2 Musicians Who Gambled Too Much

Gambling is always something different for each and every person. There are a lot of reasons why people can like gambling. The competition. The winnings. The risk of the loss.

The one thread though that ties through these are that if the interest continues at an unchecked pace, it could end up costing people way more than they bet in the first place.

Let’s take a look at several musicians who rolled the dice too hard and didn’t know when to just fold and leave.

Gladys Knight

Gladys Knight – Wikipedia

Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the “Empress of Soul”, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and author. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which also included her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight and cousins Edward Patten and William Guest.

She is considered one of the greatest artists in history. Her power, range, and emotion in singing have given her the title of Empress of Soul. It’s Gladys Knight who fronted the Pips. She had famous songs like Midnight Train to Georgia and Heard it Through the Grapevine.

In her book about her life though, she stated that she had a problem. A gambling problem that is. She admitted that she was caught up in the simple game of baccarat.

In the game, people need only try to add their cards to 9. The simplicity allows for a lot of people to get into the game. It also allows for people to get addicted.

Moreover, she was way into sports betting too.

In one night, she binge-betted more than $40,000. It may not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that this was in the 80s. Back then it was a lot.

She admitted that she needed help when she realized that she was neglecting the care her son needed.

50 Cent

50 Cent – Wikipedia

During his career Jackson has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. He has pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005), the Iraq War film Home of the Brave (2006) and Righteous Kill (2008).

Another musician who got a bit deep by the gambling bug was 50 Cent. Early news found that 50 had made a series of good sports bets. Previously he had bet a million dollars on Floyd Mayweather Jr. to beat Oscar de la Hoya.

He also bet half a million on the New York Giants to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, making the New Jersey gambler one of the biggest bettors from the state.

Despite any gambler’s success though, it doesn’t take much for luck to go away. Thus, even though he won numerous bets, soon he filed for bankruptcy.

Let this be a lesson to everyone who is interested in gambling. And may it be one that you don’t catch the Zs too.

If you want to learn more, why not check out this post that compares music critics to gambling historians.

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