The shooting was reportedly linked to debts owed from a three-day long, high-stakes poker game in October, for which Rothstein owed $320,000 (equivalent to $4.8 million in 2020). He claimed the game was fixed and refused to pay. The murder was intended to punish Rothstein for failing to pay his debt.[19] Gambler George "Hump" McManus was arrested for homicide, but later acquitted for lack of evidence.[19]