Being a musician – even a professional musician – is seriously hard work in our current society. We are just coming out of a period where artists had no ability to generate additional revenue through touring and playing gigs. Many countries still have extremely tough restrictions on who can and cannot cross their borders; we all hope the situation is going to improve soon, but what's a Rock’N’Roll star to do with all this spare time on their hands? I wonder ...

Rockers With a Love for the Casino

The entertainment industry includes a multitude of different sub-industries. Music is an obvious, huge part of entertainment that seems to go hand in hand with gambling. It’s not just musicians either – actors, comedians, and sportsmen all seem to be drawn towards the fun and excitement of live casino sessions. Of course, it may just be a case of these celebrities having more money than they know what to do with, but we suspect the attraction runs much deeper than this. 

Let’s check out a few of the biggest Rock’N’Roll acts with a love for live casino:

Paul Daniel AKA Ace Frehley

Paul, AKA the Spaceman, was one of the original founders of KISS, a legendary American band that formed in 1973 and still plays gigs to this day. Ace was the lead guitarist for the band's first nine years but left 1982 following “creative differences”. 

A wave of KISS nostalgia during the mid-1990s led to the original line-up getting back together for a highly successful reunion tour. Frehley didn’t hang around long, however, and was subsequently replaced by Eric Singer.

Outside of the music scene, the rock star has a reputation as being an exceptionally strong poker player. Frehley also happens to live in Las Vegas – handy for someone who loves the thrill of games of chance. Ace has also been spotted playing casino games on many occasions, though this is something he has yet to discuss publicly.

Lemmy

Lemmy was the founding member of the legendary British band MOTÖRHEAD which disbanded in 2015 following the death of Ian Kilmister – AKA Lemmy. The band has made the newspapers in recent weeks because of lead guitarist Phil Campbell announcing his intention to organise a tour in honour of Lemmy. 

During this tour, Phil Campbell will perform with his band “Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons” playing several of MOTÖRHEAD’s greatest hits. Eight dates have been confirmed so far, two of which have already sold out, so there could be a possibility of more dates being added yet.

Lemmy’s love of casino gaming was always well known – it is said that when he wasn’t writing or performing, he could often be found at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles, playing the video slots located around the bar. We wouldn’t normally mention a dead rocker in a list like this, but Lemmy was so influential in the American rock scene that we simply must give him a mention.

Salvatore “Sully” Erna

What is it with celebrities and Poker? We suspect the draw is likely down to the fact that poker combines skill with luck, unlike many other casino games. Nevertheless, most celebrities who like to play poker also seem to love the game of blackjack too. Salvatore Erna founded a rock band named Godsmack in 1995, filling venues everywhere they went as well as producing no less than seven high-quality studio albums. Salvatore also experimented with a solo career at one point, but this failed to achieve the same level of success as his earlier work with Godsmack.

Sully is famous for being involved with one of the biggest coolers in poker history – the hand was so sick that the rocker even had a tattoo done signifying how there is no justice in poker. Sully was holding four aces, but correctly read his opponent who was holding a royal flush. We could not even begin to calculate the odds of such an event occurring. Was this cooler enough for Sully to quit poker? Hard to say. He hasn’t talked about the subject since, though perhaps he just prefers to keep things quiet?

Scott Ian

Finishing up with another rocker who enjoys flaunting his love of gambling, Scott Ian is the type of guitarist who joins in a jam session and immediately finds a hook to build a song around. A true musical talent without question, as the records for his band Anthrax show, but what is less known is that he has also mastered the art of card counting as well. 

Whilst the rest of us can expect to be “backed off” if we sit at the Blackjack table counting cards, celebrities such as Scott Ian have it easy, if we are honest. How many casinos are going to back off a player who might spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single trip?