- John Rich recently admitted that he had a gambling addiction, specifically with blackjack, after he made it big with his country music.
- Rich claims that he realized it was “disrespectful to take what God had given me…putting it on a stupid blackjack table” and hasn’t played the game since 2010.
- He equated the addiction to a drug problem and often played for $5,000 a hand.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country music star John Rich recently opened up about his past gambling addiction. Rich said he started playing blackjack for $5 a hand, but that later escalated to $5,000 a hand at local casinos.
"I said, ‘Oh yeah, man, I love a blackjack table.’ You know, and I was good at it," Rich said. "But it got to the point where it was a dominating thing for me. Like I would go way out of my way. And then it's probably like — I was never into drugs — but as you hear about drugs, you gotta take more and more and more and more and more to get to the same level. Well, gambling's the same way."
John Rich said that after he broke through and got some money, that’s where the gambling addiction began. Having more money can lead to poor bankroll management, which he later proved with his steady increase in wager amounts.
He added that he started at $5 a hand, which would get to $20, then $50, then $100, and then in no time its $1,000 or even $5,000 a hand. Every land-based casino offers some form of high roller blackjack, but online casinos can even allow players to place a $50,000 bet on one hand of blackjack.
John Rich Quit Playing Blackjack In 2010
Rich told Fox News Digital that he believed he was wasting what God had given him (talent, money) by playing blackjack. "It just seemed so gross to me that I was living that way and thinking that way that I just stopped.” Rich later stated that he hasn’t played a single hand of blackjack since 2010.