The Best Songs About Gambling

It might be a cliché to listen to a song describing an action you’re going to do, but so what? We love gambling and we love listening to songs about gambling as we play at the top online casinos in Canada. Find the best songs about gambling here.

Emergence and Popularity of Gambling Songs

Gambling has been around for centuries now, and while we would like tell you how Marie Antoinette sang about gambling while playing card games at the Versailles, there is no such record. In fact, it is incredibly hard to find which the first (or at least the first known) song about gambling was, so we will have to unfortunately skip that part.

Based on our research, we estimate that songs about gambling entered popular consciousness in the 1920’s and 1930’s through jazz. This is hardly surprising to those who know the history of casinos in The United States. Games at casinos of old were accompanied by spectacular jazz bands, and you can still find such at various land-based casinos, especially in Nevada.

Frank Sinatra, whose music often incorporates jazz, not only performed at casinos, popularising the Las Vegas residency when he announced his residency at Ceasars Palace in 1964, but also wrote songs about gambling. Elvis Presley, following in his footsteps, did the same, while his film Viva Las Vegas is one of the most iconic gambling related films.

While it might be hard to trace exactly when gambling songs emerged, it’s always fun to find new ones, so we hope we can introduce you to some good music today.

The Best Gambling Songs Ranked

People seem to be interested in exploring songs about gambling, judging by the many searches online. We decided to give our own take on the best songs about gambling by ranking our favourites. Let us know if you agree with us on our judgement of the best gambling songs.

Kendrick Lamar – Vegas

Kendrick Lamar is a lyrical poet, combining soft verses with powerful sound and meaningful contemplations, and his song “Vegas” is no different. Kendrick takes us to the casino floor and describes ordering drinks, playing blackjack hands and shooting craps, giving us iconic lines like ‘if gambling’s a sin, then I’m rollin’ dice with Lucifer’.

In the song, gambling becomes a metaphor for a woman Kendrick is yearning for. He’s willing to take a chance with her like a gambler would take chance in a game of craps.

Frank Sinatra – Luck Be a Lady

There can be no list about the best gambling songs without mentioning Frank Sinatra. In the song, “Lucky Be a Lady”, Sinatra likens gambling luck to a lady who is hard to get, one who is simultaneously an angel and a cruel mistress.

The song was originally written by Frank Loesser in 1950 and first performed by Robert Alda, but Sinatra popularised it further when he recorded it for the soundtrack of the musical film Guys and Dolls (1955). The song, however, is performed by Marlon Brando there, as he is the gambler pining over craps, and we honestly can’t pick whose performance we like better. Listen to both and let us know!

Elvis Presley – Viva Las Vegas

Of course, we could not pass the song that became a world-wide phenomenon. Yes, we’re talking about “Viva Las Vegas” by Elvis Presley. The song was famously featured in the film of the same name and it tells of the Las Vegas glamour with Elvis wishing there were more hours of the day, so he can indulge in all the pleasures that the city affords.

AC/DC – The Jack

This song needs no introduction, really. “The Jack” is a song you can hear at any dive bar around the world. The popular sing-along song is perhaps AC/DC’s most famous track, and much like other gambling songs, the concept of gambling is associated with a woman and there are a lot of sexual innuendos masked as gaming terms like ‘her deuces was wild’.

Bob Dylan – Rambling, Gambling Willie

In “Rambling, Gambling Willie”, Bob Dylan manages to tell a whole life story in four minutes. Willie, our protagonist, is a notorious gambler who plays cards all around America. His fame precedes him as “wives would keep their husbands home when Willie came to town”.

Willie was always lucky, from Mississippi to Louisiana to Colorado, winning every game. Dylan speaks of a poker night that lasted a week, leaving Willie rich beyond imagination. Yet Willie had “a heart of gold”, taking care of his “wives” and children, of the poor and sick. Perhaps it was his good nature and insatiable desire for gambling that left Willie dead after a gambler lost against him.

“Rambling, Gambling Willie” is Dylan at his best, creating fascination, then excitement and finally tragedy.

Kenny Rogers – The Gambler

It’s no wonder why you get Kenny Rogers’ song “The Gambler” when you look up the best songs about gambling. While “Viva Las Vegas” may be overall more famous, “The Gambler” seems to be more popular with actual gamblers. This is maybe because it gives good practical advice, after all you ‘got to know when to hold ’em when to fold ’em’ if you want to be a successful player.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed reading our article on the best songs about gambling, we certainly had a lot of fun listening to old classics and discovering new tunes. What do you think about our ranking? Do you agree with it? Let us know and tell us if you have other suggestions.

FAQ

Thank you for reading our review of the best gambling songs! Don’t forget to also take a look below to check out the most common questions asked by our readers.