Here are four of the best casino scenes in movies that are often ranked the highest by moviegoers and film buffs around the world.
There are lots of iconic scenes in movies that take place in a casino, too many to list individually here, so here are just four of the best casino scenes in movies that are ranked highest by your average moviegoers and film buffs from around the world. Just as cinephiles love thrilling casino movies,
In no particular order of importance, the top four casino scenes in movies can be found in films such as Casino Royale (2006), The Hangover (2009), Rain Man (1988), and 21 (2008). Several other honourable mentions are also listed further below the top five, which for some, could easily have made it into the top four.
Casino Royale
One of the best ever casino scenes in a movie has to be the scene in the 2005 movie Casino Royale, which saw Daniel Craig play British secret service agent 007 in his first outing as the iconic James Bond. The famous casino scene in this movie sees James Bond playing a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro, where he must defeat private banker Le Chiffre (played by Mads Mikkelsen), who funds terrorists. During the game, Bond is poisoned and almost dies. Spoiler alert: He must resuscitate himself using a mini defibrillator before it’s too late, and remarkably, when he does eventually return to the game, he ends up beating Le Chiffre.
Rain Man
In the 1988 movie Rain Man, which starred Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, Charlie Babbitt (played by Cruise) takes his older autistic-savant brother Raymond (Hoffman) to a casino after he realises his special abilities with numbers and memory. Spoiler alert: They go to the blackjack tables, and the first hand is a disaster because Ray hits on 18 and busts by landing a Queen, much to the annoyance of Charlie.
His special card-counting abilities quickly surface, and he helps the two brothers clean up at the Blackjack tables, all while being watched closely by the pit boss, the casino’s security, and the eye in the sky. Did you know that you can play these same classic card games in the real money mode right now at one of the best online casinos in the USA, Golden Nugget? The games can also be found at Caesars online casino, BetMGM, and WSOP Casino, to name just a few sites.
21
The 2008 movie 21 is based on a true story about an MIT professor and a group of students who use their card counting skills to rake in money at the blackjack tables. Spoiler alert: the iconic scene in this movie is when Ben Campbell (played by Jim Sturgess) gets $10,000 and then goes on to win big, all while narrating to us, the audience, exactly how he’s able to count the cards.
The Hangover
The Hangover movie franchise is one of the most popular comedy trilogies in recent times. In the first instalment, The Hangover (2009), there’s a funny casino scene where Alan (played by Zach Galifianakis) takes what he learned from a book called ‘The World’s Greatest Blackjack Book’ to go on a winning streak in the casino. These scenes can also be compared to those in the Rain Man and 21 movies that were mentioned above. Spoiler alert: The guys are desperate for money, and Alan eventually makes a swift getaway, but not before making them lots of money.
Other honorable mentions
Some of the other highest-rated movies of all time with the best casino scenes that you also need to check out if you enjoy watching any of the films mentioned above are Casino (1995, with Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro), Rounders (1998, with Matt Damon), and Ocean’s 11 (2001, with Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt), as well as Swingers (1996, with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn), and Cooler (2003, with William H. Macy).
