The flashing lights, the sirens, the hum of discussion, and the adventure of positioning a bet are all part of the attraction of casinos. While gaming has been around for centuries, gambling establishments started turning up in Italy in the 17th century. The Casino di Venezia, which opened in 1638 in Venice, is the world's earliest casino, though it was initially called Theatre Saint Moses. It used guests the chance to gamble during theatrical production intermissions.
By the 19th century, casinos appeared all over Europe. In the United States, towns like Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada, and Atlantic City in New Jersey, ended up being understood for casinos and the infamous ties held to organized crime. Gambling itself had a track record as a vice that might lead to other bad practices.
Hollywood's own fixation with casinos has a long history as well. Classic film "Casablanca" features a gambling establishment as part of Rick Blaine's nightclub. Throughout the next several years, directors like Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Soderbergh tried their hand at movies about the appeal of betting and the gambling establishments that supported the way of life.
OLBG looked into the history of gambling establishments on screen and assembled a list of 20 of the best gambling establishment films. To be included, movies needed to have important scenes take location in a casino, and the movie needed to have at least a 6.0 on IMDb or a 65 on Metacritic.
ATO Pictures
# 20. 'Casino Jack' (2010 )
- Director: George Hickenlooper
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Metascore: 51
- Runtime: 108 minutes
This fictionalized retelling of a true story stars Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff, a corrupt Washington D.C. lobbyist motivated by greed and power. Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon stole funds from Native American gambling establishments all while twisting laws for their convenience. In a nod to the 1996 movie "Jerry Maguire," one scene discovers Scanlon and Abramoff screaming, "Show me the money!" Actress Kelly Preston who plays Abramoff's spouse in the film played Maguire's former sweetheart also.
# 19. 'Ocean's Twelve' (2004 )
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- IMDb user ranking: 6.5
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 125 minutes
The follow up to "Ocean's Eleven" discovers Danny Ocean including a partner to his band of burglars as they work together to pull off a number of European heists. Steven Soderbergh directed not just this second movie in what would be a trilogy, however all 3 "Ocean's" installments. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Elliot Gould, and Bruce Willis not only starred in the film, but they likewise had another thing in common-they were all visitor stars on the comedy "Friends."
Warner Bros. Pictures # 18. 'Ocean's 11' (1960 )
- Director: Lewis Milestone
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 127 minutes
Featuring the Rat Pack-Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop-" Ocean's 11," focuses on 11 males who pull off an amazing Las Vegas heist. Danny Ocean, played by Sinatra, leads his former World War II friends in a plan to rob numerous gambling establishments in a single night. This classic film would be remade in 2001 with George Clooney taking control of the function of Danny Ocean. Angie Dickinson played Danny Ocean's ex-wife in the 1960 movie, while Julia Roberts stepped in for the upgraded variation in 2001.
Eon Productions
# 17. 'Diamonds Are Forever' (1971 )
- Director: Guy Hamilton
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 120 minutes
The seventh movie in the James Bond movie franchise, which was based on the books by Ian Fleming, stars Sean Connery as 007. The spy jets off to Las Vegas to examine diamond smuggling and discovers a wealthy tycoon and a dubious plot. Connery was the first actor to play James Bond and starred in 7 of the films. The Oscar-nominated film was shot on place in Las Vegas at a number of casinos including The Riviera, Tropicana Las Vegas, and Circus Circus Las Vegas.
TriStar Pictures
# 16. 'Bugsy' (1991 )
- Director: Barry Levinson
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 80
- Runtime: 136 minutes
This movie narrated the life of well-known mobster Bugsy Siegel and his substantial function in building contemporary Las Vegas. Starring Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, the 2 would fall in love throughout shooting, marry not long after, and go on to have four children together. The film was chosen for an impressive 10 Oscars and won two. While "Bugsy" lost for finest photo at the Oscars to "The Silence of the Lambs," it did manage to take home the Golden Globe Award for best motion picture-drama.
Columbia Pictures
# 15. '21' (2008 )
- Director: Robert Luketic
- IMDb user score: 6.8
- Metascore: 48
- Runtime: 123 minutes
Under the tutelage of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology teacher, six MIT trainees were trained to end up being card counters and made a killing in Las Vegas in this movie, which is loosely based upon the unique "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich. While many shooting areas remained in Boston, including the Public Garden, Boston University, and Newbury Street, Las Vegas was likewise an important shooting area for "21." According to the Nevada Film Office, shooting happened in many Las Vegas casinos, including Planet Hollywood, The Venetian, Caesars Palace, Hard Rock Hotel, and Red Rock Casino.
Lions Gate Entertainment
# 14. 'The Cooler' (2003 )
- Director: Wayne Kramer
- IMDb user ranking: 6.9
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 101 minutes
An unlucky male is used by the mob to cool things down for high-stakes gamblers who are on a winning streak at a Las Vegas casino until he gets lucky in love, changing his own luck at the gambling establishment. Maria Bello, William H. Macy, and Alec Baldwin star in this movie that was mostly shot in Reno, Nevada. Baldwin received both an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination for finest supporting star for his role as casino manager Shelly Kaplow.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
# 13. 'Ocean's Thirteen' (2007 )
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- IMDb user ranking: 6.9
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 122 minutes
The last movie in the "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy, "Ocean's Thirteen" discovers the gang getting together to manage another heist after one of the original 11 is double-crossed by casino owner Willy Bank, who is played by famous star Al Pacino. One of the lines in the movie, "You shook Sinatra's hand," is a recommendation to Frank Sinatra who played Danny Ocean in the original version of "Ocean's 11." The expression is indicated as a sort of values or gentleman's contract.
New Line Cinema
# 12. 'Boiler Room' (2000 )
- Director: Ben Younger
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 120 minutes
When Seth Davis' daddy, a judge, catches him running a prohibited gambling establishment from his apartment or condo, he isn't pleased. Davis, played by Giovanni Ribisi, heads out and gets a task as a broker in a boiler space, which according to Dictionary.com is, "a location where illegal brokers participate in high-pressure selling, over the telephone, of securities of a highly speculative nature or of dubious worth." The film was loosely based upon the story of Jordan Belfort who was the topic of the 2013 Martin Scorsese film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," which was also the title of Belfort's narrative.
Sony Pictures Classics
# 11. 'Owning Mahowny' (2003 )
- Director: Richard Kwietniowski
- IMDb user score: 7.1
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 104 minutes
At the heart of this movie is a tale of betting dependency. Based on the real story of Brian Molony, "Owning Mahowny" informs the tale of Dan Mahowny, a bank manager, who has access to multimillion dollar accounts that he utilized to feed his betting practice. The real-life Molony dedicated bank fraud by embezzling $10.4 million from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The film, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as Mahowny, was recorded in Toronto and Atlantic City, where Molony really dropped $1.4 million at a New Jersey casino right before his arrest in 1982.
ARTE
# 10. 'Croupier' (1998 )
- Director: Mike Hodges
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 94 minutes
Aspiring writer Jack Manfred gets a job as a croupier, someone who works the tables at a gambling establishment and deals with bets and payments. While Jack does not gamble, his daddy does, and it is he who gets Jack the task at a London casino. Portrayed by Clive Owen, Jack gets caught up in a love triangle and a plot to cheat the gambling establishment before the film's end. The casino in the movie was in fact created on a set in Germany.
Paramount Pictures
# 9. 'The Gambler' (1974 )
- Director: Karel Reisz
- IMDb user ranking: 7.2
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 111 minutes
James Caan stars as high-stakes bettor and English teacher Axel Freed, who gets so captured up in betting that he offers a loan shark his life for collateral versus a loan. This criminal offense thriller made Caan an Oscar nod for finest star. Screenwriter James Toback has plenty of experience with gaming and based the film's movie script on his own addiction-though Freed's gambling seems an addiction to the rush and risk rather than to the act of gaming. A 2014 remake of the film starred Mark Wahlberg in the lead role.
Spelling Goldberg
# 8. 'California Split' (1974 )
- Director: Robert Altman
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 108 minutes
A casual bettor and an expert ended up being buddies and dig themselves deeper into the world of betting in this film starring Elliott Gould and George Segal. In a final desperate effort to win big, the two characters head to Reno, Nevada, for the poker video game to end all poker video games. "California Split" was the first non-Cinerama movie to utilize the eight-track stereo for dialogue, permitting the recording of 8 separate audio channels. Making use of this technology strengthened Altman's usage of overlapping discussion, which turned into one of his hallmarks as a director.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
# 7. 'Hard 8' (1996 )
- Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
- IMDb user ranking: 7.2
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 101 minutes
" Hard 8" significant director Paul Thomas Anderson's movie debut and was based on his short movie "Coffee & Cigarettes." An expert gambler played by Philip Baker Hall, takes a novice played by John C. Reilly, under his wing. Things go okay up until the newbie falls for Clementine, a cocktail waitress played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Several gambling establishments in Reno and Sparks, Nevada, worked as filming places, consisting of the Nugget Casino Resort.
Miramax
# 6. 'Rounders' (1998 )
- Director: John Dahl
- IMDb user ranking: 7.3
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 121 minutes
Not just does this movie star Matt Damon and Edward Norton, but the supporting cast is an entertainment market who's who and consists of John Malkovich, John Turturro, Martin Landau, and Famke Janssen. The story finds Damon's character, Mike McDermott, who is a reformed bettor, helping out his pal, played by Norton, who was recently launched from jail and who drags McDermott right back into the world he was trying to escape. Many of the movie's areas were made to appear like casinos or country clubs, consisting of the imaginary Chesterfield Club in the film.
United Artists
# 5. 'Leaving Las Vegas' (1995 )
- Director: Mike Figgis
- IMDb user score: 7.5
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 111 minutes
Screenwriter and alcoholic Ben Sanderson, played by Nicolas Cage, heads to Las Vegas to consume himself to death. There he fulfills a prostitute called Sera, represented by Elisabeth Shue, who guarantees not to interfere with his strategy, though things get made complex when they fall in love. The movie is based upon John O'Brien's semi-autobiographical novel. O'Brien died at 33, before production on the film started, and according to the author's father, the novel worked as a morbid suicide note.
Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.
# 4. 'Gilda' (1946 )
- Director: Charles Vidor
- IMDb user ranking: 7.6
- Metascore: n/a
- Runtime: 110 minutes
Starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, this classic movie discovers a small-time gambler getting caught up in dubious organization when he discovers his former fan is married to his present employer at a casino in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The movie was chosen for the Grand Prize of the Festival for feature movie at the Cannes Film Festival. Hayworth did not sing a word in the movie, but rather, was talented at lip syncing. Anita Ellis was the singing voice behind Gilda.
Warner Bros.
# 3. 'Ocean's Eleven' (2001 )
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 116 minutes
A remake of the 1960 movie starring Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, this variation stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt with their own modern-day team, that includes Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck, Eddie Jemison, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, and Shaobo Qin. Like the original, the remake features Danny Ocean and his pals robbing three casinos at the very same time. "Ocean's Eleven" received numerous nominations for finest acting ensemble.
Danjaq. LLC/ United Artists/ Columbia Pictures
# 2. 'Casino Royale' (2006 )
- Director: Martin Campbell
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 80
- Runtime: 144 minutes
In his very first objective as super spy 007, Daniel Craig as James Bond should defeat an evil lender at Casino Royale, Montenegro, at high-stakes poker. The film acts as Bond's origin story though it was the 21st movie in the franchise and the 3rd movie adjustment of Ian Fleming's first Bond book. "Casino Royale" was primarily filmed in the Czech Republic spa-town of Karlovy Vary.
Universal Pictures
# 1. 'Casino' (1995 )
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 178 minutes
This film was the final one for Saul Bass who developed the title sequence. Bass was popular for his work that not only consisted of several Scorsese films including "GoodFellas," and "Cape Fear," but classics such as "Psycho" and "Spartacus." Starring Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone, "Casino" was influenced by organized criminal activity associate and gambling establishment supervisor Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and concentrates on the relationship in between a casino executive and a mob enforcer. Pursuing credibility, Scorsese recorded at the Las Vegas Riviera, inhabiting a small area of the casino while real gaming was happening.
