A Gambling Bear

Dealing with gambling, history, and popular culture for a living, I like to keep abreast of new developments. This means a whole bunch of things: following financial results for casino companies, checking out casinos for the latest games and promotions, and seeing how gambling is depicted in art. Today I decided to spend five minutes checking ebay for the latest gambling auctions, and I found Lucky, the Gambling Bear:

As of 9/27/05, you can still win this pot-sweeping bad boy by bidding on him here. He’s 16″ and fully jointed.

I don’t see any other bears, so I’ve got to ask…doesn’t he get lonely playing, um, with himself?

Some might be taken aback by a gambling teddy bear, but it’s just a sign of the times. With the popularity of Texas Hold’Em among teens and even pre-teens, it’s only a matter of time before “WSOP Barbie” becomes a reality.

Betty Boop is apparently a dual-rate at MGM Grand; according to this auction, she’s both the World’s Greatest Mom and Showgirl of the Year.

Upon further inspection, I’ve found something that the Gaming Collection is in dire need of: a gambling monkey from Japan:

I’m not sure about using my collection budget on this one, but if someone just happened to buy it and donate it to the collection, I’d definitely accept it. There’s more than a week to bid, so give it a shot.

I’m thinking of turning this into a regular gallery feature. Email me if it’s an exceedingly bad or good idea, or if you have any other strange gambling auction/merchandise sightings.