MGM Shuts Down Bruno Mars Gambling Debt Rumors
Bruno Mars of Silk Sonic accepts Song Of The Year for ‘Leave The Door Open’ onstage during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bruno Mars can “Leave the Door Open” now that the recent claims of millions racked in debt at MGM Casinos in Las Vegas has been cleared. As we reported earlier this week, there were rumors that the singer-songwriter, who has an ongoing, long-term residency at the Park MGM in Vegas, racked up an alleged $50 million in gambling debt with MGM. MGM has said that the allegations are false.
MGM Resorts International has denied claims and said in a statement to People that their partnership is “longstanding and rooted in mutual respect. Any speculation otherwise is completely false; he has no debt with MGM.”
In a report by NewsNation, a source claimed the Grammy winner accrued the debt with the hotel and casino for more than eight years. According to the publication’s source, they claimed, “They basically own him.” The source also alleged that Bruno takes home $90 million a year from his current deal with MGM, but after taxes, would only take home $1.5 million per night. Additionally, Bruno, 38, just launched a cocktail lounge called The Pinky Ring at another Vegas-based MGM property, the Bellagio.
(Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Bruno Mars and MGM in Good Standing
MGM addressed the claims directly on Tuesday (March 19), saying that they weren’t true.
What made the NewsNation source seem credible was Bruno’s love and history of playing card games. As we reported in our previous story, Mars, 38, has not been shy in the past about his taste for games. During an appearance on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, the “Treasure” singer talked about his love of poker. Before his musical career took off, he said he supported paying his rent by playing poker in Los Angeles.
Additionally, a 2013 interview with GQ resurfaced. At the time, the Hawaiian native reflected on how his love for gambling started at 19 years old. “I used to be like a loudmouth,” he said. “If you do get them to lose, they’re out for you, they’re gunning for you. And that’s when they’re weak. And that’s when you jump or pounce on them.”
Several card players have also recounted their experiences playing against Bruno in several blog posts. One person claimed they used to play with him at Hollywood Park before he got famous and called him “a decent enough laggy player, but I doubt he actually made any sort of living from it.” Another person recalled playing with him a “handful of times in 2009 at Commerce $5-$10. He was the type of guy that you would ‘rush’ to get a table change for. I also remember him usually losing a single $500 bullet and leaving. There was no way he was playing for profit.” A third said he was the “best player (aside from Greek Steve) I ever played against at Commerce. Incredibly balanced and impossible to play against if you can’t beat him at showdown. Lotta heart.”
In another blog post, one poker player recalled a night he played high-stakes poker with Mars. In a 16-hour game that went up to $30,000, Bruno lost in what became this poker player’s “most memorable poker hand ever.” He remembered as Bruno stood up to leave the table, he asked, “Do you mind [throwing] me a $10 chip for valet, so of course I did, and then he disappeared into the night.”
Bruno Mars 10 Best Songs
Bruno Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez, was born on October 8, 1985, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. The musician is known for his amazing stage performances, retro showmanship, and for writing in a wide range of musical styles, including pop, R&B, funk, soul, reggae, disco, and rock. At the age of two, his father gave him the nickname “Bruno” because of his resemblance to Italian professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino. His uncle was an Elvis Presley impersonator and encouraged Mars at three years old to perform songs on stage by Presley and Michael Jackson. By age four, he began performing five days a week with his family’s band, The Love Notes, and became known in Hawaii for his impersonation of Elvis Presley. At six years old, Bruno appeared on a segment of the Arsenio Hall Show in 1991.
Bruno’s Professional Music Career
Mars moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a professional musical career at 17 years old. He added Mars at the end of his stage name because, “I felt like I didn’t have no pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I’m out of this world, so I was like, I guess I’m from Mars.” In addition, the adoption of his stage name was an effort to “avoid being stereotyped,” as the music industry tried to pigeonhole him as another Latin artist. They even tried to convince Mars to sing in Spanish. Mars rose to fame in 2010 with the success of being featured on “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B and “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy. That year, the singer-songwriter released his debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which featured hits: “Grenade,” “Talking To The Moon,” “Count On Me,” “Just the Way You Are,” and “Marry You.”
From then, Bruno Mars came out with his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox, in 2012 and his third studio album four years later in 2016, 24K Magic. In 2021, Mars and Anderson .Paak formed the musical duo known as Silk Sonic, releasing their funky collaborative studio album An Evening with Silk Sonic, which delved into ’70s R&B and soul. In February 2023, Mars announced he was working on his fourth solo studio album, with a new sound and an unconfirmed release date. The artist is also in early talks with Live Nation Entertainment to set up a tour throughout 2024 and 2025, with “large-scale, three-dimensional” performances.
Mars has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He became the first artist to receive six Diamond-certified songs in the United States and has been regarded as a pop icon due to his influential career.
We have compiled our ten favorite Bruno Mars songs. See what they are below:
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
