At some time or other we will have all watched a movie where one (or more!) scenes have been centered around gambling and this leads us to number 1 in our 5 gambling movie quotes to live (and bet) by. Daniel Craig reprising his role as James Bond in 2012’s Skyfall gave us more than just a taste of casino floor fun and right from the heart of Macau. Summoned to dig a little deeper into the group behind the plotted downfall of his beloved M, 007 claims a golden chip that sees him making his way to Macau Casino to claim the reward. Instantly he’s recognized as being the then ex-MI6 agent and a huge casino showdown ensues. Once the battle is over, James Bond walks away unscathed before passing the briefcase stacked with cash to his undercover assistant – Moneypenny and says “Put it all on red.” Why red and not black? According to ancient Chinese traditions and cultures, red is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune, so it would seem Macau Casino had an impact on him after all.
“Put it all on red.”
Film quote number 2 takes us back to 1980 to the original release of The Empire Strikes Back. Written and directed by George Lucas, the American space-opera delivered an initiate scene between Han Solo and C-3PO in which C-3PO was delivering sobering statistics to his friend. Han Solo wasn’t too pleased with what his companion was saying, but took it, nonetheless.
C-3PO: “But sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to one.”
HAN SOLO: “Never tell me the odds.”
And There’s More…
George Clooney gave us some wise words back in 2001 when playing the role of Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven. Danny, a fearsome gangster (less the Godfather and more the sort of a businessman), he put together a gang of some of the best the world had to offer in terms of ruthless villains with an aim of stealing money from three popular casino resorts in Las Vegas. The American heist comedy followed the trials and tribulations of the group as they came unstuck only while Danny’s portrayal was very much tongue-in-cheek, his comments weren’t: “Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along. You bet and you bet big, then you take the house.”
In 1998, Matt Damon graced our screens as Mike McDermott in the film Rounders. The plot of the movie was very dark and cantered around the gritty underworld of high-stake poker. The young once-reformed gambler had to return to playing big stakes poker to help his friend pay off loan sharks. A hard-hitting comedy saw Mike pulled in two directions; the crime world of illegal gambling while trying to maintain his commitments to his girlfriend and to law school. McDermott: “Listen, here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.” You can read more about cool gambling quotes over at Online-Casinos.com.
And here we are – number five and it’s as iconic as they come! Robert DeNiro plays the role of Ace Rothstein in Casino, the 1995 epic crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. Ace is known as being a resourceful mafia associate and finds himself rising to power and running one of the most popular casino venues in Las Vegas. There he meets Ginger, a woman who knows how to treat the punters well. Nicky is his highly volatile mate who ends up with his name in the ‘black book’, a book nobody wants to find themselves in. A bust up ensures between Ace and Nicky when Ace is ordered to ban his long-time friend from the casino. Thing do not go swimmingly for the pair after this. Rothstein: “Nicky’s methods of betting weren’t scientific, but they worked. When he won, he collected. When he lost, he told the bookies to go f**k themselves. I mean, what were they going to do, muscle Nicky? Nicky was the muscle.”
