Best‌ ‌Casino‌ ‌Movies‌ ‌To‌ ‌Watch‌ ‌in‌ ‌2021‌

Combine the lights, the glamour, the murky underworld of early Las Vegas and vast amounts of cash money and you have the ingredients for a cinematic outing like no other. Casinos have provided a backdrop for some of the most exciting movies ever. 

Carlos Norberg, site manager at cvasino.se (read more about him) gives us his top picks of the casino movies for players in Sweden to watch in 2021. Get your popcorn at the ready.

Casino 

1996. Dir. Martin Scorcese

A classic tale of money, power, love, and homicide, the movie follows the development of Las Vegas in establishing itself as the global gambling powerhouse that it is today. A mafia boss and casino manager battle it out in a game of wits that is as tense as it is exhilarating. 

Released in Sweden on the 8th of March 1996 and widely believed to be one of Scorcese’s best films, Casino has it all. It may not give you a 101 lesson on casino bonusar for your next Swedish casino night out. But this is the quintessential casino movie with unforgettable casino related scenes. 

Rounders

1998. Dir. John Dahl

The poker underworld is laid bare in this 1998 title from veteran director John Dahl. This was the first-ever Texas hold ‘em movie and is regarded as one of the driving forces in the explosion of the poker boom seen in the late nineties and early noughties. 

Matt Damon excels in his role in this classic tale of poker passion, friendship, and everything in between. 

21

2008. Dir. Robert Luketic

The true story of a group of MIT mathematic undergraduates with a penchant for blackjack card counting is both enlightening and nail-biting. What ended in the students and their professor taking casinos for millions in winnings during their tenure is not without its fair share of twists and turns. 

The Music of Chance

1993. Dir. Philip Haas

While not focusing on casino gambling per se, The Music of Chance is a surreal journey into the darker side of wagering. Two hapless chancers are the brunt of a poker game gone wrong which results in them becoming victims of two eccentric rich men.

Based on the Paul Auster novel of the same name, this is challenging viewing for which the audience is well rewarded. 

Stuey

2003. Dir. A.W. Vidmer

Stu Unger, the card-playing savant who cut his poker teeth at the tender age of 10 is the focus of this tender biopic. A family man at heart, Unger won a total of five WSOP bracelets and was renowned for his fearless approach to the game. 

Stuey is a study in addiction, values, friendship, and poker. 

Croupier

1998. Dir. Mike Hodges

A film so bad it’s good, Croupier follows an aspiring writer played by Clive Owen in trademark wooden fashion. Full of casino cliches and classic characters from the casino pit, Croupier, regardless of inaccuracies, still holds a certain charm and appeal. 

Jam-packed with red hot casino action and casino-related scenes, Croupier peeks behind the mysterious lifestyle of a casino dealer, quickly discovering that not everything is as it seems. 

Casino Royale

2006. Dir. Martin Campbell

A game-changer for the Bond franchise, Casino Royale was the first outing for Daniel Craig as the man who likes it shaken but not stirred. Once a casino gambler, Bond now has his sight set on Texas Hold ‘em with stakes larger than just a big pot in the balance. 

Campbell and Craig joyfully played with the stale James Bond format and served up a delightful, anarchic experience that many believe to be the best James Bond film ever.

Ocean’s Thirteen

2007. Dir. Steven Soderbergh

The Ocean’s franchise is one that doesn’t seem to ever go away, and thankfully so. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon star in this casino heist classic that will have you on the edge of your seat. 

Enjoyable performances all around, this celluloid outing doesn’t so much challenge the casino movie convention but toys with it playfully, resulting in a joyful viewing experience. 

Bonus fact: Steven Soderbergh is of Swedish, Irish, and Italian roots

Takeaway

An often-masculine world with toxicity coming as standard, casino movies have enjoyed a long history on the silver screen. Inherently escapist, they lay bare a world in which most viewers dare not to tread. 

While casino movies don’t necessarily reflect the true nature of the industry and represent commonly held inaccurate stereotypes, it’s worth taking them with a pinch of salt.