There is probably hundreds if not thousands of movies about casinos that have been made, but not that many that are actually any good. I asked the good people over at LUCK.info Slots what they thought were the best films about casinos, and this is their list…
Top 10 Winning Casino Movies That Hit the Jackpot
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10 – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his attorney Dr Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trashes their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop (Gary Busey), he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.
9 – Oceans Eleven
Dapper Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. Following three rules: Don’t hurt anybody, don’t steal from anyone who doesn’t deserve it, and play the game like you’ve got nothing to lose. Danny orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.
8 – Leaving Las Vegas
Adapted from the novel by John O’Brien, this acclaimed drama follows alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) as he drinks himself into oblivion in Las Vegas. When Ben meets the beautiful prostitute Sera (Elisabeth Shue), they strike up an unconventional relationship — one where she can’t ask him to kerb his drinking, and he can’t fault her for her job. Though they offer each other support, Ben’s self-destruction threatens to eclipse their bond.
7 – Owning Mahowny
Toronto bank employee Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) seems like an honest man to his coworkers and loving girlfriend, Belinda (Minnie Driver). None of them realises that he is actually a compulsive gambler who steals from the bank’s accounts to pay off his bookie, Frank (Maury Chaykin), and fund regular trips to casinos. Sleazy casino boss Victor (John Hurt) encourages Dan to amass more and more debt until the missing money becomes hard to hide and Dan’s life spirals out of control.
6 – Casino Royale
After receiving a license to kill, British Secret Service agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organisations. 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 organisation.
5 – Bugsy
New York mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (Warren Beatty) leaves New York City to dip into the glamour of Hollywood, Calif., and to build up syndicate gambling rackets. Bowled over by actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), the dapper Siegel courts her, despite having a wife and children. Obsessed with creating a gambling haven, Siegel takes racketeering to the Nevada desert and helps develop Las Vegas, only to find himself in deep water over his reckless construction of the Flamingo Hotel.
4 – The Good Thief
Bob (Nick Nolte) is an ageing thief who has seen better days and is battling both an addiction to heroin and a growing gambling problem. But he still thinks he has one more big score in him and plots a massive heist of a Monte Carlo casino. In order to pull off the theft, he’ll need an amazing team of accomplices and will have to outwit his nemesis, the local police chief (Tcheky Karyo). The chief knows that Bob is up to something, but can he figure it out before Bob makes off with millions?
3 – Hard Eight
A stranger (Philip Baker Hall) mentors a young Reno gambler (John C. Reilly) who weds a hooker (Gwyneth Paltrow) and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
2 – Casino
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), her con-artist ex Lester Diamond (James Woods) and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger. Martin Scorsese directs this adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi’s book.
1 – Think Like a Man Too
In “Think Like a Man,” a group of close friends applied relationship advice from a book by Steve Harvey to their own romantic entanglements. In the end, Dominic (Michael Ealy) and the rest of his “band of brothers” were well on their way to everlasting love with the women in their lives. However, when all of the couples reunite in Las Vegas for one’s wedding, a series of compromising situations threatens to derail not only the big event but also the survival of everyone else’s love affair.
By: Ahmad Alomda
