Retired NBA Star Paul Pierce Allegedly Won't Pay His Poker Debts

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Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce owes a poker home game host $180,000, according to a lawsuit filed, but is allegedly refusing to pay it back.
Stephen Carmona, per TMZ Sports, claims he hosted a private game at his house on January 27 and invited the NBA Hall of Famer, who is an avid but recreational poker player. He apparently gave Pierce a $150,000 loan to enter the high-stakes game with the promise of paying it back within seven days.
The lawsuit states that the retired basketball star only returned $10,000 of that money and then borrowed another $40,000 from Carmona to compete in a different game, but allegedly hasn't paid back any of that either. Pierce reportedly made around $200 million in salary and endorsement deals during his 17-year NBA career.
Racking up massive debts isn't something new in the high-stakes poker community, although one would expect a celebrity who earned hundreds of millions of dollars in his lifetime to have no issue paying back such a small amount, relatively speaking.
Pierce the Poker Player

Pierce hasn't issued a public statement on the accusations, so it's unknown why he's allegedly refusing to make Carmona whole. The former Celtics forward has played poker for years and has even competed in the World Series of Poker Main Event a few times, along with some other bracelet events.
He also competed on PokerGO's Poker After Dark in 2019 at a juicy table that included Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, Alan Keating, and the late Mike Sexton. In one hand, which you can view below, the basketball star known as "The Truth," was all in preflop with against Keating's
. With $40,500 in the pot, they agreed to run it twice, and the best hand held up both times.
Heck of a Career
Pierce is far more known for his prowess on the hardwood than the felt. He attended the University of Kansas where he was a consensus All-American in 1998. He was then selected that summer by the Boston Celtics with the 10th pick in the NBA Draft.
The former Jayhawks forward became an instant star in the NBA, averaging over 20 points per game in eight different seasons. For his career, which spanned 18 seasons with four different teams (15 seasons in Boston), he averaged 19.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds.
He was part of the memorable 2008 Celtics NBA championship team that included three future Hall of Famers — Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. At age 43, Pierce was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, his first year of eligibility.
On Monday, Pierce will watch his former team compete in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. The best-of-seven series is tied at two games a piece. Boston is in search of its 18th NBA title, which would put the franchise alone in first place all-time, one ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers.

In this Series
- 1 Officials Offer First Look at 2022 WSOP; Answer Several Lingering Questions
- 2 Bally's & Paris: Your Guide to the New Home of the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
- 3 Negreanu, Deeb (as Expected) Highest Bids in $25k WSOP Fantasy Draft
- 4 WSOP Transportation Guide: Riding the Las Vegas Strip Monorail
- 5 Let the Games Begin: 2022 WSOP is Officially Underway
- 6 Phil Hellmuth Misses 2022 WSOP Opener After Bout of Traveler's Diarrhea
- 7 Kenney, Schindler & Imsirovic Arrive at 2022 WSOP Despite Recent Cheating Allegations
- 8 Phil Ivey is Back! Poker G.O.A.T. Cashes First 2022 WSOP Event
- 9 Baltimore Raven Calais Campbell at WSOP: "We Have Super Bowl Potential"
- 10 2022 WSOP Featured Females: Katie Kopp Becomes Bally's First-Ever Bracelet Winner
- 11 WSOP Player of the Year Race One Week In: Defending Champ Arieh Off and Running
- 12 ClubGG Offers Bubble Protection For Eight 2022 WSOP Events
- 13 Doyle Brunson Skipping 2022 WSOP Due to COVID-19 Concerns
- 14 Retired NBA Star Paul Pierce Allegedly Won't Pay His Poker Debts
- 15 Scott Seiver Pays $43k to Enter $1k WSOP Event, Fails to Cash
- 16 2022 WSOP Featured Females: Lara Eisenberg Talks Poker's Impact on Dementia
- 17 2022 WSOP Hands of the Week: Depaulo vs. Hellmuth, a Pure One Outer & a Royal Flush
- 18 Reigning World Champ Koray Aldemir Quietly Crushing it at 2022 WSOP
- 19 2022 WSOP Player of the Week 2: Jeremy Ausmus Wins Third Bracelet in 9 Months
- 20 Hellmuth Controversy at WSOP: Poker Brat's Chips Swiped on Break
- 21 Security Mistakenly Tries to Kick Out Neymar Jr. After He Cashes First WSOP Event
- 22 Breaking News: Phil Ivey Closing in on Elusive 11th WSOP Bracelet Tonight
- 23 Doyle Brunson Becomes a WPT Ambassador, Might Play WSOP Main Event
- 24 World Series of Daniel's? Zack, Weinman (But Not Negreanu) Lead POY Race
- 25 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller Kicks Off; Ivey, Negreanu and Kenney All Enter
- 26 Ali Imsirovic Busts WSOP $250K Super High Roller on Brutal Cooler
- 27 Cruising in the $250k, Is 2022 One of Phil Ivey's Best WSOP's Ever?
- 28 Runner-Runner Bad Beat Tilts Negreanu; Poker Star Out of WSOP $250k
- 29 Navy Vet Reps Military Charity During WSOP Salute to Warriors Event
- 30 2022 WSOP Featured Females: Meet Wendeen Eolis, 1st Woman to Ever Cash Main Event
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