Contrary to popular belief, the music industry loves Las Vegas. If musicians aren’t gambling in Vegas, they’re writing songs about the industry. In this article, we’ll focus on great songs that reference gambling. Let’s get started.
#1: The Gambler by Kenny Rodgers
When you think about it, not many gambling songs come close to Kenny Rodger’s “The Gambler” in popularity. It’s a song that transcended its country music genre to become a global hit.
And we have Rodgers golden voice and relatable lyrics to thank for the song’s fame. For the uninitiated, the Gambler is sort of an educational song. Rodgers sings of meeting a gambler who gives him advice about life in general.
However, the gambler shares his advice in a way he knows best—referencing gambling. With lines like “You’ve got to know when the Hold’em,” and “You gotta learn to play right,” this is a song every casino fan can identify with.
#2: Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley
If you’re not in a mood for Kenny Rodgers’ life lessons, fuel your imaginations about life in Las Vegas by listening to Elvis’ ‘Viva Las Vegas’ song. “Bright light city gonna set my soul,” the king of rock says. “Got a whole lot of money that’s ready to burn,” he adds.
Presley says all the great things about Vegas in his song. He talks about pretty women, how time runs fast at the casinos (like the ones at https://newcasinos-ca.com/bonuses). And he mentions some of the city’s most popular games—poker, roulette and blackjack.
#3: Blackjack by Ray Charles
Ray Charles is famous mostly because of his hit song, Hit the Road Jack. But what some people don’t know is that legendary soul musician also loved gambling. In fact, he loved playing casino slots like these so much that he wrote two songs about it.
In the song Blackjack: Ray Charles opens up his heart about losing money in blackjack. It’s probably something every blackjack fan has experienced.
‘How unlucky can one man be?’ Charles asks. ‘Every quarter I get, Lord, Blackjack takes it away,’ he adds.
While the song is sad, it’s catchy and encouraging. It also acts as a reminder to keep your bankroll in check whenever you play blackjack, be it online on some of these sites or at the local casino.
#4: The Jack by AC/DC
You need to listen to the Jack by AC/DC only once to understand it has little to do with the game of poker. Precisely, it’s a song about a beautiful woman with a poker face. She lies to the singer she’s a virgin.
And he instantly falls in love with her. He makes her happy. He makes love to her, shares his feelings and does everything she wanted. Then he realizes everything about the woman was a lie. He reveals this through lines like,
“But how was I to know that she’d been dealt with before?’ and ‘She was wheelin’ and dealin,’ just doin’ her thing.’
#5: Shape of My Heart by Sting
Shape of My Heart is a deep song. It’s not about winning money. It’s not about losing, either. In this song, Sting talks about a man who players poker hoping to find the real meaning of the cards in the game.
Sting reveals, spades are the swords of a soldier and clubs are weapons of war. He hints about being in love by saying, ‘If I told her that I loved you, you’d maybe thing there’s something wrong.’
In all fairness, the singer shares his opinion about the meaning behind different cards. But he fails to explain what the heart-shaped cards mean. All the same, he says it’s the card he identifies with the most.
#6: Aces of Spades by Motorhead
Motorhead wrote one of the best gambling songs in Aces of Spades. The rock band basically shares their reasons on why you should gamble. ‘The Pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say.’
The song gets real with lines like ‘You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools, but that’s the way I like it baby.’ Aces of Spades is a great song not just because it comes from one of the most iconic rock bands.
The lyrics are written beautifully expressing everything gamblers know about the casino industry.
#7: The Card Cheat by the Clash
The Card Cheat by the Clash is a song meant to remind gamblers why they shouldn’t cheat. The song talks about a card cheat who got shot dead after the dealer caught him. In real life, there’s almost no chance you’ll ever be killed for cheating at a legally operating casino.
But there are consequences, nonetheless. Not only could you lose all your winnings but you could also get banned for life. In the worst-case scenario, you can earn yourself some jail time.
#8: Deal by Grateful Dead
This is yet another song about how to win money at casinos. The Grateful Dead reveals you need skills and experience to win. They also remind you that it costs more money to lose than to win. The bottom line is to gain experience and manage your bankroll.
#9: The Winner Takes It All by ABBA
In some divorces, one person ends up with everything. The other one loses it all. That’s the message ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by ABBA tries to communicate. But the Swedish group conveys the message metaphorically, referencing how winners in poker take the entire pot and leave out nothing for the others.
#10: Losing Hand by Ray Charles
In blackjack, Ray Charles made it clear the song was about losing at the card game. In ‘Losing Hand,’ Charles refers to more than blackjack, The soul musicians talk about falling in love with a woman who doesn’t love him back.
He says, ‘I gambled on your love baby and got a losing hand.’ It’s a sad opening, and it gets worse as Charles talks about being cheated on. It’s a song many people can relate to, even those yet to find love. You might love a casino game or someone, but they might not love you back.
