Streaming giant Netflix is proving to be an ideal place to watch quality TV and movies. But as the company focuses more on original series, their movie catalog has become smaller. Still, the service offers at least 3500+ movies and hidden in that vast collection are some riveting films that involve casinos and gambling:
2020 is turning out to be a year of 'social distancing' and quarantines. Everything is affected, from Marvel movies, to TV series, Vegas Casinos, and all major sports leagues.
But if you can't visit your favorite casino due to lockdown restrictions, why not enjoy the same atmosphere and gambling action from the comfort of your own home?
"Casino"
From director Martin Scorsese, "Casino" is based on the life of 'Frank Rosenthal', a professional gambler and casino executive with deep connections to the mob in the 1950's and '60's.
Robert De Niro's character 'Sam Rothstein', was based on Rosenthal's life. Other notable stars in this 1995 movie include Joe Pesci and James Woods, with Sharon Stone nominated for a 'Best Actress' Oscar as 'Ginger Mckenna'.
"21"
Card counting is a technique used by gamblers to improve winning odds in games like 'Blackjack'. It takes considerable math skills, which is why students from elite schools including 'MIT' have been recruited to form teams of professional card counters, since the 1970's.
Starring Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, and Jim Sturgiss, "21" follows a team of MIT students and their professor who use sophisticated card counting strategies to win hundreds of thousands of dollars from major US and Canadian casinos.
"Ocean's Eleven"
Everyone loves a good heist movie involving a talented group of professionals, with their own 'unique' skills."Ocean's Eleven" features 11 colorful characters as they attempt to rob a major Vegas Casino. It's a great film, but today you don't have to rob a casino to make a lot of money. All you have to do is use daily free spins in online casinos and make money every day.
Cast includes an ensemble of popular actors including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia. This 2001 original spawned a successful series, with two sequels, all available for viewing on Netflix.
"Win It All"
This 2017 Netflix original comedy stars Jake Johnson ("New Girl") following a gambling addict who ends up in trouble after playing with someone else's money.
Johnson as 'Eddie Garrett', is a gambler who works as a parking attendant. When a local underworld figure hands him a bag full of cash for safekeeping, things predictably take a turn for the worse, as Garrett promptly loses it all, leading to a series of comic mishaps.
"Croupier"
Starring Clive Owen, this is another classic movie set squarely inside a gambling establishment. This time, instead of focusing on the lives of the gamblers and the executives, the film looks at the lives of the professional dealers.
Instead of the 'Bellagio' or 'MGM', we are treated to the inner workings of smaller gambling destinations and card rooms in London. Instead of luxury and opulence, we get to see the underside of gambling, in rough and cold circumstances.
"Guns, Girls, and Gambling"
This 2012 comedy thriller starring Gary Oldman, is a low budget crime caper set in a 'Native American Casino', with a story theme similar to director Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.
"Guns, Girls and Gambling", co-starring Christian Slater, includes numerous twists and turns, involving money, stolen artifacts, female assassins and 'Elvis Presley' impersonators.
Netflix continues to be an industry leader, offering Hollywood blockbusters, crime epics and family entertainment, plus more entertaining gambling action outside the realm of casinos, including "Rounders" "The Gambler" and "Uncut Gems"...
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