gambling movies

“Rain Man” was a massive hit, earning over $354 million worldwide at the box office. A selfish, debt-laden Los Angeles car salesman, played by Tom Cruise, learns that his wealthy father left millions to someone else in a trust fund. He suspects his newly discovered older brother, who has autism and lives in a mental institution. Cruise’s character breaks his brother out and uses his savant-level math skills to win big in Las Vegas. Chastain and director Aaron Sorkin were nominated for several big awards for “Molly’s Game,” including an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globes. Other big stars in this movie include Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera and Jeremy Strong.

The Gambler

  • A friendship between the two blossoms after a fellow gambler gets angry at them for beating him and taking their money.
  • If any of the tickets is a winner, the person who has won the pot gets to keep the winnings.
  • It is a sequel to the 1961 movie ‘The Hustler’ with a 7/10 rating on IMDb and 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
  • The stakes should be believable and exciting, making for a suspenseful and thrilling experience.
  • The Jewish jeweler suffers from severe financial hardship, trying to get out of it and pay off the debts accumulated on him by selling a rare and precious gem that he bought from Ethiopian miners.

From the Safdie Brothers, Uncut Gems follows fast-talking jeweler Howard as he tries to juggle family obligations, his mistress, angry collectors, and mounting debts on top of his insatiable thirst for gambling. The Card Counter is a revenge thriller about an ex-military interrogator turned gambler who is haunted by his past. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. His writing has appeared in NBC, FOX, MSN, Yahoo, Purewow, The Playlist, The Wrap and Los Angeles Review of Books. While not as good as Oceans 11, the line, «I don’t gamble, not with people’s lives» is maybe the best in the entire franchise.

DARK CITY (

The story goes that Robert Altman sent Elliot Gould the screenplay to California Split, hoping he’d play Charlie, a gambler who befriends fellow gambler Bill (George Segal). And yet the two men’s rakish charm, in one of the high watermarks of ’70s hangout cinema, makes this not just a great buddy movie but a beautiful exploration of boys-will-be-boys friendship. And, of course, there’s a whole lot of gambling, which Altman films with casual mastery, letting us eavesdrop on the weird characters and dangerous oddballs who populate that world. California Split remains perhaps the director’s most underrated classic — and its gut-punch ending is so muted, yet so perfect. When two soon-to-be empty nesters want to help their daughter pay for college, they decide to turn their friend’s house into a local gambling den.

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The plot revolves around four friends who decide to put all their cash together and enter a major poker game against a big-time crime boss. That crime boss takes the win under dubious means, which forces the main man who convinced his crew to enter the game to pay up or be forced to give up his father’s pub as collateral. In order to pay that debt, the four friends get in way over their heads when it comes to acquiring those funds through illegal means. While gambling movies often provide a window into a world of high stakes and high drama, their commitment to factual accuracy varies widely. As historical documents, they offer a filtered lens—colored by the needs of drama and audience engagement.

Latest Casino Movie Releases: Films for Gambling Enthusiasts

It does not simply portray gambling as a straightforward path to destruction but explores the psychological and emotional intricacies that entangle those involved in it. The apparent glamour and thrill of the casino are continually undercut by an omnipresent tension, a lurking darkness that insidiously permeates the world John and his young counterpart inhabit. The highest-grossing film of a year that also included Die Hard, Coming to America, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit– Rain Man  coasts off its feel-good charms, particularly the blackjack scene between Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

Pages in category «Films about gambling»

gambling movies

In Casino, he’s Ace, a gangster running a mobbed-up casino who’s trying to do things “the right way,” only to be undercut by his hotheaded pal (Joe Pesci) and an ambitious woman (Sharon Stone) he shouldn’t trust. Martin Scorsese’s intricate drama is for you, chronicling Sin City’s evolution from seedy to sanitized over the span of several years. As he did previously with GoodFellas, Scorsese understands how American enterprise works in the criminal underworld — and also how individuals get trampled on along the way. Instead, this refreshing film takes a different approach entirely, by telling the true story of Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), a lady who runs an underground poker empire for Hollywood’s rich and famous. Spider (Michael Imperioli) finds his voice while working as a gangster gofer but nobody crosses Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and his shine box.

Other Poker Movies

The reason you know director Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham traces back to Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, a dark comedy that is one part heist film, one part gambling film, and two parts hijinks. As a gambling film, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels succeeds at finding the humor in people trying to cheat their way into money, only to twist their lives around to wiggle their way out of debt. Geniuses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology https://true-fortune.us/mobile/ (MIT) can usually go on to do anything, yet a group of them decided to use their gifts to count cards. He gets robbed at gunpoint, loses friends, and has very little to show for it besides a cool story. Watching the smartest people do the dumbest things could be enough to scare anyone away from gambling because winning is always enough until you want more. Axel Freed, played by James Caan, appears successful with a good job and a generally stable life.

  • In order to regain his wealthy status, Bob maps out a plan to rob a casino during a, particularly important weekend.
  • Based on a true story and one of the MGM casino movies, “21” portrays the thrilling account of a group of MIT students who become experts in blackjack card counting and subsequently win millions in Las Vegas.
  • Among his list of creditors is his own brother-in-law, but that’s the least of his worries as he’s also in bed with Arno, a loan shark and a mafiosi-type who is very keen to get his money back by whatever means necessary.
  • A deeper look into the mechanics of the games depicted in gambling movies reveals another layer where fiction often diverges from reality.
  • Bugsy tells the story of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, played by Warren Beatty.
  • Whether you’re in it to learn how to beat the house or just want to hear the soothing sounds of chips stacking and slots spinning, these are the best gambling movies to put you right in the action.
  • Played with a timid, nervous energy by William H. Macy, «The Cooler» is naturally unlucky, and he works for the casino by jinxing players and spreading his misfortune.

Lights, Camera, Action: The 10 Best Casino Movies of All Time

  • By adhering to the guidelines outlined in this article, you can enjoy the thrill of gambling while minimizing the potential risks.
  • Possibly Paul Thomas Anderson’s least known film, Hard Eight tells the story of a veteran gambler who teaches stranger John the tricks of the trade.
  • Poker may soon finance Le Chiffre’s entire criminal organization if he is to win a high-stakes poker game hosted at the Casino Royale in Monte Carlo.
  • There is action, murder attempts, kidnapping and a few perilous moments that make us all ask ourselves if we will see Mr Bond come out of this alive.
  • This Best Picture winner exudes pure pleasure … well, unless you run afoul of Shaw (Paul Newman) and Kelly (Robert Redford), that is.

The billion-dollar franchise – spinning off three sequels at last count – may be a superstar take on the casino heist theme, but there are plenty of other legendary films. Casino is the test of a friendship, a marriage, and a cutthroat businessman, and every minute of it will have you on the edge of your seat. Starring The Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli, High Roller is a triumphant, harrowing, and downright interesting take on this legend’s life, perfect for any game-lover out there. If you like Molly’s Game, Follow the Bitch (1996, Michael Cudlitz) depicts single guys at an all-night poker game and the woman who shows up. Familiye is a black-and-white film that depicts the story of a family of three brothers, the eldest of whom has just got out of prison.

WIN IT ALL (

However, the movie is a helluva ride if you’re willing to go with it. One thing to remember is that back then, no-limit hold’em wasn’t really played, while the popular game at the time was Stud. In the case of The Cincinnati Kid, it was five-card stud, which means one card down and four cards placed face up one at a time with a round of betting between each street. The Cincinnati Kid tells the classic tale of an up-and-coming young gun poker player working his way up to take on the best player in the game.

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On an annual basis, the town of Laredo, Texas becomes the epicenter for the most important poker game in the state. Five of the wealthiest men in the area come together to risk it all while an interested crowd watches them with bated breath. An ex-gambler ends up wandering into town in the midst of the big poker game and finds himself going right back to his former addiction. When things become too tough to bear for the latest addition to the game, the ex-gambler’s wife steps in to take his place and defy the odds as she takes on her wealthier opposition. A down on his luck college professor hatches a get rich quick scheme with the aid of three students of his choosing. After being banned from the casinos within Ontario and Quebec, the professor relies on his card-counting experts to take his place at those casinos and gamble their way to big money.

The film provides a great opportunity to get to know what Vegas casinos were like during their heyday. It tells the story of the shifting from Florida to Vegas in the early 1990s. At that time the woman got a job with a professional gambler starred by Bruce Willis. It’s a great gambling story with the popular actor who was co-starred by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vince Vaughn. In order to pay his debt, Howard does precisely what every high-stakes gambler would do; he places an enormous bet that could help pay off his entire debt but could also destroy what’s left of his life if it fails.

Critics loved the movie because it doesn’t celebrate or glorify the lifestyle of a high-stakes gambler, even if it occasionally gives you a sense of fantasy for the money and culture surrounding that scene. Mississippi Grind plays out like a gambling road trip tale that takes viewers on a wild ride through the South. When Gerry ends up meeting a gentleman by the name of Curtis (played by Ryan Reynolds), Gerry deems him his new lucky charm.

Casino 1995

Directed by David Mamet, this heist film follows Lindsay Crouse’s character Dr. Margaret Ford as she meets a criminal figure named Mike Mancuso — played wonderfully by Joe Mantegna. She’s a psychiatrist who recently finished a book on obsessive-compulsive disorder, and one of her patients seeks help from her regarding his involvement with and debt owed to the aforementioned crime lord. This is also notable among fans today for being the first film in its franchise to feature Daniel Craig as the titular character.

gambling movies

The Color of Money (

The stakes are truly raised within this classic film when Eddie decides to go all in during a high-stakes matchup. Tom Cruise appears in his second gambling movie role as car dealer Charlie Babbitt, who doesn’t have the best relationship with his now-deceased father. After finding out that a massive sum of inheritance money is being left to an autistic brother (played by Dustin Hoffman) he never even knew he had, Charlie gets the bright idea to somehow lift all of that money from his older sibling.

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This just inspires him to push harder and keep it going, and while this might turn out to be a disaster in a movie like, say, Uncut Gems, here, it’s just a wacky ’80s comedy. Let It Ride still gets a lot of comedic mileage out of Dreyfuss’s mania and goes a long way on some very fun supporting performances from Teri Garr, Jennifer Tilly, and David Johansen. But let’s just say they don’t show this one at Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

The 1995 gambling movie directed by Martin Scorcese stars Robert De Niro as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, an oddsmaker from Chicago who attracts the attention of the Mafia for his skills with numbers. The movie, released in theaters in 2003, tells the story of Lootz, who found one useful skill in life, and that was to play the role of a «cooler» at a casino, run by Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin). When a gambler was on a heater, Kaplow would send over Lootz to bring that guest bad luck and end a winning streak.

Several films have famous poker scenes, but one of the most famous is the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006), starring Daniel Craig in his first outing as 007. The film features a high-stakes Texas Hold’em poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro, where Bond faces off against the villain Le Chiffre, played by Mads Mikkelsen. Yes, one of the primary reasons poker players love Rounders is that it accurately portrays the game. This is another classic film, so applying today’s poker standards to it might not hold water.

Still, if there were, the magnetic bravado he brought to pool hustlers in the 1986 film The Color of Money would be all the evidence you need of his infectious coolness. There’s betrayal, enraptured Martin Scorsese directing, and enough banter between Newman and Cruise to make this a must-see classic, gambling or not. You could read up on the seedy history of Sin City, or you could spend close to three hours watching a Martin Scorcese masterpiece. Sam «Ace» Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) unofficially runs the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas at the direction of the Chicago Mafia and acts as the viewers’ eyes and ears to the unseen machinations of running a casino in Las Vegas. The payoffs to the mafia, the politicized wranglings with the Nevada Gaming Board, the berated Blackjack dealers, and the showgirls are explored like parts of the blueprints of the Vegas gambling world.

There is action, murder attempts, kidnapping and a few perilous moments that make us all ask ourselves if we will see Mr Bond come out of this alive. If you love poker, can look past the fact that Daniel Craig knows nothing about the game, and enjoy good cinematography, Casino Royale may yet be the best movie about gambling on Netflix today. Gambling hasn’t lost its cultural vitality over decades, and the same is true for great gambling films like 1974’s The Gambler. James Cann as gambling addict Axel Freed is obsessed with the thrill of gambling, even if it ends in self-destructive losses, and director Karel Reisz depicts the downward spiral of addiction with depressing accuracy. Freed gambles with more than his and other people’s money; he gambles with his life, putting himself in dangerous situations for his sadistic enjoyment.

But he does have some gems, like this 1999 cult classic about a croupier who spins roulette tables by night, writes novels by day. With seven wins at the Academy Awards out of ten total nominations, The Sting (1973) is perhaps the most acclaimed film of the entire list. It also holds a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. And one could argue that the bulk of its admiration from fans and critics alike stemmed from the chemistry of its cast. As one of the more well-known entries of the James Bond film franchise, Casino Royale (2006) stands out much as the most action-packed project ever made about gambling.

Of course, it’s also about British secret intelligence operatives and the undercover workings thereof. The 1970 gambling movie you’re referring to is probably «The Cincinnati Kid». Four years before the WSOP was even a thing, Warner Brothers released A Big Hand for the Little Lady, also known as Big Deal at Dodge City. It may be a bit old for today’s poker audience, but those who don’t mind watching a classic will surely have fun. Even in the present day, it’s common for people to fire up Netflix and be met with various…

The group — Eddie, Tom, Soap, and Bacon — go after every crooked opportunity they can to earn the money, running into crazy characters, getting chased by bookies, and making many mishaps along the way. Get a closer look at this exciting figure of poker, blackjack, and rummy history. Watch how his rise in the gambling scene changed his life — for good and bad. This sultry film follows aspiring doctor Ben as he joins a team of fellow MIT students to count cards, win big at blackjack, and pay his way through med school. Led by their professor, the team travels to Vegas on the weekend, racks up the chips, and then heads back to Cambridge with loads of cash. But when security at the casinos notice Ben and his pals skirting the rules, a chase ensues.

The film is notable for its musical score, composed by Scott Joplin and Marvin Hamlisch, which uses ragtime to create a period atmosphere. The Sting was a critical and popular success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1973 and winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. This is the most important element of any film, and a good gambling movie will have a strong story at its core. If inspired to place a bet on real-life sports action after a movie marathon, consider exploring the UEFA Champions League bet options available. The plot revolves around a pair of aspiring musicians who travel around Nevada playing slot machines in the hopes of winning the lottery. These cinematic gems are a must-watch, not just for the gambling connoisseur but for anyone who appreciates powerful storytelling that deals with the high stakes of life and the risks we take.

A friendship between the two blossoms after a fellow gambler gets angry at them for beating him and taking their money. Leonardo DiCaprio plays poker in «Titanic» (1997), although the poker scene is brief and not central to the movie. Early in the film, Jack Dawson (DiCaprio’s character) wins his ticket aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic in a game of poker. While not solely focused on poker, the movie centers around the game of blackjack, a popular casino card game, and is based on the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team. Some people craved a unique atmosphere of watching movies about casinos.

He now has to care for his two brothers, one who suffers from compulsive gambling and is in massive debt and another with Down syndrome. Bugsy is a great watch for anyone wanting to learn more about how the Strip was created or if you enjoy gangster movies with lots of drama. The movie was made on a very small budget, and the great premise, along with excellent performances by Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, and Kevin Costner, makes it a great gambling movie to enjoy. Although not a particularly accurate representation of the actual MIT Blackjack Team story, 21 is still a great watch for anyone who enjoys the game of blackjack.

You can always try to find a copy on DVD, but in the age of streaming services, here’s what you need to know. The film was released the same year Johnny Moss won his last WSOP Main Event (1974). It’s a comedy-drama directed by Robert Altman, and while on its face it may seem lighthearted, California Split cuts much deeper. The movie is based on a book of the same name, written from Bloom’s perspective, so there may be an expected bias toward her side of the story. If you’re wondering how to watch Mississippi Grind, it’s available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and several streaming options exist, including an HBO Max subscription.

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