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Kenny ‘The Gambler’ Rogers passes away at 81

It was a massive loss to the music industry as pop and country music legend Kenny Rogers passed away at his home yesterday. Aged 81 years old, he had a music career spanning 6 decades and there won’t be a single country music fan around the world who won’t mourn the loss of this iconic singer.

As per a family representative, Rogers “passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.” The representative also mentioned that there will be a memorial for Rogers at a later date, because of the current fear over the coronavirus pandemic.

Among countless achievements in his career were three Grammy Awards, a total of 24 No.1 hits and being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. His 1978 hit ‘The Gambler’ won him a Grammy too for ‘Song of the Year’ and that song is one that poker players would never forget, as he had some vital advice in it including,

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, Know when to fold ’em,

Know when to walk away, And know when to run.

You never count your money, When you’re sittin’ at the table,

There’ll be time enough for countin’, When the dealin’s done.

Every gambler knows, That the secret to survivin’,

Is knowin’ what to throw away, And knowin’ what to keep.

‘Cause every hand’s a winner, And every hand’s a loser,

And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.

Funnily though, Rogers wasn’t much of a poker player or gambler himself. “It’s so funny, because every time I go places now, people will say to me, ‘you gotta know when to hold’em and know when to fold’em. And I keep thinking about how many times I’ve sat down at these tables and didn’t know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em,” Rogers said to host Frank Glieber at the WSOP one year.

A year after this hit release in 1979, the legendary singer was invited to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Binion’s Horseshoe to perform The Gambler. Eventually, the song went on to become the theme song for the WSOP Main Event broadcast on CBS that year. Rest in Peace, Kenny!

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