Crank up the volume.
From rock bangers to pop favourites, there have been plenty of songs inspired by casinos over the years. Here’s our take on the top 10. . .
(1) ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motörhead
Every wannabe rock star has banged their head to this 1980’s classic. Sharing it’s name with the highest-paying card in most casino card games, it first appeared as the title track on the English rock band’s fourth album. The record remains one of the most successful hits to date and, in 2016, enjoyed another surge in popularity by appearing on the soundtrack to NetEnt’s new Motörhead online casino game.
(2) ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga
A song about sex and gambling, Gaga’s second chart smasher is a little darker than your average pop tune. Whilst a poker face is usually something put on to deceive other players at the poker table, Gaga sums it up as something you put on to deceive a man out of his cash. It just goes to show that love’s as risky as any card game.
(3) ‘Snake Eyes’ by Mumford and Sons
Every gambler knows that snake eyes is what you get when you roll a pair of dice to reveal two black dots. Being the lowest (and unluckiest) roll in a game of Craps, it’s the perfect name for folk band Mumford and Sons’ ode to a man’s crappy luck in love.
(4) ‘Viva Las Vegas’ by Elvis Presley
The King of Rock n’ Roll was no stranger to gambling haven, Las Vegas. And in 1964, he appeared in what’s now widely regarded as his best film, Viva Las Vegas. The song that accompanies the movie captures all the fun to be had in Sin City, but it wasn’t his only casino-themed jive. . .
(5) ‘A little Less Conversation’ by Elvis Presley
In 1968, there came another foot-tapping hit from Mr Presley. It’s an old-school favourite that was made popular once again with the release of Ocean’s Eleven, a film about Danny Ocean and his partner-in-crime Rusty Ryan’s plan to rob the top casinos in Vegas.
(6) ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by ABBA
Swedish pop group ABBA originally wrote this song about the end of a romance. But the lyrics translate just as well to the blackjack or poker table, where one lucky player gets to rake in all the chips and take home the cash.
(7) ‘Casino Boogie’ by The Rolling Stones
The truth is, The Rolling Stones were nowhere near a casino when they came up with this tune in 1972. They were at Keith Richard’s second home in the South of France. Nevertheless, it was a creative game of chance – just as risky as those played out at any casino card table – that helped create the lyrics. Mick Jagger tore up scraps of paper with phrases written on, before randomly piecing them together to form the song.
(8) ‘The Gambler’ by Kenney Rogers
In 1988, Kenny Rogers brought us this catchy country singalong. The lyrics tell the tale of one unlucky chap who, on a train destined for nowhere, gets some much needed advice from the mysteriously-named Gambler: ‘You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table. There’ll be time enough for counting when the dealings done’. Any blackjack or poker player would benefit from taking note of these wise words.
(9) ‘Luck Be a Lady’ by Simon Mullins
This classic was written by Frank Loesser in 1950, and first performed by Mullins in the hit musical Guy and Dolls. The lyrics let on one character’s hopes to win the girl of his dreams by striking it lucky in a dice-rolling casino game. That’s what we call high stakes.
(10) ‘Smoke on Water’ by Deep Purple
You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t air-guitared along to this rock hit. Voted as one of the greatest songs of all time, it’s recognised across the world. But perhaps what’s less well-known is the true story that inspired it. In 1971, a fire burnt down part of the Montreux Casino before the flames spread to Lake Geneva. This is where the ‘Smoke on Water’ title comes from.
