Money

Alex Trebek's last great "Jeopardy!" champion has died at the young age of only 24.

Brayden Smith, who scored a 5-game winning streak and more than $115,000 in winnings as Trebek's era came to a close, died unexpectedly last Friday in his hometown of Las Vegas. The cause of death is unclear.

Brayden's lifelong dream had always been to appear on "Jeopardy!" ... and the young man, who had reportedly tried getting on the show at least a dozen times, left a lasting impression on Trebek and fans alike.

His run was so impressive he drew comparisons to the great James Holzhauer because he also had a knack for finding the Daily Doubles and laying huge wagers when he did.

Trebek was very much impressed with Brayden's prolific run ... dubbing him "Billy Buzzsaw" for his ability to dismantle the competition. Trebek also uttered "Most impressive. I don't know what to say." Brayden, of course, appeared in the final shows Trebek ever hosted before he died from pancreatic cancer.

Brayden, who died about a month after his episode aired, had been looking forward to competing in the show's Tournament of Champions. He had just graduated from UNLV last year with a degree in economics and had hoped to attend law school and become a U.S. Attorney.

The family's asked that donations be made in Brayden's name here ... a fund benefiting Nevada students furthering their education.

RIP, Champ.

Morgan Wallen's apology for dropping the n-word after what he calls a 3-day bender has not moved radio stations to play his music again.

Sources at Entercom -- which owns 235 radio stations, 20 of which are country music stations -- tell TMZ ... the company has no plans to reinstate Wallen's music to their playlists.

Likewise, a rep for Emmis Communications tells us its country-programmed station in Indianapolis -- Hank FM -- is likeminded ... it's a Wallen-free zone for the time being.

We reached out to other major media companies in the radio industry with the same question but got a no comment.

As we reported ... Wallen posted a lengthy apology Wednesday for casually dropping a racial slur that was captured on video. He said he's met with Black organizations to learn the error of his ways, and wanted to collect his thoughts before offering up the mea culpa.

Morgan says he's been sober for more than a week and vows to become a better person.

He says he accepts all the backlash he's gotten ... which includes radio stations pulling his music, his record label suspending his contract, and getting disqualified from awards shows.

Dave Chappelle says he got what he wanted from Comedy Central -- millions of dollars, and rights to his show -- so now "Chappelle's Show" is back on Netflix ... with his blessing.

Dave shared a bit from his recent stand-up Thursday night in which he revealed the show's return to streaming Friday ... just 2 months after Netflix yanked it at his behest.

On stage, Chappelle summarized his power struggle with Comedy Central to get paid for any "Chappelle's Show" deals they made ... and he gave all the credit to fans for not watching the show at his request.

Dave said ... "When you stopped watching it, they called me. And, I got my name back and I got my license back and I got my show back and they paid me millions of dollars. Thank you very much."

Dave went on to shower his fans with appreciation for putting him back after his 12-year hiatus from comedy, which he says "kept me free."

Larry King always kept it simple, and his will is no different ... he scribbled down a few sentences during his last divorce, but it was written before some other King family tragedies.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the late talk show host hand-wrote his most recent will on October 17, 2019, about 2 months after filing for divorce from his 7th wife, Shawn Southwick King.

Larry wrote ... "This is my Last Will & Testament. It should replace all previous writings." He said that in the event of his death, he wanted 100 percent of his funds to be "divided equally among my children Andy, Chaia, Larry Jr Chance & Cannon."

That's it ... but as we've reported, Larry sadly lost 2 of his adult kids a month apart in 2020. His son, Andy, died of a heart attack in July, and his daughter, Chaia, died in August a short time after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

So, Larry's last will and testament doesn't reflect the fact that 2 of his intended recipients have passed away. One of his surviving sons, Larry Jr., has filed docs asking to be appointed administrator of the estate, noting that his father was in the middle of divorce proceedings at the time of his death.

As for how much is at stake here ... the documents estimate Larry's estate to be worth around $2 million, but there are likely separate assets held in separate trusts.

Kevin Hart's personal shopper took that title way too literally, according to prosecutors ... who say the guy swindled Kev out of more than a million bucks.

Dylan Syer was in a NYC court Wednesday for his arraignment for grand larceny and 9 other counts ... after he allegedly used Kevin's credit card info to launder cash into his own account, and then burn through it.

Queens County D.A. Melinda Katz says Syer built trust with Kevin, when he was hired in 2015, by making legit, authorized purchases on behalf of Kevin. However, Katz claims Syer started siphoning off hundreds of thousands from Hart's credit cards, depositing the dough into his own bank account.

He wasn't saving for a rainy day, either -- Syer allegedly spent lavishly on himself. All in all, prosecutors say Kevin was defrauded out of nearly $1.2 mil over nearly 2 years. Much of that was allegedly used to buy pricey jewelry, watches, art, collectibles and luxury handbags.

The D.A. says Syer's haul included 5 Patek Philippe watches worth more than $400k, a Sam Friedman painting, at least 16 Bearbrick collectible dolls, 5 KAWS collectible dolls and 2 Louis Vuitton bags.

Tom Brady is such a VIP in the Tampa area, he gets a police escort on land and on water!!!

The Tampa Bay Bucs QB just arrived to the official Super Bowl boat parade which will take place on the Hillsborough River -- where players, coaches and staff will float around the Davis Islands before ending up at Sparkman Wharf.

Event organizers felt this was the safest way to celebrate the team since we're still in the middle of the COVID pandemic.

Boaters are allowed in the water but they must stay at least 50 feet from the vessels containing Bucs players and staff.

Tom is out in the brand new boat we told you about back in December -- it's a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art 40-foot vessel with all the bells and whistles.

It's named "Viva a Vida" -- which seems to be inspired by his wife Gisele's environmental conservation initiative.

By the way, Brady's teammates are showing big love to the QB who helped get them their championship ... with dudes wearing shirts that feature Tom's old draft picture on them!!

Head coach Bruce Arians, meanwhile, is already on the water holding the Lombardi Trophy. Other players are expected to arrive shortly.

story developing ...

Morgan Wallen's album sales are still rising -- despite the industry largely canceling him for using the n-word -- but that boost is actually helping the NAACP, financially.

The country music star's second album, "Dangerous: The Double Album," is still topping the Billboard charts and selling like hotcakes. That means more money in the pockets of Morgan and his songwriters ... one of whom, Jason Isbell, is handing over his share to the NAACP's Nashville chapter.

Jason wrote the song, "Cover Me Up," on the album ... and the 4-time Grammy winner says he's donating everything he's made from the track.

Morgan's been shelved by SiriusXM, iHeart Radio, County Music Television, Big Loud Records, Cox Media Group, Emmis Communications and the Academy of Country Music, among others ... but Jason wants fans to keep buying the album so he can keep paying it forward.

The President of the Nashville NAACP will likely appreciate Jason's gesture. As we reported, the org's already extended an olive branch to Morgan ... hoping to make this controversy a teachable moment for him.

Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" became a $100k nightmare for one Texas woman, who told cops she was hoodwinked into forking over a fortune to someone passing as the singer.

The alleged victim was 63 when she told cops in Houston she made an IG account in 2018, and connected with someone claiming to be Bruno. She says the person developed an online relationship with her and eventually asked for cash.

Of course, as is oftentimes the case with these stories, she says she cut a couple of checks and put 'em in the mail, as instructed -- one for $10k, and another $90k.

Police say the money found its way into the bank account of one Chinwendu Azuonwu -- a local man who was taken into custody on money laundering charges, along with an alleged accomplice, Basil Amadi, who's facing similar charges. Both men were in court this week.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, 2 cashier's checks were made out to "Chi Autos" at the behest of the fake Bruno, to cover “tour expenses” ... that's what he told the woman, anyway. She says he also told her he was leaving the tour to come be with her.

Cops told local news outlets they believe these men may be low-level crooks working for scammers overseas -- and are hoping they cooperate to help uncover a potentially bigger criminal ring.

Dr. Dre's estranged wife is looking into whether the mogul is funding the lifestyles of his alleged mistresses ... and she wants to talk financials with them.

Nicole Young wants three women whom she claims were intimate with Dre during their marriage to sit for depositions ... and according to new docs, obtained by TMZ, she's looking to ask them if Dre lavished them with money and gifts.

In the docs, Nicole claims the women's lawyer is trying to delay their depositions until the validity of the prenup is decided ... but Nicole wants answers sooner rather than later, because she says it could affect spousal support and the validity of her prenup itself.

Specifically, Nicole says one of the women bought a $2.15-million house free and clear in 2019 ... and she wants to ask if Dre provided the dough for the purchase.

As we reported ... Dre recently agreed to cut Nicole a $2 million check for temporary support, on top of the $293,306 a month he's already dishing out.

Okay, maybe the Super Bowl streaker deserves a little more credit than we thought ...

Yuri Andrade -- the man who broke onto the field while wearing a pink thong bathing suit -- says he came up with the idea for the stunt after seeing a prop bet that offered GREAT ODDS if someone actually ran onto the field during the SB55.

Andrade explained the whole thing during an interview with WILD 94.1 -- saying the gambling website Bovada offered +750 odds ($100 bet pays $750) so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He called up everyone he knew and had them BET on someone storming the field -- then he got tickets to the game and recruited a buddy to serve as a decoy.

Andrade says once security was distracted by his pal -- he ran onto the field ... and the rest is history.

The 31-year-old says he also sent someone to Vegas to make the prop bet at a sportsbook there -- but he didn't identify which book took the action.

Bottom line ... Andrade says he walked away with $370,000 in profit!!

Of course, he was arrested and booked for trespassing -- but chalks the whole thing up as no big deal.

The worst part was he couldn't pick the wedgie that was up his ass while in custody because he was in handcuffs ... but he's clearly over that now.

We know what you're thinking ... is it even legal to make a bet and then personally interfere with the game to get the desired result?? We're looking into it.

But, until someone says otherwise ... tip of the cap to you, sir.

Conor McGregor is so rich, he craps gold!

Well, he probably will after taking down a gold-plated steak at Salt Bae's famous restaurant in Dubai!

The UFC superstar took his family to the Nusr-Et Steakhouse Dubai -- where social media's most famous slicer of meat broke out his sharpest knife to personally serve Conor.

The dish is known as the Golden Tomahawk -- which is a fancy wagyu cut wrapped in a 24-karat gold leaf.

Yes, it's edible. No, we don't know if it will actually make your dookie twinkle.

The steak is reportedly priced right around $1,000 -- but we don't know if Conor was charged the full amount. Hey, they say the wealthiest people get the most free stuff, right?!

Seems Conor has been on a spending spree ever since he took that "L" to Dustin Poirier on Fight Island at UFC 257 back on January 24. He even scooped up a fancy new Rolex, inspired by Tupac.

Dana White wouldn't tell us exactly how much Conor made for the fight -- but did say the final number was HIGH.

McGregor is expected to rake in even more cash in a trilogy fight with Poirier -- that's expected to go down around May (though nothing is confirmed yet).

Britney Spears' boyfriend, Sam Asghari, is telling the world how he really feels about her father -- calling Jamie Spears a "total dick" who's meddled in their relationship.

We got Sam at Bristol Farms in L.A. Tuesday, who certainly didn't pull any punches on the heels of a new Britney documentary that rips Jamie and the conservatorship -- Sam also teed off Tuesday morning on IG, saying he has "zero respect" for Brit's dad.

Britney's BF accuses her pops of trying to control their relationship and claims Jamie constantly throws obstacles in their way. Although he says he won't go into details, you can tell Sam has a lot more to say ... and now says he's not afraid to speak up.

Sam's outburst comes as 'Framing Britney Spears' is getting a lot of attention. The Hulu doc has fans fired up about how the pop star's been treated over the years by Jamie and others.

The TikToker who put Gorilla Glue in her hair is trying her luck in Bev Hills ... a plastic surgeon says he can remove the adhesive spray product from her rock-hard hair.

We've learned Tessica Brown's got an offer from Dr. Michael Obeng, who says he can fix her problems with a lengthy procedure.

We're told Tessica is flying Wednesday from Louisiana to Los Angeles to have the procedure done, and the good doc estimates it will take 2 or 3 days to completely rid her hair of Gorilla Glue.

Remember ... Tessica says her hair's been stuck in place for about a month, ever since substituting Gorilla Glue Spray Adhesive for her normal hair spray. She says home remedies and a trip to the ER yielded no results.

Our sources say Dr. Obeng feels so bad for Tessica, he's performing the procedure for free. It's no small gesture, we're told the estimated cost is $12,500.

Your friends will be yelling, "Hail to the Chief" if you're rocking the Barack Obamas -- a rare Nike shoe specifically designed for the ex-Prez -- and they'll also know you're rich as hell.

Sotheby's is hosting a one-of-a-kind sale of these Nike Hyperdunks in size 12.5 and designed for 44 back in 2009. Talk about an extremely rare pair of Nikes ... there are only 2 pairs in existence. The others were gifted to Obama.

According to Sotheby's ... these particular shoes -- influenced by the Hyperdunks created for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics -- were not worn by Obama, but they're Nike's only confirmation sample, and in pristine condition.

The price is a modest $25k. If you're inclined to say, "Just do it" ... the sale opens Friday at, yes, 4:44 PM ET.

Is it worth it? Well, the shoe's literally etched in POTUS lore -- official Presidential Seal on the tongue and an embroidered "44" and the insoles include the year "1776."

Justin Bieber may wanna drive despacito when he's behind the wheel of his futuristic Rolls-Royce ... 'cause everyone's gonna want to enjoy its awesomeness.

TMZ's obtained pictures of what the Biebs' custom 2018 Rolls-Royce Wraith looks like and it's so jaw-dropping, RoboCop's somewhere out there jealous AF. The boys over at West Coast Customs are the geniuses behind this 1 of 1 Wraith ... meaning it's one of a kind.

Have a look ... it went from your normally souped-up Rolls to this silver bullet masterpiece. Just 4 years ago, Rolls-Royce unveiled the 103EX ... a slick and super extreme concept car that measured 19.4 feet long and we're told the inspiration behind WCC's design.

That concept -- a 2-seater with a panoramic sunroof -- also featured massive, half-concealed wheels and a super-tall grille. Fast forward to now -- or in Justin's case, the future -- the Biebs' ride features concealed wheels and a mean grille too.

No panoramic sunroof for Justin ... but there's no denying it oozes luxury. BTW, the Rolls-Royce Wraith goes for around $330k ... so you can imagine what it cost to turn Justin's Rolls into a piece of machinery that looks straight outta NASA.

The famous megamansion from "Schitt's Creek" has a for sale sign in the yard ... and you can live like the TV family used to, if you've got some pretty deep pockets.

The mansion used in the TV series is back on the market for a cool $15 million ... which buys you 12 bedrooms and 24,000 square feet of lavish living.

The estate, known as the La Belle Maison, is tricked out with a home theater, gym, billiard room, wine cellar, sauna, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, plus a game room with a golf simulator.

The three-story home, tucked in Toronto's ritzy St. Andrew-Winfields neighborhood, is designed with marble stairs, carved limestone, fancy balconies and a bunch of frescoes that make you feel like you're in the Sistine Chapel.

There's also a gourmet kitchen that opens to a private patio, plus a formal dining room and a double reception room. The home is listed by Khoren Mardoyan at HomeLife/Vision Realty Brokerage.