Hip-hop artists love to spend big. In 2021, rapper Lil Uzi Vert made global headlines after implanting a $30 million diamond on his forehead. Interestingly, fans pulled the gem out of his head the same year.
While rappers have been buying outrageous stuff since the birth of hip-hop, they also spend some of their millions on entertainment. In this article, we’ll focus on rappers who love to gamble.
Precisely, we’ll highlight hip-hop’s biggest sports and casino gamblers. Let’s dive right in.
#1: 50 Cent
Rapper 50 Cent is perhaps the biggest gambler in the world of hip-hop. No year goes by without the Candy Shop hitmaker placing a jaw-dropping sport bet. Sometimes he also tweets about his big bets in Las Vegas.
In 2012, 50 Cent made two huge bets that turned out very profitable. First, he bet $500,000 on the New York Giants heading to the Super Bowl. Next, he backed the same team to win Super Bowl 46. He won both bets.
In 2015, Fiddy made another big bet on his nemesis—Floyd Mayweather—to defeat Manny Pacquiao in a bout. Fiddy allegedly spent $1.6 million on the wager and won $2.3 million in return.
Interestingly, the rapper later fell out with Floyd and even bet $750,000 that the boxer couldn’t read. Mayweather refused to participate in the wager.
#2: Nelly
Rapper Nelly is known for hit songs such as Dilemma, Hot in Here, and Pimp Juice. Among those who follow him closely, Nelly is also a massive poker fan. In fact, Nelly is so good at the game that he participates in high-stakes poker competitions regularly.
For example, he participated in a celebrity poker tournament organized to celebrate Rolling Stone’s 40th anniversary. He won the game and donated all his money to charity.
Still on poker, rapper Nelly has also participated in several World Series of Poker competitions. He’s won over $100,000 over the years, a decent amount for a part-timer who donates most of his winnings.
#3: Jay Z
Jay-Z is one of the smartest men in hip-hop. He’s a billionaire rapper, something only one other man has ever accomplished—Kanye West. Against that backdrop, Jay-Z is always looking for new ways to invest his money.
In 2021, Jay Z partnered with Caesars Entertainment to bid for a new casino that was to be built at Times Square. The 99 Problems rapper had proposed to build an establishment that would benefit millions of New Yorkers, from Broadway workers to taxi drivers.
While Jay-Z’s bid did not succeed, New Yorkers won. Not only did the Empire State legalize casinos, but it also permitted sports betting. You no longer need to visit New Jersey to find online casinos when the best options are in New York. All you need is a smartphone or PC laptop to play slots or bet on football in the Big Apple.
#4: P. Diddy
Rapper P. Diddy, AKA Puff Daddy, is a big casino fan. When he’s not driving around Hollywood while clad in expensive outfits and jewelry, the Coming Home and I’ll Be Missing You hitmaker is usually playing blackjack or poker.
P. Diddy has been spotted at Las Vegas’s biggest casinos many times. At one time, the rapper tipped a casino employee $250,000 after winning $2M in the same venue.
While $250,000 is a lot of money to tip someone, rapper Sean Combs has more than enough to tip generously. He has a net worth of around $850 million, ranking him among the top five richest men in Hip-Hop.
What’s Diddy’s favorite casino game? Diddy prefers blackjack, a game he’s really good at. In fact, most of the money Combs has won in Vegas came while playing blackjack. That said, he also dabbles in poker, slots, and roulette.
#5: Young Thug
Rapper Young Thug has had a lot of legal troubles in the past couple of years. He’s fighting RICO charges that could put him behind bars for the rest of his years. Before he got into legal problems, however, the Day Before rapper was a jovial man who loved to gamble.
According to his employees, rapper Young Thug gambles a little bit too much. In 2021, the 32-year-old Atlanta native tweeted that he had lost $800,000 while gambling in Las Vegas.
The rapper supposedly tried to chase after his losses. But he only made $100,000 back before losing it again. His Twitter (now X) fans had promised to help him revenge against the casino where he lost his fortune. But he never revealed the casino’s name.
That said, Young Thug is probably not so worried about money problems caused by casino losses. He charges up to $1M per show. The rapper is more worried about his court cases, something that could hinder his ability to utilize his rapping talent indefinitely.
#6: Birdman
Birdman is best known for co-creating Cash Money Records. His record label has worked with the best rappers in the industry, including Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Blueface.
Besides producing music, Birdman is a rapper with hits such as Bugatti, Black Ball, and Pop Bottles. Thanks to his contributions to hip-hop, Birdman has accrued enough money to gamble high-roller amounts.
The New Orleans-born rapper has a net worth of $160 million. So, when 50 Cent said Birdman had wagered $5 million on Super Bowl 46 in 2012, many people believed him.
While Birdman’s $5 million wager was never authenticated, he’s placed several high-stakes wagers. He wagered $2 million on the Miami Heat to win the 2011 NBA finals, which they did.
In the same year, the rapper said he had won $1 million after betting on the Green Bay Packers to win the Super Bowl.
#7: Drake
Canadian hip-hop mogul, Drake, is a big-time spender when it comes to sports betting and casino games. Sometimes he’s won a lot of money through his bets. But for some reason, Drake has a tendency to back the losing side.
In fact, Drake is associated with a sports curse. A section of fans believe that whoever athlete Drake backs to win ends up losing. That said, the Hot Bling hitmaker has also won some big wagers over the years. For example, he once won $17 million at a roulette table.