Movies About Gambling Addiction

The following are our top five favorite gambling movies. There was plenty of debate about which movies should make this list, and in what order, but we got there eventually.

This is the self portrait of Tony McDew. A slots machine gambling addict of Las Vegas, who has lost over $35K in a few years time. His story spans over a dec. One of the top gambling movies of all time, Owning Mahowny stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a real-world Canadian banker who simply took things too far. Owning Mahowny is a movie based on a true story that will show you how true gambling addiction looks. The story is a well-known one! Apr 23, 2020 As it turns out, 'Uncut Gems' (2018) is both of those things. But did it do a good job portraying gambling, gamblers, and addiction? Uncut Gems follows the unraveling of Howard (Howie) Ratner (played by Sandler), a Jeweller in New York's Diamond District, who at the start of the film finds himself in the grips of a gambling problem.

We are quite certain that there are plenty of you that will disagree with our choices, but hopefully, you'll understand why these movies stand out for us.

This 1961 film easily stands the test of time and is at the top of our list for many reasons. It's based on a novel of the same name (written by Walter Tevis) and was directed by Robert Rossen. Paul Newman is the star, playing pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson.

Felson's dream is to prove that he's the best pool player in the country and to do that he has to beat the legendary player Minnesota Fats.

The two meet early on in the game, with the rest of the film building up to a later rematch. Although the core theme is about gambling on pool games, there's much more to this movie.

The story follows a journey of discovery for Felson and, as the director himself said, it's '.really about the obstacles he encounters in attempting to fulfill himself as a human being.'

Despite minor criticism at the time regarding some aspects of the movie, it was largely very well received. It received nine Academy Award nominations, winning two. This is a very well written movie with some top class acting, and it fully deserves its reputation as a classic.

In our opinion, this is the best poker movie ever made. Released in 1965 it tells the story of a young poker player, Eric 'The Kid' Stoner, and his wish to establish himself as the player to beat. To earn his reputation as the best he has to beat Lancey 'The Man' Howard, who happens to be in town. The role of Stoner is played brilliantly by Steve McQueen.

Much like The Hustler, there's a great deal more to this film than the main theme. Indeed, many reviewers at the time of released compared it to The Hustler. It's an excellent portrayal of what the high stakes poker and gambling culture was like during the Depression era, but it's also a tale of friendship, ambition, and morals.

Some of the characters are a little clichéd and the final scene, though gripping, does seem a little unbelievable. However, minor criticisms aside, this is a great movie. Maybe there will be a better poker film made in the future, but for now The Cincinnati Kid cannot be beaten in our eyes.

There are not many gambling movies that accurately portray the obsession of a compulsive gambler. Betonline ag legit. In our opinion, there are none that do it as well as Owning Mahowney. Featuring a fabulous performance from Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and strong supporting roles from John Hurt and Minnie Driver, the 2003 movie is based on the true story of Brian Molony. Molony embezzled over $10 million from his employees and gambled it all away.

In the film, the central character is Dan Mahowny. Working for a bank in Toronto, Mahowny is promoted to assistant branch manager and trusted implicitly by his boss. His boss is unaware that Mahowny is a compulsive gambler who is stealing from accounts to fund his gambling habit and regular trips to the casinos in Atlantic City.

This isn't a lighthearted movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it does a great job of showing the range of emotions Mahowny goes through and the far reaching effect that gambling has on his life and those around him.

If you enjoy crime drama movies and gambling movies, then Casino is pretty much the perfect film for you. It was certainly easy for us to find a place in our top five for this one.

It was released in 1995, was directed by Martin Scorcese, and was loosely based on the on the non-fiction book of the same name. The cast includes Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone.

The plot revolves largely around Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, a Mafia associate summoned to Las Vegas to run a casino on behalf of members of the Mob. Although successful, things don't run too smoothly when enforcer Nicky Santoro is sent to protect the business. It's a Scorcese film so, as you would imagine, there's plenty of action and plenty of bad language. It's also an absolute must see. Lucky & wild.

In many respects, this 1997 movie isn't even close to being in the same league as the four movies above. However, it is about gambling, it is great fun, and we love it. It's from the National Lampoon series of vacation movies and stars Chevy Chase as the lovable, but hapless, Clark Griswold.

The premise of the movie is a simple one. Following receipt of a large bonus from work, Griswold takes the family on a vacation to Las Vegas. Much hilarity ensues, as is the signature of the National Lampoon films.

This movie isn't very serious; it's really just a very light-hearted look at what can happen on a trip to Vegas. If comedy is your thing, this is well worth a watch.

So here it is – RightCasino's list of the 10 greatest gambling movies ever made!

If you don't find your favourite film here, the chances are it's because the movie in question isn't really about gambling (see both Martin Scorsese's Casino and Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas). And of course, with only 10 places to play with, some cracking movies just came up short. Among those pictures deserving an honourable mention are Mississippi Grind, The Pick-Up Artist and Bob La Flambeur.

As for the top 10 proper, we begin with…

10) Hard Eight (1996)

Before striking gold in 1997 with Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson made Hard Eight (aka Sydney), a pared-back drama about a pro gambler past his prime.

Just how a first-time director managed to assemble this all-star cast – Samuel L Jackson, John C Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, the much missed Philip Seymour Hoffman – speaks volumes for the strength of Anderson's script.

Hard Eight is an indie gem that combines black humour with a knowing study of high-stakes casino gambling. And if it has an ace up its sleeve, it's veteran actor Philip Baker Hall as Sydney, the rounder who's seen everything but still can't resist the lure of the tables.

9) Owning Mahowny (2003)

This semi-fictional tale of bank manager turned criminal gambler is a glimmering star vehicle for Oscar-winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

The title character's gradual descent into the dark recesses of addiction stands as a grave warning to us all that never feels preachy or condemnatory. Meanwhile, director Richard Kwietniowski (Love And Death On Long Island) employs sparse direction to downplay any sense of glamour in favour of a very human story of vice overcoming a man's soul. No, you won't leave this movie elated but it'll stick with you forever.

8) Croupier (1998)

Between Croupier and Rounders, 1998 was a bloody good year for gambling movies.

Clive Owen is Jack Manfred, the titular croupier. In actual fact, he's a would-be writer who's forced to fall back on his chip-handling chops when his literary career fails to take off. From the other side of the table, Jack sees what gambling does not only to the punters but to the people dealing the cards. Such is its corrupting force that it's not long before Jack's playing a hand dominated by deceit, adultery and murder.

Less a public service announcement than a compelling examination of human motivations, Croupier is that safest of movie bets – a picture that pays off every time.

7) The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

Not until 2006's Casino Royale would poker be so engagingly portrayed on film as it is in The Cincinatti Kid. Director Norman Jewison perfectly captures the tense excitement of seeing the pot stack after the flop and of devising the best play while keeping an eye out for tells…

Wheres little caesars. ‘King of Cool' Steve McQueen absolutely kills it as poker prodigy Eric ‘The Kid' Stoner and is at his best during the film's iconic ‘last hand scene'.

Jewison later dismissed the film as an ‘ugly duckling' and went on to enjoy greater success with movies such as Fiddler On The Roof, Rollerball, The Thomas Crown Affair (also with McQueen) and The Hurricane. Nevertheless, this would represent many a director's career high.

6) California Split (1974)

Ask a card player what their favourite gambling movie is and they probably won't say The Cincinnati Kid; rather they'll say it's California Split, a film so steeped in the 1970s, you have to wear flares to watch it.

Directed by Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, The Player) and starring George Segal and Elliott Gould, the picture rings true with poker fans, it's because it doesn't over-glamourise the game. Nor, for the most part, does it feature people staking ridiculous sums of cash.

No, California Split's a film about the grind of the pro gamblers' life. Watch it and you'll understand why those that ‘play' poker are looked down on by the few for whom the deck is a tool of the trade.

5) Casino Royale (2006)

007's stunning return to form is simultaneously the best entry in the entire James Bond franchise and one of the finest action movies ever made. However, central to Casino Royale is the utterly awesome high-stakes poker tournament, in which Daniel Craig's Bond fights to bankrupt terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).

If you'd bet that it was possible to make 40 minutes of cinematic poker edge-of-your-seat thrilling, we'd have taken you at 100/1 odds and called you a chump. Fortunately, nobody did, so we don't have to fork over my pension fund. Lucky escape.

4) The Music Of Chance (1993)

Adapted from Paul Auster's novel , The Music Of Chance tells the story of Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin), a former fireman down to his last $20,000. That's when he runs into Jack Pozzi (James Spader), a gambler who has a plan to take apart two eccentric millionaires (Charles Durning and Joel Grey) over a few hands of poker.

Philip Haas's film has things to say about gambling and good fortune that will be familiar to both casual gamblers and hard-bitten grinders alike. For example, at a key moment in the poker game, Nashe – convinced Pozzi has everything in hand – goes off to have a nap. By the time he wakes up, everything's changed and Nashe and Pozzi are about to lose a lot more than their $20,000.

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Did the one event lead to the other? Of course not, but Pozzi thinks it did and it's the intensity of his conviction reveals plenty about chance and how we interpret it. By the same measure, the film's ending shows how one of the worst things that can happen in everyday life can be handy, depending on your point of view.

3) Rounders (1998)

Ever had the urge to watch a young, fresh-faced Matt Damon being terrorised by a mental Russian with an Oreo obsession and a thing for tracksuits? Well, good news! Red Rock West director John Dahl went and cranked out your new favourite movie way back in 1998.

Seriously though, Rounders is a thing of grim beauty. The narrative is as classic as they come: it's the Rocky story, with a plucky upstart forced to bounce back after getting his backside handed to him. However, it's the performances that make this flick, particularly Edward Norton as the hugely irritating Worm and John Malkovich's brilliant turn as deranged gangster Teddy KGB.

2) The Hustler (1961)

Directed by Robert Rosen, The Hustler's jam-packed with gambling archetypes. There's Paul Newman as ‘Fast' Eddie Felsen, the wunderkind who's his own worst enemy, there's George C. Scott's crooked agent, and there's Piper Laurie as the love interest who discovers that there's no room for distraction in a grinder's life.

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All the woes of the gambler's life are also on show. Loneliness, heartbreak, boredom, borderline alcoholism – a less glamorous depiction of gaming it's hard to imagine. And yet, so cool does Newman look while he dances around the pool table, it's not hard to imagine that a lot of young men saw the film, left the cinema and headed straight down the nearest snooker hall.

The Hustler is, at heart, a story about the difference between the price and the value of something. Bare that in mind the next time you play a few frames. Oh, and remember – winner stays on and no masse shots.

1) The Gambler (1974)

Based on Dostoyevsky's novel, The Gambler stars James Caan as a literature professor who shares the screenwriter James Toback‘s obsessions with gambling. So great is wagering's grip the academic that he borrows money from his girl, his mother and the worst kind of loan sharks to feed his addiction.

'It's not easy to make people care about a guy who steals from his mother to pay gambling debts,' said Cann. But care we do, thanks to Toback's semi-autobiographscal scipt and the actor making complete sense of our ‘hero', his fractured logic's reveleaed in lines like 'I'm not going to lose [the money], I'm going to gamble it'.

The leading man also clearly grasps Toback's belief about gambling being mainly about the exercising of free will. To paraphrase Dostoyevsky, man is alone is being able to insist that two and two equals five despite all evidence to the contrary. No, it's not wisdom but it says a lot about human nature, and that's what elevates The Gambler to the top of the pile. Not that you'd want to let Cann's character know – he'd only go and blow the prize money on a basketball game.

Gambling movies on Netflix

It seems impossible these days to talk about movies without discussing their availability on Netflix. Unfortunately for film connoisseurs it's easier to find the 2014 remake of The Gamblers (starring Mark Wahlberg) on the streamer service than the 1974 classic.

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Casino Royale, arguably one of the best Bond films ever, is of course available for streaming as is the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owning Mahowny.

Movies About Gambling Addiction

Croupier is available on the American, Canadian and Brazilian versions of Netflix, so British viewers will have to turn to the good old fashioned DVD to enjoy this gambling movie.

Talking of DVDs, while some of the older movies might not be available for live streaming, you can always opt for a Netflix DVD rental. Sure, it might only be one step up from wandering into Blockbusters but it's better than nothing!

Originally published: 7/4/2014

Updated: 10/05/2017