Israeli Crime Boss Charged with Threatening LA Poker Host

US law enforcement has accused an Israeli citizen of trying to shake down the host of a top-tier Los Angeles poker game. This case sheds light on the dangerous side of the city’s glitzy high-stakes gambling world.

Federal Agents Say Fugitive Crime Figure Used Threats and Gang Ties

A federal court criminal complaint alleges that 52-year-old Assaf “Ace” Waknine tried to get protection money from someone who hosts poker games. The complaint says Waknine made threats that brought up a 2023 murder in Hollywood Hills linked to the same group of poker players. Waknine sent threatening messages through text and WhatsApp. One message warned the host they might “end up like” Emil Lahaziel, another regular poker player who was shot dead outside a game two years ago, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Homeland Security investigators say Waknine, a convicted felon deported from the US in 2011 likely lives in Mexico now. They believe he still has an influence on Los Angeles from overseas. He relies on his violent reputation and connections to local gangs to scare others in the underground poker world.

Special Agent Matthew Hernandez filed an affidavit. It describes a hidden network of high-end poker nights that became more popular during and after the pandemic. These private events, often in Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills, attracted celebrities, entrepreneurs, and experienced gamblers. Games started at $20,000 buy-ins and sometimes made six-figure profits. This made the gatherings tempting targets for organized crime.

Prosecutors Say Waknine Warned L.A. Poker Organizer They Could “End Up Like” Murdered Player

Prosecutors claim Waknine asked for $5,000 in “protection money” for each poker game. When the organizer said no, the messages got scary. The same statement links these threats to a series of violent events in 2023. These include several fires set at homes linked to poker organizers and the burning of a Bentley parked outside a house in Benedict Canyon.

Lahaziel, the man whose death came up in Waknine’s messages, had talked to Waknine and his brother Hai, in the months before his murder. Court papers describe Lahaziel as a broke Israeli expat with links to the mob, who had sent angry messages to the Waknines before someone shot him in the face and neck outside a rented Hollywood Hills house. Two men, Ricardo Corral and Jose Martinez Sanchez now face charges in the killing and say they are not guilty.

Waknine’s lawyer, Brett Greenfield, denied the government’s claims, saying his client “does not threaten or extort anyone.”While the suspect is still on the run, the situation has shaken up LA’s high-stakes poker scene. What used to be a quiet hangout for celebrities and big spenders is now a warning story about the dangers of breaking the law.