A former running back for the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, alleged to have used public funds to settle his gambling debts, was a poor poker player, as stated by a former World Series of Poker champion. 

Ayaz Mahmood, with $1.7 million earned from live tournaments, was providing testimony in the fraud and bribery trial involving former NFL star Anthony Hutchison, who ended his professional football career in 1985. 

Federal prosecutors in Texas charge Hutchison with defrauding the Houston Independent Schools District (HISD) of $6 million through systematic overcharging for landscaping services, including lawn mowing and mulch, from 2013 to 2019. He accomplished this by bribing former HISD chief operating officer and co-defendant Brian Busby, who oversaw the awarding of contracts and their amounts, as stated in court records. 

‘Missing Control’ 

At times, the case has been tedious, filled with extensive forensic accounting and prolonged debates about the growth rate of grass – in a literal sense, as Hutchinson billed for mowing school lawns four times each month, an excessive frequency according to expert analysis. 

However, it came to life on Thursday when Mahmood stated that Hutchison participated in Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) twice or thrice weekly at the Prime Social Club in Houston. 

When asked if Hutchison was a good player, he answered no, stating that the ex-athlete likely lost “99% of the time.” 

Mahmood acknowledged that club members would eagerly take their turn against Hutchison due to his deficiency in “control and maturity” as a poker player. He mentioned that he had witnessed Hutchison lose over $300K in just one day. 

“He would chase it,” Mahmood said. “We call it poker tilt, which means if you’re losing, you chase it and try to make your money back.”

The testimony seemed to bolster the government’s claim that Hutchison generated fake invoices to charge HISD for services not performed, allowing him to settle his substantial gambling debts. 

Verifying Logs 

Mahmood acknowledged that he introduced Hutchison to Theodore Theilen, who owns a logging company called Bulldog Timber. Theilen confessed in court to cashing checks for Hutchison that were issued to Bulldog, even though his company had not completed any work for HSID. 

According to prosecutors, some of these checks were dated just after the 2020 Super Bowl, when Hutchison lost over $150K wagering on the match. 

Defense lawyers assert that Hutchison was merely attempting to conceal his addiction from those he engaged with and that his tax preparers made mistakes in their classifications. 

If found guilty on every charge – including conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and submitting false tax returns – he might face many years in prison.