John, the Russian chimpanzee has died

The death of a chimpanzee who worked as a croupier in a Russian casino is being blamed on hard-living and bad habits picked up on his job. The chimp, who spun a roulette wheel, was given whiskey and cigarettes by customers and developed smoking and drinking habits that led to a heart attack at age 24, far below the average lifespan of 50-60 years for chimps living in captivity.

Though casino bosses found John a new home at Gekendzhik Safari Park, in south west Russia, when he could no longer work, he was unable to kick his bad habits.

John continued to smoke thanks to visitors throwing lit cigarettes into his enclosure and began stealing pints of beer from visitors.

Peter Skorsky, deputy director at the safari park, said: ''We saw this and tried to prevent possible "gifts" but he still managed to drink and smoke.'

Seems to be a trend in Russia. From 2010:


Alcoholic Russian Chimp Gets Sent To Rehab

-

They tried to make him go to rehab…and, well, he didn’t really have a choice.

A chimpanzee named Zhora is leaving his zoo in the Russian city of Rostov and heading to a rehab center to cure his addictions to alcohol and cigarettes.

Zoo officials told the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that the chimp would beg visitors for booze and cigarettes and they would happily oblige.

“We kept asking visitors not to feed him, but it was pointless,” said the deputy head of the zoo. “Zhora would sit behind three rows of fence, but the visitors still somehow managed to throw him bottles over the top.”

"People laugh when they see an animal drinking and smoking, but vicious habits damage health, and many do not understand this."

I guess that a chimp could deal black jack,too. Work in a bingo hall as well.

Putin has a new chimp, his name is Donald.

Nobody forced John to smoke cigarettes and drink alcoholic beverages.

He has no one to blame but himself.