Twenty years after his grotesque American Idol “She bangs” audition, William Hung has revealed how his gambling addiction led to losing his wife.
William Hung was a fresh-faced 20-year-old student when he stood in front of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson and belted out Ricky Martin’s classic “She Bangs”.
However, “Mr Nasty” Simon Cowell said of his performance: “Everything about it was grotesque…you can’t sing, you can’t dance…what do you want me to say?”
Despite his American Idol disaster, William’s enthusiasm saw him launch an album and take acting roles in the US and China.
It was his decision to become a poker pro, though, that eventually led to his downfall.
William Hung the poker player
“I’d been doing it on the side for a while and ..was earning way more than I was at my regular job,” Hung says of his switch to full-time poker.
Cash games at the Commerce and other South California cardrooms were mixed with tournaments, a $100,000+ Hendon Mob listing showing obvious talent for the game.
But, William admits that he “got greedy” and added sportsbetting to his poker, an easy option in the US poker scene.
“I wasn’t supposed to do those things but I did it anyway, he told People magazine recently.” “And I paid for it. I got divorced and I learned I had to be smart about which risks I chose to take.”
With his Warholian “15 minutes” now 20 years distant, William Hung has embarked on a third marriage and has gone back to the safety of his old Sheriff’s department stat-crunching job.
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