As gambling is one of the most popular adult activities on most of the globe, it’s no surprise that it managed to make its way across multiple genres with it and casino scenes featuring in music videos
Whether you’re a big fan of it and explore all UK online casinos or you’re a casual player, you can’t deny that gambling is everywhere, especially in the music industry. You might be surprised how many popular songs are inspired by gambling or feature this activity in their music videos. This is why, today, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most influential music videos which depict casinos and gambling.
Casino And Gambling Scenes In Popular Music Videos
When it comes to the selection criteria for this list, we used the following guidelines to determine what makes it onto the list and what does not.
- The song must openly depict the casino experience;
- The song must contain casino elements in the music video;
- All of the songs must be popular enough;
- Songs should belong to a popular artist.
Casino and Gambling Scenes in Popular Music Videos
Poker Face – Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga needs no introduction at this point. With a career spanning over a decade, she has consolidated herself as one of the most influential pop stars of this generation. Arguably, one of the most popular songs that helped her achieve international fame was ‘Poker Face’. She is well known for hiding lyrics in plain sight and using a lot of metaphors to transpose her feelings into catchy tunes.
This catchy tune shows multiple scenes in which the popular artist and her dancers are playing a game of poker, as the name of the song suggests. Of course, the song has a deeper meaning behind it rather than a simple game of poker and uses casino lingo to describe a relationship with a romantic interest that isn’t going that well.
Waking up in Vegas – Katy Perry
The music video for Waking Up in Vegas, directed by Joseph Kahn, is a visual extravaganza giving viewers the full experience of what, for some gamblers, a night in a casino can be like. Perry and her partner completely change their lives after winning a huge jackpot playing slots. They use most of the money to keep betting on high-stakes games. And this is where things (and the metaphor developed by Katy Perry and Joseph Kahn) become interesting.
After hitting the jackpot and stringing together a winning streak throughout the clip, near the end, their luck starts to turn, and the couple loses it all. This clip therefore perfectly illustrates one of the song’s most famous lines, which can be translated as “that’s what you get when you wake up in Vegas”.
The video ends with the young couple hitting the jackpot in the same room and location as in the first scene. The start and end of the video depict the exact same moment, which may mean the couple ends up with nothing. And after they hit rock bottom, they have a chance to do things differently and leave the casino before they’ve used up their last pennies.
Once again, the director seized on an interesting metaphor, namely the uncertainty specific to the game, love, and to all aspects of our life. Check also some best online casinos in Canada for the top games, bonuses, and more.
The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
Going back in time to another classic hit performed by none other than Kenny Rogers, the name says it all when it comes to ‘The Gambler’. The video presents Kenny, offering the public a bit of the gambler’s mentality and slowly getting into a solo game. While it’s hard to determine what the outcome of the game was, the lyrics and the video go hand in hand to create the perfect gambling experience.
This song is definitely a must-play on the next poker night with friends. Hearing Kenny Rogers give some valuable advice on how to play poker is a magnificent way of spending the night together with friends.
Out of Touch – Uniting Nations
In 2004, British dance group Uniting Nations caused a bit of a buzz with their cover of Hall & Oates “Out of Touch”. The song was an instant hit and managed to peak at 15 on the UK Charts and 3 in Finland, which is a great performance considering the songs that came out at that time.
One of the main reasons for the media hype is the music video, which stars a sharp young man playing strip poker alone against everyone at a table full of very beautiful women. The video also shows the thrill and excitement of playing high-stakes poker with incredibly beautiful partners.
24K Magic – Bruno Mars
Closer in time, we find one of the most listened to and danced artists today: Bruno Mars. For many, he is the successor to the funk and rhythm of the best of Michael Jackson, beyond the strange theory that circulates on the web about the possibility of being family members. In this case, he offers an extremely catchy song. This song describes the magic of playing high-stakes games and the lavish lifestyle that some dream of.
The video recalls hundreds of scenes of excesses and fun in Las Vegas, where he walks through the best casinos in the area accompanied by dozens of people. It managed to amass over a billion views on YouTube and continues to appear on Billboard 100 even to this very date.
Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino – Arctic Monkeys
Another of the groups that have recently revitalised the English rock scene with modern guitars and new songs. However, for the video of this song, they choose to lean on the classic aesthetics of casinos, leading their charismatic leader Alex Turner to put himself in the shoes of a 70’s heartthrob while the luxury of a casino and a five-star hotel shine through your surroundings.
If you didn’t know this video, we invite you to watch it very carefully since it is full of details that are worth being appreciated, in addition to taking a catchy and sweet song for your playlist. More than this, Arctic Monkeys ceases to impress due to the powerful visual effects and the overall vibe that the video and the song lyrics are giving off. It’s a truly wonderful experience, and it will sound great playing in any casino across the globe.
Conclusion
In the end, it’s amazing to see how many popular artists have incorporated casinos and gambling into their music videos and how their creative vision has been transposed. All of these music videos are very entertaining to watch, and we strongly recommend watching them all to see the genius behind them.
Of course, there are many other music videos that did not make it to the list, but it’s worth noting that this is a well-established theme when it comes to videos, and there are a lot of other huge artists that have adopted it one way or another.