I was a huge hit on American Idol and had a No1 album – but I gambled away my fame cash and now I’m back at my old job

AN AMERICAN Idol star has returned to his old job after squandering his celebrity earnings through gambling.

The 41-year-old went viral for his audition on the show two decades ago.

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Following his stint on American Idol and a venture into the music industry, William returned to university, obtained a position as a statistical analyst, and later resigned to pursue a career as a professional poker player.

He told : "I quit my job three years ago and became a professional poker player.

"I'd been doing it on the side for a while, and I decided maybe I was good enough to go for it. I was earning way more doing that than I was at my regular job. It was going well for a while.

"Unfortunately I developed a gambling addiction.

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"I knew I was good at poker, but then I got greedy. I got into sports betting. The whole gamut. I know better [now].

"I wasn't supposed to do those things, but I did it anyway.

"And I paid for it. I got divorced, and I learned I had to be smart about which risks I chose to take."

In a LinkedIn post approximately a year ago, William penned: "Things went downhill fast when my ex-wife found out about you."

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Addressing his gambling problem, he wrote: "I came home from work one day, and she started asking me all these questions about why I was so nervous about every sports game and why I was always tired ...

"How do you think that went — with all of the money I could have used to improve our life — gone? I'll give you a hint: it ended with her asking for a divorce."

William joined the third season of American Idol in 2004 where he performed Ricky Martin's She Bangs.

The star's audition stood out for various reasons. At just 20 years old, he had spent a decade in the U.S. since immigrating with his family from Hong Kong.

Though he received criticism from Simon Cowell, he kept going and persisted with his positive attitude.

He dropped an album called Inspiration in 2004 which peaked on the Billboards.

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