Gambling is a popular way to reference topics in the media. From iconic slot scenes in movies to gambling references in songs, you’ll never find a shortage of them.
Gambling is a popular reference point in songs because it fits with many themes. You can use gambling to talk about love, loss, and luck.
You can reference card games, strategic moves, chips, jackpots, and the list is endless. For artists, aspects of gambling are easy to create metaphors from.
Sometimes you’ll find some gambling references that talk about the glitz and glam of Vegas, while others cleverly use references for storytelling.
However, they’re used, we love gambling references, so here are our top five songs with them.
1: The Winner Takes It All – Abba
From our playlist article, you’ll know we love Abba here at Fruity Slots, and this is their finest work when it comes to gambling references. This devastating pop hit from 1980 perfectly captures how the language of gambling can be used to tell the story of a love that has fallen apart.
Lyrics like “I’ve played all my cards, that’s what you’ve done too” reveal that both parties have exhausted every option to make the relationship work. But with “no more ace to play,” there’s no unexpected twist or clever escape left, only the reality of what’s happened.
As the song unfolds, more gambling references emerge to highlight that only one person ultimately “wins.” The winner takes it all, while the other loses everything, a sentiment often echoed on popular game shows.
The references are subtle but powerful, using the language of winning and losing to reflect the painful imbalance between the two lovers. The man moves on, while the woman in the song is left heartbroken.
And honestly, you’ll never hear pop perfection paired with a piano quite like that again.
Favourite lyric: “Nothing more to say, no more ace to play”.
2: Poker Face – Lady Gaga
Hear me out. Poker Face cleverly plays on the idea of having a face no one can read. In poker, keeping your expression neutral is key to hiding your next move, and Gaga uses that concept to explore love and desire.
The song is famously about bisexuality and gives a glimpse into her love life. Lines like “LoveGame intuition, play the cards with spades to start. And after he’s been hooked, I’ll play the one that’s on his heart” show her treating love like a strategic game: start with intellect, then play on emotion. The emotion of the man, that is.
When it came out in 2008, this futuristic track was bold and provocative. We love it because it uses the unpredictability of gambling to show that the man will never know her next move. He can’t read her, just like a good poker face.
Favourite lyric: Just like a chick in the casino, take your bank before I pay you out. I promise this, promise this. Check this hand ’cause I’m marvelous
3: Luck Be A Lady – Frank Sinatra
Now we are going further back than ever to the 1950s with icon Frank Sinatra’s jazz song Luck Be A Lady. We here at Fruity Slots love a classic, and that’s why we can’t resist including this song.
In this song, Sinatra is singing to a woman with the moniker of Lady Luck, a common nickname for a woman of good luck and high fortune. In gambling, it can be the presence of a lady who brings you good luck.
However, Sinatra flips that on its head and sings about a woman he is on a date with who does not act ladylike. He is having anxiety about his romantic partner and her intentions, and he sings “A lady doesn’t wander all over the room, and blow on some other guy’s dice”.
While you could take this as suggestive, we’d argue it is more anxiety-inducing. Sinatra is saying, Ladies don’t give other men attention. The song frames love as a game of chance, and he is hoping that luck is on his side that night.
You can’t go wrong by combining classic jazz with the golden age of gambling.
Favourite lyric: I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with. Luck, be a lady with me.
4: Kenny Rodgers – The Gambler
Way before my time, but this song is distinctly something I remember for some reason. Kenny Rogers’ country ballad offers life advice you never asked for from the perspective of a travelling gambling man.
Cards and gambling are used as metaphors for life lessons. Early in the song, Rodgers sings, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away, and know when to run”.
Although these are simple and popular references for gambling in pop culture, they are very powerful.
Knowing when to “hold ’em” means learning to stick when something works, “fold ’em”, and change when something isn’t working.
Simple enough, but so meaningful.
This song is touching in a way the others aren’t. The perspective of a travelling gambler giving life advice through gambling metaphors is unbelievably endearing.
Favourite lyric: You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table. There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealing’s done.
5: Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
Here’s a shorter, polished version in British English:
You can’t talk about gambling songs without Elvis Presley’s 1960s hit Viva Las Vegas. Unlike deeper, metaphorical tracks, this one celebrates the bright lights and excitement of Sin City.
Presley captures the thrill of Vegas — the gambling, nightlife, and high stakes — in a way that’s fun and carefree, even if you lose all your money. The upbeat chorus made “Viva Las Vegas” a phrase synonymous with the city.
Favourite lyric: “Oh, there’s blackjack and poker and the roulette wheel. A fortune won and lost on every deal. All you need’s a strong heart and a nerve of steel”.
