When you think of casinos, we’re sure you immediately think of Las Vegas. The gambling mecca in Nevada is absolutely the most well-known for casinos and adult entertainment anywhere on the planet, and sure, the movie and television industry has had a lot of its productions set there. However, the entertainment business and the gaming industry’s relationship goes much further than Sin City. Here. we take a look at three of the best casino scenes not set in Las Vegas.
Maverick
Remember this 1990s Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster team-up? Well, this western comedy earned a ton of money at the box-office, and despite its gambling themes, was set well away from the bright lights of Vegas. Released in 1994, Maverick is set in the old west and revolves around Gibson’s title character who is getting some cash together to enter a high-stakes poker game on a boat on the deep south. He’s just a few grand short, so heads on down to the town of Crystal River, where he attempts to clean-up in some low-grade games to bag the stake. The scene above is taken from one of those games, one where Maverick goes up against the gambler known as Angel (Alfred Molina), though the film is scattered with similar set-pieces which all add to up to a very entertaining movie, all set hundreds of miles from Vegas. The film made a huge amount of money itself at the box-office and even scored an Oscar nomination for its costume design.
Casino Royale
One of the greatest James Bond sequences in any film is the one in Casino Royale, Daniel Craig’s first movie as the iconic 007. The scene in question sees Bond engaged in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em, the poker game which pits him against the villainous Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson). The game is absolutely staged with pin-point accuracy, but the literal killer punch comes when Bond is poisoned and has to dash to his trusty Aston Martin car that is parked outside to shock his heart into restarting. He manages to do so, then returns to the casino to finish his game by beating the dastardly villain at his own game Just brilliant.
Rain Man
There are many games that you can play in a casino, most of which can be played after a registration at bet365, including poker, but the 1980s movie Rain Man settled on another game set within the walls of a Vegas casino – Blackjack. The scene in question sees Tom Cruise’s character taking his brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) into Vegas to try his hand at the age-old game. Using Ray’s massive talent and memory with numbers, they hit the tables for a game of Blackjack with scenes in the film actually filmed in and around Vegas itself. The film went on to take tons of money at the box-office as well as being received well by critics across the world. It was awarded multiple Oscar nominations and won for its star, Dustin Hoffman, its director Barry Levinson, and even scored the big one, Best Picture.
