Top 5 Casino Scenes in Cinema

There’s something about crime movies that are appealing to the audience. Especially gangster movies where the main character’s up to no good, but in a good way. Casinos are often featured in this type of movies because they’re an ideal background and the setting almost always fits the tone of the film in general. Whether they’re mob movies, heist movies, comedy movies or thrillers a casino in each of them would make the story more interesting.

It’s also no wonder why casinos are popular to this day. The online gambling industry is booming with many sites offering variants of classic games. However, their land-based counterparts are still popular and have a huge number of visitors. The luxury and the feeling of being in an actual casino are irreplaceable which is why so many directors have decided to use them as part of their films. Although there are many notable casino scenes in films here are 5 that stand out from the rest:

Rounders

Poker is one of the many popular casino games and subsequently the main drive of this film’s story. The main character Michael McDermont, played by Matt Damon, is helping out his friend Lester, played by Edward Norton, to pay off a debt. The scene that makes his struggle worthwhile is the final game of Texas Hold’em between Michael and Teddy “KGB”, played by legendary actor John Malkovich. The scene keeps viewers on the edge of the seat as they wait to see the outcome. If you want to know who wins, you’ll have to watch it.

Ocean’s 11

This movie is a classic and arguably one of the best heist movies so far. First, there’s the cast of top Hollywood actors such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and many more. It’s tough to choose a scene from this movie because all of them are pretty good. Out of all of them, the introduction scene seems fitting to the list. It’s a great way to start a movie since is a way of getting the audience to know the main guys who get to know each other right before they pull off a big heist.

Goodfellas

Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro are two of the most notable actors to have acted in crime movies. Pesci’s character Tommy, along with other known gangsters at the time go for a card game. The “bartender” Spider brings everyone a drink, except Tommy, but he doesn’t do this to spite him. He just forgets the drink. Tommy’s temper blows up in that scene and his reaction is well worth the watch.

Casino Royale

Every Bond film is tense and suspenseful, and Casino Royale doesn’t fail to disappoint. Mr. Bond faces Le Chiffre in a game of Texas Hold’em. Daniel Craig has the lovely Eva Green by his side in this movie. After Bond avoids getting poisoned he comes back at Le Chiffre, played by Mads Mikkelsen, by beating him and winning over $100 million. The whole scene is a nail-biting one.

The Hangover

Yes, casinos can set the mood in a comedy film as well. The casino scene in this one is an homage to a scene in Rain Man, where Dustin Hoffman’s character shows his brother, played by Tom Cruise, his amazing card counting skills. Similarly to this scene, Zach Galifianakis’ character wears the same grey suit and amazes Phil, Bradley Cooper’s character, with his card counting skills. Despite being thought of as a buffoon through most of the movie Zach’s character proves his genius in this hilarious scene.