Poker Writer
Israeli businessman Tony Bargig, “the King of Slots,” was found dead on the street in Prague on the morning of June 5th under suspicious circumstances, prompting a murder investigation. The husband of a Ukrainian beauty influencer was later arrested by authorities as a suspect, leading to widespread speculation about the case.
The authorities have released little hard information thus far, but the pieces are there for a juicy story with connections to the world of underground gambling.
Bargig’s High Profile Exile From Israel
The 54-year-old Bargig was convicted of running 15 underground casinos in Israel from 2008 to 2014. The convictions eventually led him to leave his home country. He also had convictions back as far as 2004. According to Israeli media, Bargig continued to run illegal gambling businesses while living in Czechia, but there is no evidence of ever being caught by any authorities outside of Israel.
Bargig’s case was a prominent one back in Israel and one of the larger ones handled by Israeli authorities in recent decades. He was the son of a respected Israeli soccer coach, Nino Bargig. It was also notable that Bargig’s wife was a police officer at the time of the investigation. The original indictment listed 366 witnesses in a large-scale case. He was under surveillance as far back as 2012.
The exact timeline for Bargig’s move to Prague is unknown, but the prosecution of his crimes in Israel began in 2020 and he left the country some time after that.
Ukrainian Murder Suspect Held By Police
According Ukrainian local media, the alleged killer has already been detained by Czech authorities: the husband of Ukrainian Instagram influencer Oleksandra Gilka.
Gilka had almost 81,000 followers, although she her account has been deleted since the story broke. Her husband appeared in several of her videos, participating in her beauty and lifestyle-themed feed.
Gilka is originally from Zakarpattia, Ukraine. She began her career as a manicurist before gaining popularity and appearing on local television for her beauty influencer content. She and her husband relocated briefly in France at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine before settling in Prague. The couple have two sons, one of which was born shortly after the family relocated from Ukraine. She appeared on a popular TV show called “My Super Family” alongside her husband.
Gilka’s Potential Ties to Gambling World
The 32-year-old Gilka is a somewhat controversial influencer for her transparent, candid opinions on personal topics like traditional family roles and women as public figures.
She also has ties to the casino and gambling world, which may prove relevant to the case. These come from 2025, when she was fined by Ukrainian authorities for the illegal promotion of a casino.
However, her husband is not directly mentioned in that case, so the connection is tenuous. His connection to Bargig is unknown, and police have not revealed a suspected motive. He does appear to be well-heeled: while dating Gilka in 2016, before they were married, he provided the start-up capital funds for her to rent a space for her manicure business.
While Bargig had business connections in Israel, Czechia and Romania, there are no known connections to him and Ukraine.
Murders in Prague Very Rare
Prague has one of the lowest murder rates among major European capital cities. It is generally considered a very safe city, even though murders were slightly up in Prague in 2025. The murder happened on Seifertova street, just outside the city center and the one area of the city that is known to have slightly higher crime than the rest of the city and historic ties to organized crime.
Users on Reddit noted how the police appear to be cagey about revealing the exact address of the murder and the exact way the murder occurred.
The Legal Way to Profit From Gambling in Israel
Gambling is illegal in Israel except for state-run lotteries and sports betting. But the country’s bustling tech sector has led to tangential Israeli connections to online gambling through the grey area of B2B gambling software to international patrons. It has led to many Israeli connections in the online poker world.
The Israeli father-and-son duo, Isai and Mark Scheinberg, founded PokerStars in 2001 and owned the site until 2014. 888Poker (now evoke plc) was also founded and owned by two sets of Israeli brothers.
Bargig’s method, however, tread over any grey areas and was firmly illegal, hence his eventual convictions.
