Sin City Scandals: 8 Most Shocking Celebrity Scandals
What happens in Las Vegas doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas, especially if you are a celebrity.
Sin City keeps the world entrained each year by hosting a scandal or two involving famous people. No one is safe from the clutches of Sin City. Even Prince Harry couldn’t escape the tangling webs. Let's explore some of the most exciting and shocking celebrity scandals in Las Vegas.
Celebrities always have a love-and-hate relationship with drugs, and it’s no surprise that some top names in the world have been caught with drugs in Sin City. In 2010, Paris Hilton, the wealthy heiress of the Hilton Empire and an American socialite, was on the wrong side of the Las Vegas laws when she was caught with cocaine in her purse. The 29-year-old socialite was arrested alongside Cy Waits, her boyfriend. Hilton was arrested after law enforcement officers noticed a strange smell coming from her car, which they suspected was marijuana.
However, later on, the officers claimed that the socialite dropped from the bag, which turned out to be “a bundle of cocaine in a plastic bag." Hilton denied the bag was hers. Eventually, she admitted the bag the truth and received a $2,000 fine and a one-year suspended sentence. The judge also ordered her to carry out 200 hours of community service.
Paris Hilton isn't the only celebrity caught with cocaine in the city. The next culprit was Peter Hernandez, famously known as Bruno Mars. The same year as the Paris Hilton incident, Bruno Mars was arrested by law enforcement officers on September 18. He was found in possession of 2.6 grams of cocaine after having a night performance at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The security staff at the hotel where he was staying found him with a bag of white powder", and immediately detained him.
Bruno Mars, like Paris Hilton, pleaded guilty. The musician didn’t get formal probation. Instead, he was given 200 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine. In 2012, Bruno Mars was lucky when a judge cleared his cocaine possession case. According to his lawyer, Blair Berk, Bruno Mars had earned a dismissal because he carried out community service and stayed out of "trouble" as he had promised. He was also a first-time offender.
Las Vegas is the world’s quickie wedding hotspot. Apart from offering many beautiful and excellent wedding spots, Nevada has very friendly laws regarding tying the knot. Sin City has witnessed many celebrity weddings, and it has also witnessed wedding scandals.
In the early hours of a beautiful morning in January 2004, Britney Spears and Jason Alexander, who were childhood friends, tied the knot at the famous A Little White Wedding Chapel. The couple wasn't your average bride and groom, they were clad in blue jeans, and Britney Spears rocked a trucker hat. These were all signs of a typical rushed Las Vegas wedding. After saying "I do," the newlyweds wouldn't have guessed they would have their marriage annulled before they could even go for a honeymoon.
Fifty-five hours after the wedding, the marriage was annulled by Britney Spears’ family and team after they learned about the impulsive wedding. In their argument, they claimed the famous singer "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage." Later on, when asked about the wedding, Britney described the incident as "me being silly, being rebellious." Surprisingly, Britney married Kevin Federline in October of the same year. During an interview with ABC News in 2012, Jason said Britney’s parents and team weren’t happy because there was no prenup agreement.
Las Vegas prides itself in being a gambling capital, and everyone who walks through the doors of the Vegas casinos must adhere to the rules. Failure to follow the rule will make the staff ask you to leave, and you might be banned from a casino for life in some extreme situations. Unfortunately, no one is immune to being banned from a Las Vegas casino, and in 2014 Ben Affleck, the celebrity movie star, got banned from Hard Rock Casino.
Affleck was caught allegedly trying to cheat at a blackjack game. According to the casino, Affleck was guilty of counting cards. When players count cards, they recall how many high and low cards are in the game. Thus they can correctly predict if the dealer has an advantage in the next hand.
Affleck admitted to the claim but said he felt cheated by Hard Rock Casino. In his opinion, the movie star claimed he had mastered his game skills, and everything was over the board. Hence there was no foul play from his side. Talking to Details magazine, Affleck said, “Once I became decent, the casinos asked me not to play blackjack. I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules at the casinos should tell you something about casinos.”
Mike Tyson is a legendary boxer with 50 wins from 58 fights. The 56-year-old fighter was born in Brooklynn, New York, and his professional boxing record is impeccable. However, the snow white professional boxing record has a blood stain after an incident in Las Vegas. On June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there was a fight between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. The fight was billed and marketed as the Sound and the Fury. The fight was, however, renamed to the Bite Fight after Tyson bit off a part of Holyfield's ear.
The Bite Fight is described as one of the most bizarre fights in the world’s boxing history. Tyson was immediately disqualified, and his boxing license was revoked. He also had to pay a $3 million fine plus legal fees.
Prince Harry is a happily married man and father. However, before settling into fatherhood and married life, the young Prince had a Vegas experience. In 2012, the Prince hosted a wild party with his pals at a $1,000-a-day luxurious Vegas bungalow. However, before the night-long party, the Prince and his friends were at the Wet Republic pool parties at the MGM Grand Hotel. These infamous parties are significantly associated with the crazy sex life of Las Vegas and feature casual hookups and excessive drinking.
Everything would have remained unknown to the taxpayer back in England if photos of the Prince hadn't emerged the next day. The pictures showed the Prince naked; another had a nude female hiding behind him, wearing only a necklace. Details of the party emerged that the Prince and his friends were playing strip pool, and millions worldwide viewed the infamous nudes and indecent pictures.
Apart from tarnishing the royal family's name, it raised questions about the reliability of the Prince's security, which was heavily funded by taxpayers' money. According to a source who attended the party, the un-uniformed Scotland Yard officer guarding the Prince was having more fun than the Prince and his friends.
Because of the massive age difference, the Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden love story shocked the world when the two tied the knot in Las Vegas. Stodden was 16 when she married “The Green Mile” movie star Doug Hutchison. The 2011 wedding happened just a few days before the 51st birthday of Hutchison. According to the couple, they received excessive widespread media scrutiny, and Stodden was even labeled a whore", and received abundant death threats.
Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden got married a week after meeting in person, and they had the blessings of Stodden’s parents. The wedding was legally consented to by Stodden's mother, Krista Keller. However, everything took a different turn a few years later. It took years before the mother and daughter realized Hutchison's predation was well-planned child abuse. Stodden filed for divorce in 2018, which was finalized in March 2020. Talking about her marriage to Doug Hutchison, Stodden described how her ex-husband emotionally connected with her and other girls by playing the acting coach role. She also claimed that after filing for divorce in 2018, she found out her ex-husband was pursuing a 15-year-old girl from the UK.
OJ Simpson is remembered for being accused of killing his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. However, Las Vegas has also witnessed the criminal side of OJ Simpson. Simpson served a nine-year sentence after being found guilty of robbery, kidnapping, and attempted burglary. On September 2007, Simpson was in Las Vegas to witness his friend’s wedding, Tom Scotto. He was also the best man at the four-day wedding.
Tom Riccio, who co-owns Universal Rarities, an auction company, had informed Simpsons that some of his lost sports memorabilia was in Las Vegas. The two teamed up with other friends, Walter Alexander and Charlie Ehrlich, and on the night of September 13, they broke into a room at the Palace Station Hotel. During the court proceedings, Bruce Fromon, a former sports memorabilia dealer, confirmed that the group of four, including Simpson, broke into his room and stole the sports memorabilia at gunpoint.
Three days later, Simpson was arrested; he confessed to taking the items he claimed had been stolen. However, he denied breaking into the room or possessing any weapon during the incident. His bail was set at $125,000. On October 3, 2008, exactly 13 years after he was acquitted of his ex-wife’s murder charges, Simpson was found guilty of the 12 charges. After the verdict, Simpson was immediately handcuffed, despite being free on bail. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison on December 5, 2008, but was eligible for parole nine years later (October 2017). Simpson was granted parole on July 20, 2017, and was freed three months later.
In 2011, a celebrity whose identity remains unknown to date was sued for infecting his sex partner with an STI. The scandal, famously known as the “herpes weekend?” resulted after a steamy night at one of the Las Vegas hotel rooms. After the sex, the victim experienced a breakout, which turned out to be a herpes infection. The case was later dropped, but it wasn't after a few paparazzi, and media experts tried to find the identity of the infamous celebrity. Luckily they weren't successful.
Sin City keeps the world entrained each year by hosting a scandal or two involving famous people. No one is safe from the clutches of Sin City. Even Prince Harry couldn’t escape the tangling webs. Let's explore some of the most exciting and shocking celebrity scandals in Las Vegas.
Shocking Celebrity Scandals in Las Vegas
1. Multiple Cocaine Busts
Celebrities always have a love-and-hate relationship with drugs, and it’s no surprise that some top names in the world have been caught with drugs in Sin City. In 2010, Paris Hilton, the wealthy heiress of the Hilton Empire and an American socialite, was on the wrong side of the Las Vegas laws when she was caught with cocaine in her purse. The 29-year-old socialite was arrested alongside Cy Waits, her boyfriend. Hilton was arrested after law enforcement officers noticed a strange smell coming from her car, which they suspected was marijuana.
However, later on, the officers claimed that the socialite dropped from the bag, which turned out to be “a bundle of cocaine in a plastic bag." Hilton denied the bag was hers. Eventually, she admitted the bag the truth and received a $2,000 fine and a one-year suspended sentence. The judge also ordered her to carry out 200 hours of community service.
Paris Hilton isn't the only celebrity caught with cocaine in the city. The next culprit was Peter Hernandez, famously known as Bruno Mars. The same year as the Paris Hilton incident, Bruno Mars was arrested by law enforcement officers on September 18. He was found in possession of 2.6 grams of cocaine after having a night performance at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The security staff at the hotel where he was staying found him with a bag of white powder", and immediately detained him.
Bruno Mars, like Paris Hilton, pleaded guilty. The musician didn’t get formal probation. Instead, he was given 200 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine. In 2012, Bruno Mars was lucky when a judge cleared his cocaine possession case. According to his lawyer, Blair Berk, Bruno Mars had earned a dismissal because he carried out community service and stayed out of "trouble" as he had promised. He was also a first-time offender.
2. Britney Spears' 2-Day Marriage
Las Vegas is the world’s quickie wedding hotspot. Apart from offering many beautiful and excellent wedding spots, Nevada has very friendly laws regarding tying the knot. Sin City has witnessed many celebrity weddings, and it has also witnessed wedding scandals.
In the early hours of a beautiful morning in January 2004, Britney Spears and Jason Alexander, who were childhood friends, tied the knot at the famous A Little White Wedding Chapel. The couple wasn't your average bride and groom, they were clad in blue jeans, and Britney Spears rocked a trucker hat. These were all signs of a typical rushed Las Vegas wedding. After saying "I do," the newlyweds wouldn't have guessed they would have their marriage annulled before they could even go for a honeymoon.
Fifty-five hours after the wedding, the marriage was annulled by Britney Spears’ family and team after they learned about the impulsive wedding. In their argument, they claimed the famous singer "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage." Later on, when asked about the wedding, Britney described the incident as "me being silly, being rebellious." Surprisingly, Britney married Kevin Federline in October of the same year. During an interview with ABC News in 2012, Jason said Britney’s parents and team weren’t happy because there was no prenup agreement.
3. Ben Affleck's Casino Ban
Las Vegas prides itself in being a gambling capital, and everyone who walks through the doors of the Vegas casinos must adhere to the rules. Failure to follow the rule will make the staff ask you to leave, and you might be banned from a casino for life in some extreme situations. Unfortunately, no one is immune to being banned from a Las Vegas casino, and in 2014 Ben Affleck, the celebrity movie star, got banned from Hard Rock Casino.
Affleck was caught allegedly trying to cheat at a blackjack game. According to the casino, Affleck was guilty of counting cards. When players count cards, they recall how many high and low cards are in the game. Thus they can correctly predict if the dealer has an advantage in the next hand.
Affleck admitted to the claim but said he felt cheated by Hard Rock Casino. In his opinion, the movie star claimed he had mastered his game skills, and everything was over the board. Hence there was no foul play from his side. Talking to Details magazine, Affleck said, “Once I became decent, the casinos asked me not to play blackjack. I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules at the casinos should tell you something about casinos.”
4. Mike Tyson's Infamous Bite
Mike Tyson is a legendary boxer with 50 wins from 58 fights. The 56-year-old fighter was born in Brooklynn, New York, and his professional boxing record is impeccable. However, the snow white professional boxing record has a blood stain after an incident in Las Vegas. On June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there was a fight between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. The fight was billed and marketed as the Sound and the Fury. The fight was, however, renamed to the Bite Fight after Tyson bit off a part of Holyfield's ear.
The Bite Fight is described as one of the most bizarre fights in the world’s boxing history. Tyson was immediately disqualified, and his boxing license was revoked. He also had to pay a $3 million fine plus legal fees.
5. Prince Harry's Infamous Vegas Party
Prince Harry is a happily married man and father. However, before settling into fatherhood and married life, the young Prince had a Vegas experience. In 2012, the Prince hosted a wild party with his pals at a $1,000-a-day luxurious Vegas bungalow. However, before the night-long party, the Prince and his friends were at the Wet Republic pool parties at the MGM Grand Hotel. These infamous parties are significantly associated with the crazy sex life of Las Vegas and feature casual hookups and excessive drinking.
Everything would have remained unknown to the taxpayer back in England if photos of the Prince hadn't emerged the next day. The pictures showed the Prince naked; another had a nude female hiding behind him, wearing only a necklace. Details of the party emerged that the Prince and his friends were playing strip pool, and millions worldwide viewed the infamous nudes and indecent pictures.
Apart from tarnishing the royal family's name, it raised questions about the reliability of the Prince's security, which was heavily funded by taxpayers' money. According to a source who attended the party, the un-uniformed Scotland Yard officer guarding the Prince was having more fun than the Prince and his friends.
6. Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden's Love Story
Because of the massive age difference, the Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden love story shocked the world when the two tied the knot in Las Vegas. Stodden was 16 when she married “The Green Mile” movie star Doug Hutchison. The 2011 wedding happened just a few days before the 51st birthday of Hutchison. According to the couple, they received excessive widespread media scrutiny, and Stodden was even labeled a whore", and received abundant death threats.
Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden got married a week after meeting in person, and they had the blessings of Stodden’s parents. The wedding was legally consented to by Stodden's mother, Krista Keller. However, everything took a different turn a few years later. It took years before the mother and daughter realized Hutchison's predation was well-planned child abuse. Stodden filed for divorce in 2018, which was finalized in March 2020. Talking about her marriage to Doug Hutchison, Stodden described how her ex-husband emotionally connected with her and other girls by playing the acting coach role. She also claimed that after filing for divorce in 2018, she found out her ex-husband was pursuing a 15-year-old girl from the UK.
7. OJ Simpson's Antics
OJ Simpson is remembered for being accused of killing his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. However, Las Vegas has also witnessed the criminal side of OJ Simpson. Simpson served a nine-year sentence after being found guilty of robbery, kidnapping, and attempted burglary. On September 2007, Simpson was in Las Vegas to witness his friend’s wedding, Tom Scotto. He was also the best man at the four-day wedding.
Tom Riccio, who co-owns Universal Rarities, an auction company, had informed Simpsons that some of his lost sports memorabilia was in Las Vegas. The two teamed up with other friends, Walter Alexander and Charlie Ehrlich, and on the night of September 13, they broke into a room at the Palace Station Hotel. During the court proceedings, Bruce Fromon, a former sports memorabilia dealer, confirmed that the group of four, including Simpson, broke into his room and stole the sports memorabilia at gunpoint.
Three days later, Simpson was arrested; he confessed to taking the items he claimed had been stolen. However, he denied breaking into the room or possessing any weapon during the incident. His bail was set at $125,000. On October 3, 2008, exactly 13 years after he was acquitted of his ex-wife’s murder charges, Simpson was found guilty of the 12 charges. After the verdict, Simpson was immediately handcuffed, despite being free on bail. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison on December 5, 2008, but was eligible for parole nine years later (October 2017). Simpson was granted parole on July 20, 2017, and was freed three months later.
8. The John Doe Celebrity's STI
In 2011, a celebrity whose identity remains unknown to date was sued for infecting his sex partner with an STI. The scandal, famously known as the “herpes weekend?” resulted after a steamy night at one of the Las Vegas hotel rooms. After the sex, the victim experienced a breakout, which turned out to be a herpes infection. The case was later dropped, but it wasn't after a few paparazzi, and media experts tried to find the identity of the infamous celebrity. Luckily they weren't successful.