Films Set in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is well known for its hotels, entertainment and of course it’s casinos, with the location becoming more popular to feature in films. Over the years, there’s been a number of different films that feature the famous Las Vegas location. Whether it be the hotels, Grand Canyon or incredible casinos, they’ve proven to be a popular location when it comes to films.

A huge chunk of Las Vegas films will incorporate some sort of gambling, to give the audience a real Vegas feel. Typically it will be within American action and drama films, using the stereotype of hardcore gamblers in Vegas. Not all action films involving shootings and money laundering need to happen with Vegas though. With the UK being a country that has some of the oldest gambling culture, finding high-street bookies or a UK bet exchange is straightforward due to the fact that they’re in abundance. This is portrayed through plenty of mainstream films & TV shows, like Snatch and Peaky Blinders.

Films That Are Set In Las Vegas

Over the years, there’s been a wide variety of films set in Las Vegas, below are some of the most well-known films that feature here. 

Jason Bourne

As part of the Jason Bourne series, we see the 2016 film featuring Matt Damon, destroy some of Las Vegas. The Riviera Hotel and Casino was scheduled for demolition, so the filmmakers decided to take this chance and use it as part of the film set. In the film, you can see a chase sequence down the Las Vegas strip, destroying 170 cars in total. 

Casino

This crime drama explores the links between the mafia and gambling world, so of course it had to be set in the famous gambling city of Las Vegas. Robert De Niro plays a mafia associate that is sent to Las Vegas to run a casino for the mob. Although the casino in the film was fictional, it was set in Las Vegas and used parts of the derelict Landmark Hotel and Riviera Casino, making it just like a proper Las Vegas Casino. This film is great for showing the gambling side to the city and what the casinos are like, that the city is so well-known for. 

Ocean’s Eleven

Another popular film to feature in Las Vegas, is Ocean’s Eleven, back in 2001. The film was set in Las Vegas, with the storyline being focused on a heist that takes place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. With this being at the heart of the film and the main target for the heist, it features a lot, including its cascading fountains.

The Hangover

The Hangover is probably one of the most well-known films to be set in Las Vegas, showing a wild experience on their trip including a missing groom and tigers on the set. In this film, you will see the very famous and well-known Caesars Palace which is used a lot throughout the film, as well as shots taken on Las Vegas Boulevard. The film shows a lot of the hotel, showing off all its features and how incredible it is. 

Leaving Las Vegas

The film features Nicholas Cage in an Oscar winning performance, where he tries to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. In this film, it exposes the more grim and seedy side of the city, instead of the well-known glamorous side to it that most films feature. With this film, they had a low budget so there was no option to hire out a hotel or shut down the strip. Due to this reason, it really shows off the true side to Las Vegas as it was filmed on the streets. 

Diamonds Are Forever

As part of the James Bond series, it was only expected that one film had to feature in the glamorous city of Las Vegas. In this particular James Bond film, Bond tracks down an international group of diamond smugglers, which eventually end up being on the Vegas strip, at Whyte House casino. However, even though it appeared to be set in this particular casino on the strip, it was actually the Las Vegas Hilton that was used for the exteriors and then edited around to make it appear taller in the film. Again, this film shows off the luxurious, glamorous and over the top city of Las Vegas well, including the world-famous casinos they have there.

Viva Las Vegas

Starring the famous Elvis Presley, this film was put together into production without a script or concept. You will find that the climactic scenes were shot at The Little Church of the West wedding chapel, which is well-known for being the oldest building on the famous Las Vegas Strip. Obviously, this film doesn’t quite expose the glamour or the seedy side to Las Vegas and mainly features the chapel in it instead.

These are some of the most well-known and famous films to be set in Las Vegas. Some of these, you can see the extravagant entertainment they provide, the luxurious hotels they have and of course, their world-famous casinos that people come from all over the world to experience in real life. However, we do see some films feature a more realistic side to what the actual city is like, featuring the streets of Las Vegas and showing off the other side to it too. Although the films may all show us some out of this world settings within Las Vegas, there will always be another side to it too. However, due to these films and how popular they have become over the years, it’s certainly helped to advertise the incredible city and draw people to it.