Bruno Mars accepts the award for album of the year for "An Evening with Silk Sonic" at the BET Awards on June 26, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello / AP Photo)
Vegas Casino 'Owns' Superstar Who Racked Up $50 Million Gambling Debt: Report
Singer-songwriter Bruno Mars used to make a living playing professional poker.
Not anymore, apparently.
According to NewsNation, Mars, who was born Peter Gene Hernandez in 1985, has racked up a gambling debt with MGM in the tens of millions of dollars.
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“He owes millions to the MGM (from gambling),” a source the outlet described as a “well placed Vegas insider” said. “They basically own him.”
In fact, the source said, Mars’s gambling has put him in debt to the casino to the tune of $50 million.
Of course, $50 million isn’t to Mars what it might be for the average American, given his income bracket.
“He makes $90 million a year off of the deal he did with the casino, but then he has to pay back his debt … after taxes (Mars makes $1.5 million per night),” the unnamed source told NewsNation.
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The outlet then explained that $90 million annually would look more like $60 million after taxes, but since gambling losses are deductible, Mars will probably end up doing a little better than that this year.
He also has a total estimated net worth of about $175 million at age 38, so he can manage to pay down that debt if he really needs to.
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Meanwhile, his contract with MGM, which he signed in 2016, apparently includes free room and board, giving him a little more disposable income than the average citizen enjoys, the outlet suggested.
NewsNation also noted that, whatever Mars’ debts might be, MGM was apparently happy in its business relationship with him, as he just opened a new lounge in MGM’s Bellagio called The Pinky Ring.
Moreover, he was another project “in the works” with Bellagio, the outlet reported.
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None of NewsNation’s report was verified by reps from either MGM or Mars, and The Western Journal has so far been unable to verify the existence or amount of Mars’ gambling debts.
NewsNation reached out to reps of both MGM and Mars for comment; the former didn’t respond, and the latter had nothing to say.
Mars briefly discussed living on his poker earnings with James Cordon during a 2016 segment of “Carpool Karaoke.”
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Mars told Cordon that he’d previously earned his living by playing cards “for a little while.”
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
