Johnny Ace Auditorium in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Day 1954. During a break between sets, he was playing with a .32-caliber revolver. Members of his band said he did this often, sometimes shooting at roadside signs from their car. It was widely reported that Ace killed himself playing Russian roulette. However, Big Mama Thornton's bass player, Curtis Tillman, who witnessed the event, said, "I will tell you exactly what happened! Johnny Ace had been drinking and he had this little pistol he was waving around the table and someone said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not
Ace roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has since changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'. Historically, the ace had a low value and this still holds in many popular European games (in fact many European decks, including the French- and Latin-suited decks, do not use the "A" index, instead keeping the numeral "1"). The modern convention of "ace high" seemed to have happened in stages. Card games, before they arrived in Europe, had suits that were in reverse ranking. In the Chinese game of