Whether it be through books, video games, songs, or movies, you can find a piece of casino culture everywhere.
Likewise, many casinos will incorporate famous pop culture references into their games. Whether it’s featuring the stars of a Hollywood movie in the background of slot machines or retelling the plotline of a famous TV show through game mechanics, it’s hard to scroll through an online casino without finding at least one famous movie, TV show, or video game in the repertoire.
It’s unclear whether or not this helped popularize online casinos, though. However, the fact of the matter is that nowadays the promotion of online casinos is so prevalent you can find free spins on Canadian casinos everywhere.
Today we’ll take a look at how movies helped popularize the world of casinos and attract more players. These five movies have scored overwhelmingly positive feedback from viewers and, likewise, top scores on IMDb.
High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story
If you’re into poker and you like to read about the game, chances are you’ve heard of Stuart Ungar. He has been dubbed the greatest Texas hold ‘em and gin player of all time. Surprisingly, Stuart won his first gin tournament when he was just ten years old!
Stu Ungar went on to play gin-rummy full time to help support his family, revealing a rather sad tale behind his infamous skills. He would later take up poker and win the World Series of Poker Main Event three times, becoming only one of two players to do so.
The movie tells this amazing story, along with explaining Ungar’s roots, in a touching and, at times, entertaining way. It’s a must-watch for serious fans of poker and gin-rummy!
Croupier
The premise of Croupier tells the story of Jack Manfred, an aspiring yet unsuccessful writer. He takes up a job as a croupier at a local casino. As days go by, Jack gets entangled in a mischievous scheme planned out by one of the casino’s regulars. This allows the exciting plotline of the film to unfold in unexpected ways.
Jack quickly realizes that his job as a croupier could serve as great inspiration for his next novel. He eventually finishes and publishes the book anonymously.
Although it involves a bit more dramatization, Croupier is a great movie detailing the exciting aspects of casino life.
Rain Man
This 1988 movie doesn’t put the casino at the center of the plotline as much as it tells a touching story about family. Tom Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt, a selfish wheeler-dealer alongside Dustin Hoffman, who delivers a fantastic performance as Charlie’s autistic savant brother, Raymond.
After Charlie’s estranged father’s death, he discovers that all of his inheritance has been entrusted to Raymond, whom Charlie was not aware of prior to these events. Upon reconnecting with him in order to get control of the money, Charlie realizes that Raymond has had a bigger impact on his life than he thinks.
Of course, the casino plotline develops when Charlie goes into debt and employs Raymond’s amazing abilities of complex calculations and impressive memory to count cards at a casino. Throughout the journey, they form a bond stronger and more important than the inheritance Charlie has been going after.
Casino Royale
Casino Royale is one of the most popular James Bond movies of all time. The original 1967 movie received a 2006 remake starring Daniel Craig. Serving as Craig’s debut in the famous Bond role, the movie offers an appropriate plotline.
Casino Royale portrays the beginning of Bond’s career as Agent 007 on one of his first missions. He must bankrupt Le Chiffre, the main antagonist of the movie. Bond’s task is to play a high-stakes poker game with the terrorist financier. The game takes place at the titular Casino Royale, a casino in Montenegro.
