Money

Evander Kane is adamant he NEVER gambled on hockey or threw games ... insisting his estranged wife is straight-up lying after she accused the NHL star of betting on the sport.

"I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game,'' Kane wrote on Twitter.

Evander later continued ... "I love the game of Hockey and would never do any of what was alleged. I look forward to cooperating fully with the league's investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season."

The messages were in response to Anna Kane's explosive allegations on Saturday, where she accused her soon-to-be-ex-husband of gambling on hockey games -- a cardinal sin in sports.

She wrote ... "How does the NHL let a compulsive gambling addict still play when he's obviously throwing games to win money? Hmm maybe someone needs to address this."

Soon after Anna posted her message, the NHL announced they were investigating the claim.

"The League was made aware this evening of a post on social media alleging that San Jose Sharks Player Evander Kane bet on NHL games. The integrity of our game is paramount and the League takes these allegations very seriously."

"We intend to conduct a full investigation and will have no further comment at this time."

Evander's team, the Sharks, also commented on the allegation, saying they've been in contact with the league and plan to aid the investigation.

For what it's worth, Kane -- who's midway through a 7-year deal worth $49 million -- allegedly had issues with a casino in the past.

Back in 2019, The Cosmopolitan in Vegas sued the hockey star for $500k -- claiming he had unpaid debts.

Ariana Greenblatt's already making some boss moves ... the child actress is raking in a fat paycheck for her voiceover work on the 'Boss Baby' sequel.

The 14-year-old actress scored a nice daily rate of $10,000 for her voice work as Tabitha in "The Boss Baby: Family Business" ... according to her minor's contract.

The contract, obtained by TMZ, guarantees the actress no less than $50,000 for her work on the DreamWorks animated flick.

While $50k is a nice baseline, Ariana could be in line for an even bigger payday ... the docs say she could earn up to 5 different bonuses, up to $250k each, based on how much the film rakes in at the box office.

One bonus Ariana will likely miss out on -- $1,075,000 in additional cash if the sequel grosses $300 million in the United States and Canada. However, a month after its release date, the movie has only made $60 million ... so $300 million seems out of reach.

Next time you see Odell Beckham, ask him to smile ... and you'll witness a $1.8 million dollar grin!!!

Sources tell TMZ Sports ... the Cleveland Browns star pretty much has a mansion in his mouth now ... after hitting up celeb dentist Dr. Thomas Connelly to get some natural porcelain veneers done.

But, the 28-year-old didn't ask for your regular pearly whites ... he wanted his on a different level -- framed with a load of diamonds ... and Connelly delivered!

OBJ's new teeth look AMAZING ... with a iced-out cross on his fang and the back of his teeth -- on both sides -- infused with gems.

We're told Connelly -- who's made icy teeth for Post Malone and Chris Brown -- did a 28 unit full mouth reconstruction ... and it carries 13 carat diamonds!!!

The 3-time Pro Bowler dropped $1.8 MILLION on his new teeth ... but it won't hurt his pockets -- he's made over $60M in his NFL career so far.

It'll be nice to see the guy get back on the field after going down with a season-ending injury in November 2020 ... but wear a pair of shades if you stare at his smile ... just in case.

Simone Biles will NOT pay a financial price for pulling out of the Olympics -- she actually might make MORE money -- so says financial guru Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" ... when DJ was asked about the monetary implications of Biles's decision.

"I think this is great," John tells us ... "Not what she's going through, but a great example of showing she's human."

Daymond says that will likely translate to additional sponsorship dollars.

"I think this makes her extremely relatable, and I think this makes a company look good because they say we don't only care about people when they're on top, we care about people when they're going through struggles, and we're gonna address this cause we're all human."

Of course, 24-year-old Biles pulled out of the team and individual all-around gymnastics competitions in Tokyo after explaining mounting pressure took a toll on her mental.

Simone is already one of the Summer Games' highly endorsed athletes ... working with companies like Visa, Athleta and Uber Eats, amongst others.

And, get this ... Biles won't be the only athlete who benefits from the gymnastics G.O.A.T. pulling out.

DJ says Suni Lee -- the all-around individual gold medalist -- likely will also get the bag!!

"I think the other young lady who stepped up and represented America, and represented everybody so great, with Simone cheering her on, I think she's also gonna get sponsors."

Lee is on her way ... she's already accumulated over 1 million Instagram followers in the days since her clutch performance.

The NFL Alumni association was paid a whopping $3,500,000 by the CDC to promote the COVID-19 vaccine, TMZ Sports has learned.

U.S. Federal Procurement docs show the CDC and the NFL Alumni assoc. signed the multi-million dollar deal at the beginning of May.

The total value of the contract is listed at $3.5 mil ... with the money earmarked for "NFL Alumni (NFLA) Health COVID-19 Vaccination Community Outreach and Education Project."

FYI, the NFL Alumni was founded in 1967 by a group of retired football players. The organization's current president is former NY Giants lineman, Bart Oates.

The NFL Alumni's website features pro-COVID-19 vax testimonials from former NFL stars like Franco Harris, Rod Woodson and Harry Carson, amongst others.

The site also has a "Vaccination Tracker" and a link to access vax locations.

The group is a separate entity from the NFL ... though you must have played or coached in the league to be a member.

Prior to awarding the windfall of cash, the CDC issued a Notice of Intent, announcing the grant.

"The [CDC] intends to award a sole source firm fixed price purchase order to The NFL Alumni Association (NFLA). The overall purpose of this contract is to facilitate collaboration among NFL Alumni and federal state and local public health officials as well as other local leaders to address vaccine hesitancy through communication and engagement with communities less likely to get vaccinated."

The notice continues ... "The CDC Vaccine Task Force will work directly with the NFLA to promote community-level and national COVID-19 education outreach and vaccination acceptance."

The agreement with former players is interesting, because many current players and coaches are pissed about the NFL's new COVID vax rules

The league has threatened to take away players' game checks and even force forfeitures if unvaccinated players cause COVID outbreaks.

29-year-old superstar WR DeAndre Hopkins tweeted his frustrations with the rules, even hinting at contemplating retirement. Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Rick Dennison was even reassigned after refusing to get the shot.

Congresswoman Cori Bush spent the night sleeping on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to protest the end of the COVID eviction moratorium.

We got the Rep from Missouri Saturday morning after she spent a night with several other members of Congress -- Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar -- to highlight the impending struggle of millions of people who will be evicted from their homes unless Congress extends the eviction moratorium.

Bush, who was once homeless herself, is frustrated Congress has just taken a 7-week recess without voting to extend renters' protection.  Democrats tried and failed Friday to extend the law, so it's a certainty that the law will expire today.

Bush made a personal plea to her fellow members, saying she's been evicted 3 times in her life along with her 2 children. She says she lived in a car and tried conveying the harsh realities of living without a roof over your head.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone want to buy a beloved Colorado restaurant featured in "South Park," but it's still just a pipedream ... because we're told Casa Bonita is NOT for sale.

Here's the deal ... the "South Park" creators made it pretty well known this week they want to buy the Mexican restaurant they often shout out in their sitcom, in part because the real Casa Bonita has remained shuttered since the outset of the pandemic.

But, as flattering as their desire to buy Casa Bonita might be, honchos at the restaurant's parent company, Summit Family Restaurant Inc., tell TMZ ... they're not interested in selling, despite filing for bankruptcy.

Since the bankruptcy filing, we're told tons of people have reached out to Summit about purchasing Casa Bonita -- but Trey and Matt weren't among them.

We're told the decision-makers at Summit plan to reopen Casa Bonita ASAP once the current bankruptcy process wraps, with the goal being to get folks back to work in the next month. Summit's owned Casa Bonita for 25 years.

🚨🚨 MAJOR BEEF ALERT 🚨🚨

A.J. McKee and Patricio Pitbull -- Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix finalists -- do NOT like each other, and it all goes back to ... an autograph?!

"I actually asked [Pitbull] to sign a newspaper," A.J. tells TMZ Sports.

But, instead of just signing the paper ... Pitbull had other ideas, and McKee is PISSED.

"He done crossed my whole face out, picture out. So, I'm f****** him up for that like. Like I lost a lot of respect for him because of that."

And, McKee says he thinks Pitbull's shook.

"I'm in his head so f*****g heavy!"

A.J. and Patricio are the last 2 men standing in a tournament that started with 16 of the best 145-pound fighters in Bellator.

McKee has never lost ... winning all 17 of his Bellator fights -- many of them with ease.

Meanwhile, Pitbull is a legend. He's 32-4 and has wins over Michael Chandler and Juan Archuleta -- to name a few. Patricio is also a double champ ... holding the 145 and 155 lb. titles.

The featherweight title's on the line, but arguably more important is the million-dollar prize!!

We asked McKee what he was gonna do with the cash ... and let's just say this isn't the 1st time he's thought about the 7-figure check being deposited in his bank account.

"Oh, I spent it already bro. It’s spent already. I’m paying off my dad's house. I'm buying a [Porsche] GT 2RS. I need a Porsche in my driveway, man."

FYI, A.J.'s dad is Antonio McKee -- a veteran MMA fighter.

The championship fight goes down Saturday night ... personal beef, a title, and a million dollars are all that's on the line.

Lamar Odom has been ordered to pay his ex nearly $400,000 ... after a judge ruled the former NBA star hadn’t pay a cent of support in over a year.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, a New York judge ruled Odom had stopped making payments to his ex, Liza Morales, in June of last year, despite a 2015 settlement agreement requiring the NBA legend to pay thousands of dollars per month for the benefit of the former couple’s two kids.

In all, the court hit Odom with a $380,549 tab, including $91,220 in outstanding child support, $88,117 in missed rent, $161,305 for their children's college funds and expenses, and nearly $40k for her legal fees and expenses.

Morales had sued Odom back in May, claiming the former basketball player had missed all the payments he agreed to make since June 2020.

In the court's ruling, the judge noted Odom did not show up for a key hearing in the case in June "despite due notice."

Gloria and Emilio Estefan's investment nearly 3 decades ago on a Miami mansion has paid off big time ... TMZ's learned the couple sold it for a whopping $35 million.

According to property records ... the famous couple sold their 6-bedroom, 10-bathroom crib on Miami's Star Island last week. The Estefans sure got top dollar for the nearly 8,000-square-foot mansion especially when you consider this -- property records show the couple bought the house in 1993 for $1,840,000. #ChaChing.

We're told ... as of late Gloria and Emilio used the home for guests when they visited the famous couple, who aren't going anywhere 'cause they have another property down the street. The area, of course, is a major enclave for celebs like Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O'Neal and Sean Combs, to name a few.

As for the corner-lot house itself ... it sits on a 58,332-square-foot lot. It offers sparkling waterfront and unobstructed views to Biscayne Bay and the downtown Miami skyline.

For the new owner's guests ... there's a 2-story guest house with 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and 1.5 baths complete with a spacious living room and private dining room. It's also got killer views. And, if the new owner has a boat (guessing yes), there's also a private dock at this one-of-a-kind estate.

Helluva score.

Marcus Brice helps Air Force One take off and land almost every day as an air traffic controller ... and he says it's all because he spent hours playing video games.

The FAA is recruiting the next generation of air traffic controllers, like Marcus, and they're specifically targeting gamers because as it turns out ... skills honed by video games are coming in handy at airports.

Marcus joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and put a face and a cool story to the FAA's "Level Up" hiring campaign, which seeks to hire 4,300 new air traffic controllers over the next 5 years ... with heavy recruitment going towards gamers, women and minorities.

It's pretty cool ... Marcus explained which video gaming skills set him up with the tools to be an air traffic controller at Joint Base Andrews. And, while the stakes are much, much higher ... he says air traffic control is very much like certain games.

Another bonus Marcus was too humble to brag about ... the gig pays pretty well, with the FAA saying the median annual wage for air traffic controllers is just over $138,000.

Suni Lee is about to be one VERY rich 18-year-old college student -- the gold medalist just surpassed 1 million followers on Instagram ... and is poised to stack some SERIOUS endorsement money!!!

Lee -- the first Hmong American to make the USA Olympic gymnastics team -- cemented her spot in history after taking top honors in the all-around competition on Thursday ... with a bunch of new fans slamming that "follow" button on the social media app.

Lee was hovering around 250k followers prior to her gold medal win ... and saw that number SKYROCKET in the hours after her incredible performance, saying she's "speechless" with the milestone.

Of course, Lee -- who's slated to continue her gymnastics career at Auburn this fall -- usually wouldn't be able to cash in on that kinda exposure due to the NCAA's name, image and likeness rules ... but luckily for her, the organization lifted its policy earlier this month.

In other words, Lee is free to ink a TON of endorsement and sponsorship deals following her rise to superstardom without forfeiting her college career ... something that's never been done in the sport before.

That wasn't always the case. Back in 2016 ... Katie Ledecky -- one of the Summer Games breakout stars -- was forced to forego a ton of endorsement money after she decided to attend Stanford University.

Lee is now a household name, regardless of her social media presence, but having more than a million followers on IG certainly doesn't hurt her chances at lining her pockets.

Auburn coach Jeff Graba spoke about the importance of the new NIL rules for Lee's career ... saying, "I just love the fact that ... thank goodness for the NIL, because she doesn’t have to make a horrible decision," he said, according to al.com.

"She’s capable of, in her words, 'I want it all. I want to be able to do everything.' Now she actually gets that shot."

Scarlett Johansson's agent is joining in on the war with Disney ... blasting the Mouse House for "shamelessly" attacking her over her "Black Widow" lawsuit.

Bryan Lourd, one of the head honchos at the powerhouse agency CAA, just went to bat for his client and said Disney "shamelessly and falsely accused Ms. Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic, in an attempt to make her appear to be someone they and I know she isn't."

ScarJo's rep also took a huge issue with Disney spilling the tea on her salary in their response to her lawsuit. Lourd said, "The company included her salary in their press statement in an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman, as if that were something she should be ashamed of."

The "Black Widow" star has done nine Disney movies ... but the relationship's reached a boiling point after she claimed in a lawsuit Disney violated her deal when it simultaneously released "Black Widow" in theaters and on Disney+ ... which cut into her backend because her salary was tied to how well the film performed at the box office.

Lourd added, "The suit was filed as a result of Disney's decision to knowingly violate Scarlett's contract. They have very deliberately moved the revenue stream and profits to the Disney+ side of the company, leaving artistic and financial partners out of their new equation. That's it, pure and simple."

Cole Anthony -- last year's 15th overall pick -- is confessing his biggest rookie year screw up ... laying down wayyy too much cash on a chain prior to draft night.

TMZ Sports ran into the Orlando Magic star only hours before the 2021 NBA Draft ... and we asked the 2nd year hooper out of UNC how he treated himself after being picked in last year's 1st round.

"Before the draft, I bought myself a chain which I immediately regretted," the 21-year-old said. "It was a lot of money at the time ... at the time, it was a lot. I ain't going to lie to you."

FYI, Anthony signed a near-$16 million, 4-year deal with Orlando in the November draft (it was delayed over COVID-19).

Tonight, 60 more young fellas are about to strike it rich ... and Cole has some sound financial advice for the soon-to-be millionaires.

"You don't owe nobody nothing. Don't come in there trying to take care of a thousand people, man. Just take care of yourself. Take care of your mom and dad, if necessary," Anthony says.

"And, just focus on basketball."

Seems former NBA star Jermaine O'Neal would agree ... 'cause when we got the ex-Indiana Pacer out in NYC earlier this week, his biggest piece of advice to the future rookies was also to be smart with their cash!

"I think the most important thing is saving, right?" the 42-year-old said. "You know, put aside some money. You work hard, you should be able to choose what you want to buy. But don’t spend it all in one place."

Scarlett Johansson is going after the Mouse House ... she's suing Disney, claiming the simultaneous release of "Black Widow" in theaters and on Disney+ violated her deal, and cost her serious money.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Black Widow" star claims her contract with Disney stated the movie would be exclusively released in theaters. Problem is ... Disney broke that deal, she says, when the movie was made available in theaters and on its streaming service.

Scarlett says her salary was tied to how well the film performed at the box office. But, the actress claims, releasing the film on Disney+ meant fewer butts in movie theaters ... which cut into her backend.

Other studios have dealt with similar issues and given their stars additional compensation to make up for their backend loss, and you gotta imagine Scarlett's lawyers and Disney's lawyers tried settling this before she filed her lawsuit. She says she tried settling, but she was pretty much ignored.

Her argument is pretty clear ... the contract says the movie would be released exclusively in theaters, so Disney violated it by putting it on its streaming service. What's more ... Disney presumably benefited financially by getting additional subscribers, while Scarlett was aced out of what she would have made had theaters been the only game in town.

"Black Widow" grossed $80 million in domestic box office opening weekend. It grossed another $78 million overseas and $60 million from home purchases on the streaming platform.

We've reached out to Disney, so far no word back.

Donald Trump is looking to unload one of his personal helicopters ... and it seems like he's hoping someone makes him an offer he can't refuse. Like, literally.

Sources tell TMZ ... the former President recently put one of his personal choppers on the market, but there's no exact asking price, and potential buyers can just submit offers.

According to the online listing, Trump's helicopter is a 1990 Sikorsky S76-B ... and we're told the market for these kinds of choppers is usually around $1 million.

TMZ broke the story ... Trump put another one of his personal choppers up for sale in November when he was still in office, and back then the listing also said "Make offer."

We're told this new one, being sold through an aerial retailer via Aero Asset, is the exact same model as the one Trump previously listed.

Remember ... Trump's owned 3 Sikorsky S76-B helicopters over the years, plus other private aircrafts.

As you can see, the helicopter's got all the typical Trump bells and whistles ... like gold seat belts and gold handles, plus upholstered leather and custom flooring.