The Best Casino Settings In Film

Cinema has always had a fascination with gambling, thanks to the thrills and excitement of the gaming tables. While the action in many movies tends to take place in small private poker rooms, some directors have managed to set lengthy scenes in stunning casino locations. Here’s some of our favourite big-screen action...

Casino

The book is based on a true story, and although the Tangiers never existed, it’s believed to have been based on the history of the Stardust casino. The Riviera Hotel and Casino stood in for the Tangiers, with the exception of the counting room, which was off-limits even to the filmmakers. All of the casino-based filming was completed over the first six weeks of shooting. The cast and crew filmed between 1am and 4am as the casino wouldn’t close, and didn’t want to affect its late-night gamblers. The Riviera even advertised the fact the film was shooting there in the hope that more people would visit.

Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Thirteen

Director Steven Soderbergh’s films cast George Clooney’s gang of misfit criminals in Las Vegas. The first film saw them plot to rob not just one Las Vegas casino, but three. The casinos chosen are all real – the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand – and all owned in the film by Andy Garcia’s character, Terry Benedict. The interiors and exteriors of all three can be seen in the film. It’s reported that the Bellagio let the crew tap into the security system so they could capture real surveillance footage.

Ocean’s Thirteen sees the gang return to Las Vegas after a jaunt around Europe, this time facing off against Al Pacino’s Willy Bank. Unlike the first movie, the casino the thieves target, The Bank Casino, is fictitious. Most of the casino scenes were shot in a custom-built studio, although the Bellagio offices feature again, as does the Mandalay Bay’s famous Mix Lounge.

Casino Royale

Rain Man

The climax of Rain Man sees Charlie Babbitt, played by Tom Cruise, take his autistic older brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) to a blackjack table, where the card-counting savant manages to win big. The casino scenes were all shot inside Caesar's Palace, and the dealer who serves Raymond was a real-life dealer named Nick Mazzola. Nick featured in several other films as a blackjack dealer, including Scorsese’s Casino and Vegas Vacation. Once the Babbitt brothers retire with their winnings, they get the best suite in Caesar’s Palace, which is the Emperor’s Suite. However, since the movie was released, the room became known as the Rain Man Suite.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

IGaming Executives Question Relevance Of ICE In Its Current Format

• Casino News