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Music and Poker are Both Worth Taking a Risk

Scott Stapp

How Scott Stapp and John Tabatabai Survived Their Chosen Careers


People who enter the world of music and poker may be labeled as risk takers. Why? Because both industries are highly competitive and it takes real talent to survive in those fields. Based on a survey conducted by social networking site Myspace, there are more than 8 million bands in the world. All of those bands vie for a recording deal, but only a few were lucky to get that break including Creed. The band that was formed by Scott Stapp released their debut album My Own Prison in 1997; and that started Creed's mainstream success.

John Tabatabai

Just like the music industry, the competition in poker has also been tight with more than 40 million people playing poker regularly based on the statistics published on Poker Players Research. Only a few people get to play at a professional level and compete in various world tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. Winning a bracelet in the aforementioned poker tournaments is like receiving an award from the Grammy Awards and World Music Awards. A player that is currently making a name in the world of poker is John Tabatabai, who won this year's Betfair Poker LIVE held at the Aspers Casino in London.

Scott Stapp and John Tabatabai have inspired many musicians and poker players because of their determination and passion in their chosen career. Despite facing many adversities and challenges including an embarrassing appearance at a celebrity poker show, the controversial Scott Stapp was able to recover and get back on his feet. The frontman of Creed broke down during an interview with Rolling Stone and said, "It's weird. You can sell millions of records, be showered with all this love and admiration and still feel despised and unwanted. That's what I felt. I've made a lot of mistakes I'm not proud of. These aren't tears of sadness. I'm happy to get this out."

Before John Tabatabai became a world champion, he started playing poker with his friends and admitted that he was a bad loser. He said in an interview published at The Hendon Mob, "After losing 50 pounds the first couple of days, I decided to research the game online and get some books on the topic and learn. Then I discovered you could practice online for free, and it began. I 'cut my teeth' playing free rolls and progressed through to playing higher levels."

Scott Stapp and John Tabatabai may have a different approach to life, but years of hard work and bettering themselves have paid off. Scott Stapptoured with Creed in 2012 and has recently launched his solo album Proof of Life, which he worked on since 2006. John Tabatabai, on the other hand, is busy juggling his poker career, competing in various tournaments such as the World Open and WSOPE, and running his new online business called Bidibot.

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