There’s an undeniable thrill in watching gambling in films. It usually carries the high-tension drama of a scene, or allows for a gut-busting comedy of errors. But best of all, you don’t have to worry at all about losing.
Gambling has become more accessible with online sportsbooks, meaning people don’t have to travel to Las Vegas or Atlantic City to partake, let alone leave their couch. Still, it’s not as risk-free or stylized as gambling vicariously through cinema. There have been entire films dedicated to gambling (see: Rounders) and memorable moments that have taken place at the casino. It’s a trope that continues to remain relevant in pop culture (most recently we got the unforgettable “HELLO-O-O” slot machine scene in the new season of Twin Peaks). Below, we’ve compiled nine of the most iconic gambling scenes, and ranked them. There can only be one winner.
9) 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' (1997)
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A hilarious inversion on your typically tense gambling scene, International Man of Mystery parodies the classic Bond casino scene with Austin Powers facing off against Number Two in a poorly played game of Blackjack. It’s especially brilliant because the entire Austin Powers franchise already is a 007 parody. Powers is all confidence and no skill, making the worst move possible (even the dealer advises him against it) because he loves to "live dangerously." Powers, of course, loses. Cards are not his bag, baby.
8) 'Swingers' (1996)
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It’s hard to think of Swingers without thinking “always double down;” some bad advice from Trent (Vince Vaughn) to his buddy Mike (Jon Favreau) when they hit Vegas together. Mike brashly puts down $300 at a $100 minimum Blackjack table, but with Trent whispering “always double down on 11” like a devil on his shoulder, the two get into a spat before Mike caves. Turns out, you shouldn’t always double down on 11. He should’ve gone with his own gut instead.
7) 'Ocean's Eleven' (2001)
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The beauty of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven is that the gambling scene is just the intro to the first installment of the franchise. It's a friendly game between friends—the calm before the storm—before Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and the squad pull off a full-blown heist. This scene’s got a whole lot of swag, with Pitt trying to call a smooth Clooney’s bluff; a sort of “get to know you” sequence to set the tone for the rest of the film. Now imagine a gambling scene in the upcoming Ocean’s 8—wowee.
6) 'The Parent Trap' (1998)
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So many gambling scenes include face-offs between grown-up dudes. That’s why it was refreshing to see Nancy Meyers bring the high stakes to a poker game between two 11-year-old girls (well, one Lindsay Lohan) in 1998’s The Parent Trap. The two spend their summer at camp pulling pranks on each other, and in one scene, they settle the score at poker night with the agreement that the loser jumps into the lake…*wait for it*…NAKED. British twin Annie stunts with a straight in diamonds, but Hallie reveals a royal flush.
5) 'Goodfellas' (1990)
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Joe Pesci is terrifyingly unhinged as Tommy DeVito in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. His presence at a card game, rather than the game itself, raises the tension levels all the way up, thanks to a misunderstanding he has with Spider—a dude who’s not even playing at the table. Spider forgets to bring Tommy his drink and, of course, Tommy deals with this miniscule mistake in the most overblown way possible. Never cross Tommy DeVito.
4) 'Rain Man' (1988)
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A bewildered Dustin Hoffman walks into a casino…and goes home big! The matching beige suits with his brother Charlie (Tom Cruise) are already killer—and hilariously ’80s—but the montage itself is shot so ecstatically, with the club music building as cards are drawn. Here we see a moment of fraternal bickering and bonding, and Hoffman’s autistic Ray proves Charlie wrong by slaying with mathematic prowess and his ability to count cards. “Hit me, hit me, hit me,” he says, before striking gold.
3) 'The Hangover' (2009)
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What’s so delightfully hilarious about the Blackjack scene in The Hangover is that not only is it an homage to Rain Man (see above) but Zach Galifianakis—sporting a gray suit like Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise—becomes the math lady meme, minus the confusion. He shows uncharacteristic genius as he counts cards while his buddy Phil (Bradley Cooper) screams, “He can’t lose!” This scene quite literally knocks Heather Graham off her feet.
2) 'Rounders' (1998)
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There are a lot of great moments to choose from in this iconic poker movie, but the final Texas Hold’em showdown between law school student Michael McDermott (Matt Damon) and his Russian rival Teddy “KGB” (John Malkovich) is the climax. There’s a lot at stake with Michael having borrowed $10,000 from his professor and needing to help his friend (Edward Norton) pay off a debt. This is a hold-your-breath, all-or-nothing kind of scene, but don't worry: A big sigh of relief waits at the end.
1) 'Casino Royale' (2006)
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The most iconic gambling scene in cinematic history? Well, it’s right there in the title. Sure this may be a remake, but the 2006 James Bond film is an all-time great, and so is the casino scene in it; a Texas Hold’Em game so intense that it has the usually cool Vesper (Eva Green) praying and Bond himself messing up (initially). Daniel Craig faces off against the terrifying Mads Mikkelsen, who played villain Le Chiffre years before he got cast as Hannibal. After evading a poisoning, Bond gets back on his feet with one of the biggest casino wins in cinematic history—over $100 million.
