It was probably during his cocaine days. Waylon probably felt like they took advantage of him when he was messed up. The problem is Merle had a pretty serious gambling addiction and addiction shows mercy for no one.
Waylon had just experienced a terrible situation only days prior. One of the vehicles in his caravan had wrecked, injuring several band members and killing one. He describes the incident in detail in his autobiography.
That's because the way deal with money shows you who they really are especially when they are either very wealthy or very poor money is not the root of all evil it simply defines people it reveals them
These two guys are no different than any of us!;They hit a tough spot,went their separate ways,neither party made an effort to reconcile.Some of US have probably done the same thing!I know I have.
Love you Waylon, but if you play, sometimes you have to pay! Moral, don’t play poker when you are already broke. Don’t see where Merle was wrong in this. But I still love you Waylon! We all make mistakes!
That isnt the whole story,Waylon’s bassist had just been killed,he was in grief and admittedly very messed up on pills and alcohol in which he didn’t drink,he was barely coherent admitted by all party’s involved and not thinking straight,but again his fault for playing,were they were usually friendly games,in his state they worked together to clean Waylon out !
@@TheDoug1980 I am glad you like the channel I would have preferred to have done a full video but people seem to watch these shorts more. Feel free to add comments any time. I appreciate the feedback and it kind of helps to keep me straight.
So wait.....Waylon Jennings Chose to play poker when he was in hard times, lost.... and that's Merle Haggard's fault?? Is this when the "lack of accountability" illness started in this country?
@CMSProductions waylon was doing coke pretty hard back then he was very high , but yes He considered Mearle a real friend . Fact is Fuzzy Owens did set it all up with him and Mearle sort of double teaming Waylon. Fact is they left him broke. Then they left.
Waylon was angry because Merle and Fuzzy took advantage of his drinking/cocaine addiction but Merle had a gambling addiction- addiction shows no mercy.
It’s like play your normal poker game with your friends,then a loved passes and you get messed up,your real friends wouldn’t do that,it want the money it was the principle
There are no friends in poker! Friendship is left at the door and you can pick it back up when you leave. Had the tables turned the other way and in his "vulnerable state," I'm sure Waylon would have left with Merle's money and written the episode off as a turn of good fortune. Merle had many gambling regrets and some lean times too.
Obviously this was before Waylon met Kenny Rogers. Waylon clearly didnt "know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run."
Waylon prided himself on being a very proficient gambler. Both artists had demons they were dealing with. Both substance and life's hard blows. Both had financial struggles in that era and they had to get their bandmates paid. Curious to know how it would have gone if luck was on Waylons side that that fateful day. Two of my favorite country artists.
It was a bad deal. But if you can't afford to play then you shouldn't. Waylon and Merle were the best musicians and I love their music. I/We weren't there to see what happened so we can just say it was a bad deal and leave it there.
Well, where there's smoke, there's fire. Merle was not nice to Waylon that day. We can only guess what the real story was, but it seems to me that Merle didn't care for Waylon and was there only for the money.
Well haggard was the REAL outlaw.. I wouldn't have advised Waylon to play poker with him if he couldn't stand to lose anything... Haggard wasn't going to cut him any slack.. Haggard had a HARD life then done real time.. Unlike the pretenders..
If Waylon would’ve won do you think he would’ve given back the money? I think not. I love Waylon but he had expensive habits. Morale of the story…don’t sit down at a poker table and play for money if you can’t afford it.
Waylon thought of merle as a friend, Unless you are a native born Texan, You won't understand how or why the way Waylon thinks... The fact remains Waylon felt betrayed by Merle, Should he been Gambling? In my personal opinion Heck No!
Shouldn't have been playing if money was so tight! Guaranteed that if it were the other way around.. Waylon would have been happy & Merle wouldn't have said anything. Drunk & feeling lucky! Alcohol fueled his thoughts & his ego drove a wedge between that friendship.. not betrayal by his friends!
Waylon was a sore loser yes. Waylon should not have played yes. But at the same time, he was messed up on pills and alcohol because his bass player had just been killed in a horrible accident. And I’m ngl If I had a friend in that position, firstly I’m not gonna let him make stupid decisions like betting the farm on a meaningless poker game. And secondly I’m not gonna team up with somebody to clean out my friend who’s down on his luck and grieving. That was an old fashioned wombo combo of Waylon being dumb and Merle being cold.
Merle could turn into Charles Manson on a dime. He was a snake who didn't take care of his kids. He was an armed robber and people make light of that. You think he had any scruples about cheating at poker.
Not true. The reason Merle was in prison was because he kept escaping from jail where he was because of petty theft and robbery not because armed robbery. Never was close to being like Manson.
@@CMSProductions Well, I've heard and read from too many people that he would snap and sound like a l00natic. You can spin it any way you want but he did commit armed robbery more than once.
You've heard? So you're willing to slander a legend, without any actual knowledge? What little you act like you know is wrong. Merle never did any armed robbery. As someone who grew up with Merle since I was an infant, I'm telling you that you are 100% wrong about what you've heard. So please don't post garbage, and act like you know what you're talking about.
@@DaleHoustonMusicyou knew Merle personally? Could you tell me what was his opinion on Waylon? Did he ever mention that poker game, did he comment it in any way?
true. been there and done that myself with the same out come. For me it was around 400 that i lost. I took it as a life lesson. Don't drink and play poker. It's a losing combination
You don't play poker with money you can't afford to lose or expecting a handout. Props to both of them for their music but that's it. Everybody in music is looking for a financial savior, unfortunately a lot do not find one.
In fairness to Waylon what I didn't have time to say and keep the time limit for shorts was that Waylon had just lost his bass player in an accident and was messed up on drugs and alcohol at the time.
This is why i dont gamble with friends. Why would i want tgeir money anyhow? Only reason to gamble with a friend or family member is greed. Its easy enough if you want to prove skill to throw some oreos or pretzels on the table, have some music playing and a drink or two and have some fun. I dont need nor so i want your rent,mortgage, or bills money
There’s always a winner and a loser in a poker and the loser is almost always a little sour at the end of the game BUT I’m sure nobody twisted his arm to play
