When you think about it, the world of gambling has everything that you could possibly want for a film. There’s excitement, tension, drama, laughs, tears; gamblers go through the full gamut of possible human emotions on the casino floor. It is no surprise then that there are a number of films which will appeal to those who live the gambler’s life.
The following movies are essential viewing for any gamblers out there. They are not only classics of cinema, they have entered into the consciousness of many gamblers, providing a bridge between these two worlds.
Casino
Perhaps the quintessential casino and gambling film ever made. Casino was an instant hit upon its release. Not only did the film open to rave reviews, its all-start cast – Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone all starred in this Martin Scorsese movie about a pair of mafia gangsters based in Las Vegas. One tries to build a successful and legitimate career in the casino business, while the other is obsessed with greed and threatens to derail things for them both.
This is very much a film that celebrates the, perhaps clichéd, classical image of a casino. It is a world away from the, largely online, gambling landscape before us today. You can find out more about what online gambling today looks like through sites such as Casino Killer that help people enjoy their favourite casino games without having to travel to a casino in Las Vegas.
Rounders
If Casino is the number one gambling film of all time, Rounders must surely come in at a close second. First released in 1998, Rounders is the story of a man who, having sworn off the gambler’s life, decides to return for one last big score. Agreeing to take part in a high stakes poker game, he helps his friend clear a considerable debt he has with some loan sharks. Directed by John Dahl, this film featured an early performance from Matt Damon, alongside Edward Norton and John Malkovich.
The Sting
The Sting first premiered in 1973, starring a number of big names for the time. Among its star-studded cast are Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw. The film is about a young Chicago-based conman who sets out to take revenge for the recent murder of his partner. The Sting never quite achieved the same kind of recognition or reception as some of the other films on this list. However, it is an enduring, if underappreciated, classic.
Ocean’s Eleven
This remake was released in 2001 to much fanfare. The cast was a veritable checklist of the big names of the early 2000’s. In leading roles, the film starred Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle. The film is about a group of professional robbers who plan a major heist across three major Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. The film spawned two sequels and demonstrated the power of an all-star cast in the right directorial hands.
21
21 is an interesting film and is different from the others on this list in that it is based on a true story and is one of the few films that discusses the underlying mechanics and considerations involved in gambling. The film tells the story of a group of six MIT students who mastered the art of card counting under the tutelage of a brilliant professor. The group then head to Vegas to try out their new skill.
Kevin Spacey played a lead role in this film, supported by an impressive cast of up and coming actors from 2008.
No film can ever truly capture the equal measures of excitement and terror which are familiar to any gambler on the casino floor. The films on this list however, manage to capture something of what makes gambling special to gamblers.
