New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Money, fame, and success. That's everything artists work hard all their lives for. And while many of them don't get to live the kind of lives global icons like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé live, they enjoy the fame and success that comes with being stars.
Like Hollywood moguls, successful musicians have enough dough to afford the good things in life. They could visit Las Vegas every weekend and spend thousands of dollars on casino games. Well, this is the reality for the musicians outlined below.
P. Diddy
Rapper, singer, producer, and millionaire Sean John Combs is best known as P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Diddy or Brother Love. His success in music is unquestionable and his business acumen is good enough to earn him a net worth of $825 million. Only Jay Z, with a net worth of $900 million, is richer in the hip hop scene.
With all the money, it's not surprising that Diddy loves gambling. While it's not clear when he started gambling, the multi-millionaire entrepreneur has said before he's been frequenting Las Vegas every year throughout his life as a rapper.
One of Diddy's biggest wagers was against actor Mark Wahlberg in 2017. The actor challenged the rapper to a bet on the famous Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao bout in the same year. Diddy allegedly wanted to bet $100,000 but Wahlberg was willing to gamble up to $500,000.
After negotiations, the two settled on a $250,000 bet. The "Coming Home" singer supported Mayweather for the win while the "Mile 22" actor was on Pacquaio's side. It was a tense bet with all the hype before the bout and news that online bookmakers were paying out Mayweather bets before the match.
Mayweather won anyway, which was good news for the bookmakers that paid out early and for Diddy as well. But if you were one of the high rollers that wagered on a small bookie site, you probably experienced problems being paid. A lot of people were, which is why when you're placing bets and gambling you should only use the best UK high roller casinos, like the ones found here.
Apparently, Diddy's 2017 bet wasn't his biggest. In 2013, the "I Need a Girl" hitmaker challenged Rick Ross to a simple dice game at his Ciroc studio album. But unlike your regular dice game, the pair rolled the dice for a million dollars. Ross won and went on to brag about it on social media.
"I had Puff write me a contract for the 1 million $$ I won from him rolling dice," the rapper said in a tweet.
Nelly
Unlike Sean Diddy Combs, Nelly gambles so much that it has often been a problem for him. In one famous occasion, the "Dilemma" rapper got the Riverboat Missouri Casino into trouble for gambling more than the law required.
In contrast to state laws, the casino allowed Nelly and his entourage to continue gambling even when they were losing large sums of money. It was a special day for Nelly, a private party that saw fans have drinks with him for the meager price of $50.
Still, the casino had a responsibility to limit their gambling to $500 every two hours as per the state's laws. And because they didn't, they were liable to pay a fine not exceeding $50,000.
In 2011, Nelly came to the spotlight once more. This time, he had gambled so much money that he was on the brink of bankruptcy. There were even rumors he had trouble paying his then-girlfriend Ashanti some $500,000 he had borrowed to gamble.
But in an effort to silence the naysayers, Nelly attended the world series of poker in Las Vegas that year. He was also lucky enough to help a new casino in Atlantic City open. And as a reward, he got the honor to place the first blackjack bet of the luxurious resort.
Harry Styles
If you were lucky enough to witness Styles sing at the 2010 British singing competition The X Factor, you probably believed he would go on to become a star. He didn't disappoint. After joining up with fellow competitors to form the One Direction boy band, the singer became an overnight celebrity.
Even after the boy band dissolved in 2016, Styles continued to sing. What many people don't know about the 25-year-old though is that he's a massive gambling fan. In mid-2013, the whole One Direction band received a publicized dressing down by their bosses for gambling a huge fortune of money.
But before the year was over, Harry Styles was back to gambling. He was only 19-years back then but could spend up to $100,000 on single bets. Since One Direction went on a hiatus, Styles has been silent on his gambling. He instead spends most times exploring fashion, acting and watching football.
Bonus: Gladys Knight
Knight has been singing longer than most artists alive today. She's also been enjoying casino games longer than most players. In her prime, the "Empress of Soul" would bet up to $45,000 per session on baccarat.
Like many artists, Gladys got hooked into gambling while performing at a casino. As she became successful in music, the "Midnight Train to Georgia" singer became a fan of baccarat. In her own words, she loved the game so much that the croupiers and managers were her friends.
"I considered the casino croupiers and pit managers as my best friends," Knight said. Unfortunately, things got out of her hand and had to seek help. "I felt terrible as my gambling problem also affected my family."
Luckily, the veteran musician got help and recovered in record time. Gladys thanked her faith and dedication in the recovery process in helping her manage her addiction issues.
To Conclude
A lot of famous people these days love to gamble. Musicians are included in this group. With rappers like Nelly and P Diddy betting up to one million dollars, there's money in music. That's not the point though. Musicians, just like us, love casino games. A lot of them spend more money gambling than most people earn in their lifetimes but we all enjoy the same games.
