Gambling has been an inspiration to movie makers and writers for a long time. We’ve all watched movies at some point in our lives which included gambling of some sort. Remember those scenes with characters in back rooms playing casino games and smoking cigars? Or scenes set in glamorous casinos in Monaco or Las Vegas? The truth is, when money is on the line, tensions can get high.
There are so many good movies about gambling that it was really difficult for us to pick just five. Without further ado, here’s our choice of top five movies that all gambling fans should watch.
1. Casino Royale
For a Bond movie, it was unusual that half of the movie was focused on a game of Texas HoldEm Poker. Everything becomes more interesting when we realize it’s a game for 115 million dollars. Casino Royale puts the fight into the cards instead of guns, when Bond and the terrorist banker Le Chiffre are dealt against one another. It’s probably the best movie that captures the real tension of Poker, especially when the characters are playing against each other in an all or nothing game. We bet any gambling fan would feel the tension while watching.
2. Casino
Casino is probably the most famous classic movie about gambling that’s listed in all top five all-time favorite gambling movies. Robert De Niro plays a casino owner with mafia ties, and Joe Pesci the psychotic enforcer whose unpredictable behavior threatens both their lives. They are friends with different agendas, one of them wanting to run the casino properly, while the other trying to become famous in the gangster world. Sharon Stone adds a seductive charm that completes the movie only to make it a classic great. Besides casino and seduction, the movie involves violence and mobsters which is why it’s also known as one of the best crime movies of all time.
3. The Sting
Robert Redford and Paul Newman make one of the most successful star duos ever. In The Sting, they play con men, one a professional, the other a beginner. They target a powerful criminal boss who loves a good gamble, and try to pull off “the wire” – a scam that requires a big crew. There’s a high-stake poker game and a creation of a fake betting parlour, and many twists and turns when the mobster wants to buy the betting parlour. The movie is all about gambling and money changing hands.
4. 21
This movie is about a math professor and group of MIT college students who count cards to fleece one Vegas casino after another. Their initial goal was to win money just so they can pay off their tuition fees. But, the Casinos catch on to their scam and what follows is an exciting tale of adrenaline-fueled trickery, hedonism, and betrayal. Any fan of casino gambling, card counting, and blackjack will enjoy 21.
5. Ocean’s Eleven
George Clooney plays the con-man Danny Ocean who gathers a crew of old friends and new talent right after getting out of prison to join him in his plan to rob 3 casinos in one night. Not only that he wants a revenge on the casino owner who got him locked in prison, but he also wants to win back his ex-wife, who happened to be the beautiful Julia Roberts. The cast in this movie is incredible, starting from George Clooney and Julia Roberts to Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
