5 Worst Casino Movies Of All Time

The casino film is one of the classics – it can bring a rollercoaster of emotion, high stakes and lots of loot up for grabs. This is a great little cocktail for an incredible movie – and some casino based films like Casino Royale, Rounders or Casino stay with you for years after viewing. Whilst all based around gambling and casinos, the films are done in a masterful way. 

Whilst you’re playing away at the tables or placing your bets on your favourite sports with sites such as Odds Index, when it comes to gambling it can be hard to step away if you’re on a hot streak of wins. But it can do a world of good to take a step back every now and again, getting some rest and rejuvenation.

During this downtime, it could be an idea to watch a few movies – heck, even casino movies if you’re in the mood. Whilst you may have a good clue as to what casino movies to watch… What about the ones to avoid?

Below is a list of movies that are considered really bad when it comes to the bar that is set by other gambling and casino related movies.

5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)

Whilst you wouldn’t exactly expect Oscar level film making from a Paul Blart film – the sequel to the tepidly received original Paul Blart: Mall Cop – is one of the worst-rated films on Rotten Tomatoes, coming in at a measly 5% rating.

With Kevin James reprising his role, the action takes place in a casino. In this case, it’s the Wynn Las Vegas. How they agreed to put their name to this movie is a mystery. The plot is incredibly loose and goofy and the film doesn’t make anywhere near enough use of the real casino setting they have.

After watching this, you won’t be surprised to find out that the film got nominated for Worst Actor, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Screen Combo at the Raspberry Awards that year.

4. 21 (2008)

21 Was a film that had both an intriguing cast and high expectations. Based upon a best selling novel, Bringing Down The House, the film centres around the genius team from MIT that conquered the casinos in Las Vegas, specifically winning millions in the game of Blackjack. They used mathematically powered tactics to count cards – and were incredibly good at doing so.

The film had a combination of heavyweight actors in the form of Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Spacey whilst also showcasing awesome relatively fresh new faces like Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess.

The main thing that puts people off of this film – especially keen casino punters – is the sheer glamorisation of the fact the team are on the verge of cheating their way to riches. This was a bit of a kick in the teeth to the people who have dedicated their lives to learning and playing Blackjack. 

It also didn’t help that the script was painfully dry – a bit more detail in the script and a few polishing touches could have made this an enjoyable film.

3. Runner Runner (2013)

Another casino film that had the potential to be quite good – a promising cast including hit singer Justin Timberlake and A-lister Ben Affleck and a rather intriguing plot to boot. But the film sits at a whopping 9% on Rotten Tomatoes (to compare, the Robert Deniro classic Casino sits at 93%).

The plot is rather fantastical – Timberlake plays an online gambler who believes something is up, so goes to confront the tycoon behind the site who’s played by Ben Affleck. The plot beefs up a bit, with the government authorities getting involved and Timberlake having to outrun both sides of the law.

It does have a bit of action and some genuinely good ideas – but Timberlake and Affleck have pretty much zero chemistry on the screen, dragging this film down to Rotten Tomatoes depths.

2. Oceans Twelve (2004)

Whilst it may surprise you that an Oce4an’s film made it onto the list, Oceans Twelve just couldn’t live up to the bar that the first film had set, despite the returning all-star cast. 

The biggest drawback of this sequel is the plot – it’s ok at certain times of the film… and then switches to being utterly disappointing. The film earned titles such as ‘fluff’, ‘cheesy’ and even ‘dull’ by some review outlets.

The lukewarm reception is a shame since you can tell pretty much every single one of the cast is having an absolute whale of a time

1. Vegas Vacation (1997)

The National Lampoon franchise has cherished memories in many people’s memories. Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angely are staples of the film and two of the driving factors towards its success, along with a tight script and pacing.

But it seems that all of these things went out the window with Vegas Vacation – as agreed upon by not just the general audience, but film reviews and critics alike.

Vegas Vacation sees the lovable Griswolds return again for yet another vacation. As the title of the film suggests, on this trip they’re off to the gambling Mecca of Las Vegas. As usual, the whole gang has individual mishaps and misadventures.

The opening of the movie starts off good but quickly falls off, with the running gag of Clark managing to lose a tonne of money on blackjack losing its steam much quicker than the film hoped it would. This is one of the many reasons the film is sitting at 13% on Rotten Tomatoes – save yourself an hour and a half and skip this one.