insisted his spokesperson, Richard Rubenstein.

But when confronted with specific evidence about the games he played in, including the one at Leibel’s home, Rubenstein refused to comment, beyond telling Star: “I am not prepared to comment any further about alleged sightings.”

A-Rod’s poker playing could earn him suspension

Alex Rodriguez's(notes) reported participation in an illegal poker game that involved violence and drug use could end with the New York Yankees star being suspended by Major League Baseball.

That's what ESPN's Wallace Matthews is reporting after a Radar Online article on Wednesday morning cited A-Rod's appearance at a high-stakes Hollywood game that involved other rich stars like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.

According to Matthews, A-Rod had been warned by Bud Selig in 2005 not to play in the games. If there's solid proof that he ignored the warnings and continued gambling, Matthews' source said there could be consequences for the Yankees' third baseman.

From ESPN New York:

"We're talking to people involved in the investigation and we're taking this very seriously," [an MLB executive who spoke to ESPNNewYork.com on condition of anonymity] said. "Because he had been warned about this before, I would say a possible suspension would be very much in play." [...]

"I could see us trying to pursue this a lot further," the executive said. "The truth is still out there somewhere."

Though one could argue the amounts being wagered at this game were relatively no more than a couple of bucks to your average Joe, the game doesn't sound like it can be described as "friendly." Tempers reportedly got heated when one player refused to cough up his losses of a half-million bucks, and cocaine was openly used at the table.

A-Rod has not been implicated in neither the violence nor the drugs.

Competitive athletes seeking a competitive thrill through gambling is nothing new, of course. Michael Jordan had his well-publicized dalliances with high-stakes gambling and card games played for real money are a fixture on any team charter. Where this seems different is that A-Rod was warned about participating in an atmosphere that could turn dangerous or be perceived the wrong way by the public and he chose to play anyway. With both the tabloid and New York media hot on this story, it'll be interesting to see where it goes.

[Edited 8/3/11 16:02pm]

I'm still totally confused as to where most of this is illegal in regards to the gambling. I get that there was some kind of Ponzi scheme involved (and I hate that term - it just means somebody got scammed), but otherwise, its just gambling. If it was done privately, not illegal. If it was done publically in a state that allows it, not illegal. I don't get the whole "secret poker ring" angle. Its been well known that Tobey and Matt Damon play poker for a long time, though. Damon has been playing since Rounders.

The supposed drugs, OK, I get that. Illegal.

Publicist: A-Rod ready to cooperate with MLB

CHICAGO (AP)—Alex Rodriguez’s(notes) publicist says the Yankees third baseman is looking forward to cooperating with Major League Baseball in its investigation of his alleged involvement in illegal poker games.

Star Magazine reported last month that several people saw A-Rod playing in games hosted at Hollywood hotels and residences.

But Richard Rubenstein, Rodriguez’s publicist, says in a statement Thursday morning that the Star’s story contains “numerous factual inaccuracies.”

A spokesman for the Yankees declined comment when asked about Rodriguez on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old Rodriguez had right knee surgery on July 14 and is expected to resume baseball activities on Thursday at the Yankees’ facility in Florida.

I did some reading this morning, I guess a lot of the games are technically illegal. But only the same way that any of us would get together on a Friday and play some poker.

Cerebus said:

I'm still totally confused as to where most of this is illegal in regards to the gambling. I get that there was some kind of Ponzi scheme involved (and I hate that term - it just means somebody got scammed), but otherwise, its just gambling. If it was done privately, not illegal. If it was done publically in a state that allows it, not illegal. I don't get the whole "secret poker ring" angle. Its been well known that Tobey and Matt Damon play poker for a long time, though. Damon has been playing since Rounders.

The supposed drugs, OK, I get that. Illegal.

yeah really.

Ben Affleck lost $400,000? Well I lost $100 on a Hold 'Em hand once and it probably hurt more!

Cerebus said:

I did some reading this morning, I guess a lot of the games are technically illegal. But only the same way that any of us would get together on a Friday and play some poker.

Plus, I guess gambling and sports don't mix? I don't know, it seems like there are worse things in this world

NDRU said:

Cerebus said:

I did some reading this morning, I guess a lot of the games are technically illegal. But only the same way that any of us would get together on a Friday and play some poker.

Plus, I guess gambling and sports don't mix? I don't know, it seems like there are worse things in this world

Yeah, the problem is if an athlete loses big and can't pay, some nefarious character can tell him that either he throws games to pay off the debt, or he gets his legs broken.

All sports leagues in America take that very seriously.