All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Roll: An Oral History of Barrel-Wearing in the United States

"At about 7:30 Friday morning, a barefoot man wearing a barrel with homemade signs on it and a Santa's hat threw red paint on the front of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and black paint on the back of it, as FOX5 News was broadcasting live." The man, named Joe Pepitone, who was half-naked, other than the barrel of course, said he had lost his job and gambling winnings.
- Fox5Vegas, "Man Wearing Barrel Defaces 'Welcome to Vegas" Sign'"

Question: Why, exactly, does one strap on a wearable barrel?

“Back in 1992, after Hee Haw was canceled, me and some of the other barrel-wearers from the show moved out to Vegas and started doing odd jobs. It was ok money. Not like Hee Haw, but people still needed an actor who could wear a good barrel.

We didn’t gamble much in the early days; most of the casinos had rules about wearing barrels at the gaming tables. If you was in a show, it was fine, but you couldn’t just walk into the Mirage or Caesar’s off the street wearing nothing but a barrel and expect to gamble. You just couldn’t. And those few times they did let you in, if you won, you’d have the problem of carrying your chips around. Case you haven’t noticed, barrels ain’t got pockets. You drop some chips, try to pick ‘em up, next thing you know you’re rolling ass over tea kettle down the middle of the strip and then you wake up in a fountain somewhere.

Anyway, things loosened up in the late '90s and when the barrel-wearing work started to dry up we really didn’t have no choice but to start gambling more. And waking up in fountains every now and then.

Around 2002 or maybe 2001, Taterknot came up with the barrel pouch. It was just a little pouch that sticks to your barrel, for your chips, you know. Well, it was like the floodgates opened on Niagara. You had barrel-wearers, most of us off Hee Haw and the hobo circuit, just rolling into casinos like they was giving out free shoes. Yeah, it was something.

But there ain’t no future in gambling. I think we wanted it so bad just ’cause we were denied it for so long and then, like anything else, you get it and find out things is different. Now, I wish I’d never seen a casino. But until they bring Hee Haw back I reckon I’ll be right here. Got nowhere else to go.”

- Barrel-Wearer Danny Ciccone, from “All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Roll: An Oral History of Barrel-Wearing in the United States”

*This post was adapted from a comment I originally posted on The Awl.