Every gambler who enjoys gambling on a regular basis will eventually have the fantasy of "breaking the bank." It's human nature for people to want to be big winners, especially when it comes to gambling.
The reality is a great majority of retail and online gamblers will never hit that big win. With any luck, they might hit a winning streak that puts a little extra cash in their bank account. Otherwise, most gamblers should be viewing and using independent online casinos like the ones listed on Casino-Wise.com as a great form of adult entertainment, win or lose.
For gamblers who want to vicariously experience the big win, there are some Hollywood movies that portray that very experience. Over the years, several movies have depicted the gambling experience so well that they have become very popular within the recreational gambling community. Below, we would like to offer some information about three movies that can get the gambling juices flowing.
Note: A lot of gambling movies focus on the dark side of gambling, namely gambling addiction. Wanting this to be a more uplifting article, we have chosen three movies that don't deal with gambling addiction
“21" (2008)
This movie is based on a true story. It tells the story of an MIT professor (Micky Rosa portrayed by Kevin Spacey) who assembles a group of his most brilliant MIT students. With the promise of big money to pay tuition costs, the professor proceeds to teach the students his blackjack card counting technique. Having been a very successful card counter himself, the professor has been banned from pretty much every casino in the U.S. The students are intended to be his surrogate with the profits to be split.
After refining the card counting process, the professor unleashes the students on the City of Las Vegas. One student in particular (ben, portrayed by Jim Sturgess) is selected as the team leader due to his card counting proficiency.
The team's success is immediate and lucrative. Hypnotized by the success, the team starts drawing too much attention to itself, which eventually leads to infighting within the team and issues with casino security and management.
“Ocean's Eleven" (2001)
Danny Ocean's (George Clooney) is a high-profile professional thief. While in prison for his illegal activities, his love interest Tess (portrayed by Julia Roberts) gets involved in a love affair with Las Vegas Casino Mogul Terry Benedict (portrayed by Andy Garcia).
When Ocean is released from prison, he wants to win Tess back and punish Benedict. He concocts a plan to steal $150 million from three casinos ( theBellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand) owned by Benedict. To do this, he assembles his old team of criminals, all of which have special criminal talents.
The movie chronicles the putting together of and carrying out the great heist. The fantastic ensemble of actors includes Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Elliot Guild, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, and the aforementioned Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts.
“Casino" (1995)
Based on the history of Las Vegas, there was a time when organized crime rules the "City of Lights." In the movie "Casino," moviegoers get reminded of what the retail gambling industry must have been like before the turn of the century.
The movie chronicles the activities of sports handicapper and Mafia associate Sam "Ace" Rothstein and his primary henchman Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) when they are sent by the Chicago Mafia to oversee their investment in the Tangiers Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
While Rothstein is intent on running as clean an operation as possible, Santoro has a mind on his criminal endeavors. To be clear, Santoro does not play nice. While he is doing his own thing, Rothstein falls in love with high-end call girl Ginger (portrayed by Sharon Stone).
Before long, Rothstein, Santoro, and Ginger start making mistakes that draw the attention of the bosses in Chicago. As the heat rises, the bodies start accumulating and great strain is brought to bear on the relationships between the primary characters. This isn't something that is going to go over well with the Mafia that doesn't want to lose its license to run the very lucrative casino operation.