Three British comedians who glorified and humbled gambling
In the world of comedy, we Brits hold a special place. Whether it's an unnervingly accurate sitcom portrayal of office life or a dank session at a comedy club, British comedians never cease to amaze. Interestingly, a range of famous British comics have hilarious stories about gambling.
Another exciting aspect of gambling culture is that it's not limited to Great Britain only. Ireland also shares a rich history of land-based gambling, which has now migrated to online gambling. For example, there are a range of online casinos for Irish players on The Lost Gamer that you can check out right now.
But what of the comics and their exploits with a flutter?
How Tim FitzHigham accidentally became a gambling archaeologist
We know you didn't know there's a gambling archaeologist. Tim FitzHigham, the comedian who also holds multiple bona fide world records, is the only gambling archaeologist in the world.
While gambling is based on "predicting the future," Tim believes it's about "digging up the past". He likes to go back in time and find ridiculous bets people at that time used to place. He then re-enacts them for a modern audience. From rowing the English Channel in a bathtub to paddling the Thames River on a paper boat, he has done it all.
Of course, he's gambling. He's gambling with his life, making him one of the most famous British gamblers in recent years.
John Robins and his crazy recovery story
John Robins is an award-winning stand-up comedian and radio presenter from Bristol. While he's known for his witty banters with the crowd, he has a dark past with gambling. So much so that he claimed it "didn't just cost me money, it also cost me friendships and my self-esteem".
He learned his lessons the hard way. Now, he is at the forefront of the National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS), spreading awareness of problem gambling. He might not be one of the most notable gamblers in British history, but he has an impeccable story and fronts a laudable campaign to take this age-old pastime seriously.
Ken Cheng
Ken is not only a comedian and writer - he's also a professional poker player! He first burst onto the comedy scene after reaching the final of the BBC New Comedy Award in 2015, and has racked up the credits since then, playing at a range of festivals across the home nations, writing for various other comics, and appearing on TV.
However, he's been perhaps more successful in radio, fronting three series of his own stand-up show Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian for the BBC. He also mixed his passions in the 2018 Radio 4 documentary Game Over, Humans, an exploration of the effects of AI on gambling, and asked whether "having become obsolete as a poker player, will there one day be an AI to replace him as a stand-up comedian?"
While this isn't by a long shot a comprehensive list of comedians and comic actors known for their gambling links, some, like Russell Brand and Peter Kay, have openly discussed their experiences with various aspects of gambling. Even in seemingly unrelated fields such as comedy entertainment and sports betting, individuals' paths can intersect in intriguing and unexpected ways.