All Time Favourite Gambling Movies

Over the past few years, there have been hundreds of gambling movies; especially those revolving around online casino games. Many of them have received much recognition and applaud from viewers all over the world. The best of the best have gone as far as achieving box office success.

Below is a list of gambling movies that are an all-time favorite of many.

Casino Royale

Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, Casino Royale is a favorite of many.

007’s main mission in this intriguing movie is to take part in poker of high-stakes at Montenegro’s Casino Royale. With a license to kill, he is to beat Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a terrorist banker running the town.

With $115 at stake, Bond must do what it takes and risk everything, to get to Le Chiffre. This movie is a classic and has played a huge role in introducing poker to a larger audience.

Casino

CASINO, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, 1995, in the casino

As much as the above movie does not depict actual gambling, it revolves around the times when casinos were run by mobs.

Starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci as Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, two mobsters who had grown up with a dream of making mark in the world. However, when they move to Las Vegas, they encounter love, alcohol and drugs which threaten to jeopardize everything they have worked so hard for.

In addition, their search for power, the deception and greed is what makes this movie a must-watch.

21

Another classic and nerve-wracking movie where a team of math geniuses learn the art of counting cards. It is then that they decide to take on several high-end casinos in the United States and try reaping them off of millions of dollars.

The storyline revolves around Ben Campbell (Jim Stugess), a young man who had a dream of being a doctor and studying at Harvard thou he could not afford the fees.

One day, he is introduced to Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), a mathematics teacher who has perfected the art of card counting and practices it with five of his students. Ben joins them and they scout all over Las Vegas, practising what they learned and winning.

The reason why the movie 21 is a favourite to many gamblers is the fact that it highlights blackjack and it is among the very few movies where the house is beaten.

The Gambler

Mark Wahlberg takes the lead role and stars as Jim Bennett, a professional gambler who is mainly interested in high-stakes.

He gambles and loses everything to a gangster known as Baraka and a casino proprietor known as Mr. Lee. They threaten him and give him a week to come up with the money.

First, Jim turns to his rich mother and asks for help. His mum is sceptical and offers no help due to the fact that she was aware of his son’s gambling addiction. Finally, he gets help from a not-so-genuine loan shark who goes by the name Frank.

As much as this movie lacks realism like the other movies, the best thing about ‘The Gambler’ is that it addresses a big issue that is affecting many gamblers out there; gambling addiction and it’s nasty repercussions.