The Top 5 Gambling Movies of all Time
Gambling for centuries has been a major recreational activity for people across the globe and has continued to evolve over the years. Today, you can place bets on your favourite games in UK casino from the comfort of your home. What’s more, many filmmakers have made movies on this popular form of entertainment.
Here is a list of the best gambling movies of all time.
Casino (1996)
Perhaps the most famous of all gambling movies, Casino is the epic tale of mob-controlled casino gambling in Vegas. In early-1970s Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro) gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he’s a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), his ex-hustler wife Ginger (Sharon Stone), and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.
Greed, power and money and murder reign in this casino movie are some of the aspects which depict the dark realities of a casino gangster.
Casino Royale (2006)
Starring Daniel Craig as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond, Casino Royale is a world apart from the 1967 film of the same name. After receiving a licence to kill, James Bond heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organizations. Learning that Le Chiffre plans to raise money in a high-stakes Poker game, MI6 sends Bond to play against him, gambling that their newest “00” operative will topple the man’s organization.
Risk, class and money radiate in this popular casino movie.
The Sting (1973)
‘The Sting’ is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters John Hooker (Robert Redford) and Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to con a mob boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hooker and Gondorff set about implementing an elaborate scheme, one so crafty that Lonnegan won’t even know he’s been swindled. As their big con unfolds, however, things don’t go according to plan, requiring some last-minute improvisation by the undaunted duo.
The Gambler (2014)
This tells the story of a Literature professor Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) who leads a secret life as a high stake gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he puts his creditor in competition with the operator of an illegal gambling ring while seeking the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a money lender. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.
This movie serves as a pretty severe warning against addiction – of any kind.
Rounders (1998)
Starring a youthful Matt Damon, this is a tale of an entrepreneur who pays for his university fees by winning at a Poker table. The movie is full of famous faces, with Edward Norton and John Malkovich also making appearances. The film’s climax involves a dazzling high-stake Poker game, with Malkovich playing an irresponsible Poker baron that Damon must try and defeat.
