Add Beyoncé to the list of singers whose creativity was sparked by poker.
The musical and cultural megastar used a commercial for Verizon that aired during Super Bowl LVIII as the platform to announce the release of a country album, Act II in late March. The LP is the second installment for her Renaissance trilogy.
Queen Bey released two tracks to support the new album: “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold 'Em,” the latter of which is sure to become a popular track in the poker world.
While the song’s full lyrics include a few words of an adult nature, the first six lines of “Texas Hold 'Em” are as follows:
This ain’t Texas
Ain’t no hold 'em
So lay your cards down, down, down, down
So park your Lexus
And throw your keys up
Stick around, 'round, 'round, 'round, 'round
Additional poker references can by found on Beyoncé's official Instagram. These include the cover art for Act II, and a trailer for the new album, which shows the superstar driving a taxi with Texas vanity plates that read “HOLD’EM.”
At one point in the trailer, Beyoncé speeds away from about eight men looking up at a billboard displaying the words “Texas Hold’em.”
Beyoncé appeared in the Verizon ad with actor Tony Hale (of Arrested Development and Veep fame). The premise is that while the superstar regularly “breaks the internet” she is unable to break Verizon’s 5G network.
Using a Super Bowl ad to announce a new album is a novel idea — and a good one to test Verizon.
Super Bowl LVIII was also played in Las Vegas for the first time.
Her Superstar Husband Also Likes Poker
An article about poker and Beyoncé wouldn’t be complete without at least a few words about her husband of nearly 16 years — fellow musical and cultural megastar, Jay-Z.
Jay-Z, who was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard magazine last year, is also a well-known fan of poker.
According to I Am Hip-Hop Magazine, a UK-based media outlet produced by the charitable youth organization No Bounds, wrote an article that said Jay-Z “is a blackjack and poker fan. He likes high-stakes games and is known to be a very skilled player. He’s also been known to place bets on sports games.”
Those skills likely came in handy last fall when he hosted a star-studded blackjack party with a 007 theme at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
Page Six reported that the party Jay-Z hosted last September would have a $1 million pot. The event was held to benefit Jay-Z’s Reform Alliance — a criminal justice reform initiative.
The celebrity news site said Jay-Z drew inspiration for his 007 Casino Royale-themed party in part from a different party hosted by another billionaire — Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin.
Jay-Z also hosted a celebrity poker tournament with baseball star Alex Rodriguez in November 2006, according to the Associated Press
The tournament, which was held at The 40/40 Club in Midtown Manhattan, raised about $738,000 for the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and the A-ROD Family Foundation.
