Hollywood’s greatest gamblers
The Platinum play casino is the natural location for a movie – after all it shares many of the essential features that go into making a gripping film. For example, there’s the peril of whether the hero will win or lose plus that other essential element of drama - conflict. Then there’s the glamour of the surroundings that provide a lavish backdrop to the action, though some of the greatest gambling scenes also take place in less salubrious surroundings, but are just as gripping all the same.
So here are 5 classic film gambling scenes that regularly crop up in fans’ and critics’ lists of the best ever.
Casino Royale
Daniel Craig exploded into the role of James Bond in this 2006 reboot of the series that took almost 600 million at the box offices, which brought us a super-spy ready for the 21st century. A pivotal scene involves Bond taking on the super villain, Le Chiffre, in a game of poker in a casino in Montenegro. Playing with a great deal of the British Government’s money in an attempt to hook the villain he is poisoned mid-game. Fortunately his life is saved by the defibrillator that Q has handily added to his Aston Martin’s spec and he returns to win the $150 million pot with a straight flush.
Rain Man
Though far from being a casino movie, Rain Man is probably best remembered for a blackjack scene in which the central character Raymond, played by Dustin Hoffman, uses his special powers of memory to count cards in a six-deck game of blackjack in Caesar’s Palace. He’s trying to win the money to help pay his brother’s debts and, although the casino’s security do get wise to the card counting, he’s allowed to keep his winnings.
Run Lola Run
As the title suggests, Run Lola Run is a breathless German thriller that contains one of the coolest roulette scenes ever. Lola’s boyfriend has been kidnapped and to save his life she needs to come up with the ransom money, and fast. So, instead of heading for the bank, she goes to a fancy casino where she decides it’s time for an all or nothing bet. So she puts everything she has on 20 black and, you’ve guessed it, she defies all the odds and wins the critical cash.
The Sting
The film that reunited Paul Newman and Robert Redford after the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid takes place in depression-era Chicago and the victim of the sting is mob boss Doyle Lonnegan, played by Robert Shaw. In a complicated scam they set up a pretend betting parlour to trick Lonnegan into putting a $500,000 on a horse called Lucky Dan. The tension is unbearable as we wait for Lonnegan to uncover the trick but, spoiler alert, Newman and Redford’s conmen get away with it in the end.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
So many parts of the Austin Powers movies are parodies of Bond that it’s not surprising there’s a classic blackjack scene too. Completely misunderstanding the game but still wanting to appear sophisticated, Powers decides to stick on 5 saying that he “likes to live dangerously. Inevitably, the dealer’s hand is a king and jack and Powers has to admit “cards are not my bag, baby!”
