Bruno Mars is a huge pop star who appears to struggle to control his gambling. The 38-year-old spends a lot of time in Las Vegas due to his residency at the Park MGM casino resort that dates back to 2016. He also performed 11 shows as part of a shorter stint at The Cosmopolitan between 2013 and 2015.

News Nation reported that the singer has built up a gambling debt of about $50m with MGM Resorts despite the company paying him $90m annually for the residency. His residency wages amount to approximately $60m after tax and equates to about $1.5m per show.

MGM basically owns him.”

An unnamed source who is a “well-placed Vegas insider” provided this information, saying that “MGM basically owns him.” The residency will be starting for a ninth year in June and Mars also recently opened a cocktail lounge at the MGM-owned Bellagio.

Bruno Mars has previously expressed his interest in gambling, especially high-stakes poker. He started going to casinos as a 19-year-old and even tried paying his rent in Los Angeles with money he made playing cards when trying to make it in the music industry.