Best and worst movies dealing with gambling.

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  • BrentCrude
    SBR MVP
    • 11-16-05
    • 4665

    #1
    Best and worst movies dealing with gambling.
    Here are a few I came up with that are pretty good or bad.Did anyone see the movie about 3 time World Series poker champ Stuey Unger that's been running on Starz?Michael Imperiolli the guy from the Sopranos plays him.Pretty darn good movie.

    How about Rounders?That was a good movie that was pretty realistic.Not like those 2 crap movies where some rich guy risks a million bucks to win a night with the slutty wifes of two different guys when he could have found better on the street for $50.Matt Damon's girlfriend in Rounders was the anal retentive bitch of all time though.Pitty the poor guy that likes to even bet a parlay card for $5 if he has that bitch as his wife.Worm was a pretty coool and likable character.KGB played by John Mulkovich was good.

    The movie Boiler Room wasn't really about gambling directly but what the hell do you call investing in penny stock.I liked that one.Did anyone see the real life story on the broker from England working in Singapore who lost a billion bucks gambling on commodities with the firm's money.I can't remember the name of these movies because most are considered grad B movies but they beat the hell out of the crappy mainstream movies Hollywood touts.

    Did anyone see the movie Bookies about those college kids operating a sportsbook out of their dorm?The concept was good but it fell short in so many areas that made it unbelievable.It featured another anal retentive bitch girlfriend who was pissed because her boyfriend was taking bets.

    Then you have Goodfellas which was great and casino was good too except it focused on another bitch Sharon Stone too much.

    The moral of my story is that crabby bitchy women and gambling don't mix well.hehe!

    Has anyone read the book called No Limit about former Vegas casino owner Bob Stupak's life story?He's the guy that started the stratosphere tower but went bust and ripped off a ton of people who invested in it.He is the lovable con man type sort of like Angel on The Rockford Files.The book was great and they should make it into a movie starring Christopher Walkin who's a dead ringer for Stupak.

    I know this is kind of an off topic matter for the gambling posts but does anyone have any others to add to the list?


    Has anyone been to Vegas or another casino and actually seen a divorce in the making because the guy was gambling and the wife was pissed.I have seen 100 of those cases where I'm sure when they got back to the hotel room the guys balls were detached.It never seems to work the other way where some old hag is burning $$$$$ on the slots and her husband who doesn't gamble much gets bent all out of shape over it.And they say men have it all over on women when it comes to who calls the shots in a marriage.hehe!

    Hell,the guys should purposely lose their wives to a rich guy in a poker game just to get rid of them so they can spend time alone in Vegas gambling without a woman going balistic on them.hehe!
  • Ira Wilton
    SBR Sharp
    • 01-03-06
    • 351

    #2
    other movies

    Croupier was solid. The protagonist is an aspiring writer who gets a job as a croupier (roulette) at a casino.

    Owning Mahony was good too. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a Toronto banker that would take money from his bank and go to Atlantic City on weekend binges. Based on a true story.

    The Sting has to be one of the best movies of all time.

    I have heard that the Cincinnati Kid is excellent but I haven't seen it...

    And who could forget How To Win At Slots starring James Coburn (just kidding).
    Comment
    • BrentCrude
      SBR MVP
      • 11-16-05
      • 4665

      #3
      I saw Croupier and it was good.Forgot to mention that in the movie Boilerroom the new broker that was a kid out of college ran a private casino from his house.
      Comment
      • JoshW
        SBR MVP
        • 08-10-05
        • 3431

        #4
        Wow, both of you have hit on a lot of my favorites. Ira, Croupier is pretty obscure, am impressed, I like that movie too.

        I would add:

        California Split. A 1970s movie now on DVD, that has to one of the first to ever show a Californai poker room. Elliot Gould does a great job.

        Let It Ride does lucky runs and horses pretty well.
        Comment
        • JoshW
          SBR MVP
          • 08-10-05
          • 3431

          #5
          Brent,

          Boiler Room is one of my favorites. Captures a lot of themes I like. The hustle, gambling, mob, corruption, sales (my old days in college doing telemarketing), hip hop as soundtrack to youth, woman. A real coming of age story.
          Comment
          • Willie Bee
            SBR Posting Legend
            • 02-14-06
            • 15726

            #6
            The Sting is one of my favorite movies of any genre. Not sure if others would think of it as a 'gambling movie,' but it fits for me. The Cincinnati Kid is another good one, can't think of a McQueen flick I didn't like. The most recent movie along these lines that I enjoyed was Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.

            Casino did nothing for me.
            Comment
            • stump
              SBR MVP
              • 09-14-05
              • 1715

              #7
              The Gambler with James Caan was a great movie
              Comment
              • MrX
                SBR MVP
                • 01-10-06
                • 1540

                #8
                Originally posted by lakerfan
                California Split. A 1970s movie now on DVD, that has to one of the first to ever show a Californai poker room. Elliot Gould does a great job.
                Excellent call on this one. Only movie I've seen with realistic poker games.
                Comment
                • bigboydan
                  SBR Aristocracy
                  • 08-10-05
                  • 55420

                  #9
                  does caddyshack qualify as a gambling movie?

                  there was a big bet riding on a golf game at the end.
                  Comment
                  • McBa1n
                    SBR MVP
                    • 01-02-06
                    • 2642

                    #10
                    Let it Ride is the one.
                    "You're the champ."
                    hehehe, love when they put that on espn classic. Best bad movie ever.

                    I second the recommendation on High Roller - The Stu Unger story. Real well done.
                    Comment
                    • Razz
                      SBR Hall of Famer
                      • 08-22-05
                      • 5632

                      #11
                      I'll give credit to Imperioli, though he doesn't look like Stuey, he did a very credible job with the part - plus Mr. Miyagi was in it, so that spells instant classic.
                      Among books, Positively Fifth Street is my favorite. You have to pay very close attention the book - it's not a book you can read and watch TV at the same time - but if you "get it," you like it a lot. By that I mean some people think it was a complete waste, and some think it was a fabulous book.
                      Comment
                      • TexAg001
                        SBR High Roller
                        • 05-15-06
                        • 168

                        #12
                        I could hardly watch Two for the money...the one with Pacino and Mathew McConeaheay. Damn shame to since I was pumped when I first saw the previews.

                        Rounders was a great movie. When it first came out poker wasnt mainstream so those guys had the hard task of explaining poker terminology to a mass audience.
                        Comment
                        • Mudcat
                          Restricted User
                          • 07-21-05
                          • 9287

                          #13
                          Does the Simpsons episode where Lisa caps the games for Homer count? It had the classic appearance of Professor Frink's Gambletron 2000 computer which boldly picked Cincy to beat Miami by 200 points.
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                          • Dark Horse
                            SBR Posting Legend
                            • 12-14-05
                            • 13764

                            #14
                            The Good Thief with Nick Nolte. Saw most of the others. Together with Rounders, this one is head and shoulders above the rest. Great dialogue.

                            Sting was good, but I don't consider it a gambling movie. One-dimensional flicks like the Gambler and Two for the Money fill the typecasting void, but I never was aware there was such a void.
                            Comment
                            • jumper
                              SBR Sharp
                              • 09-09-05
                              • 397

                              #15
                              i vote for the cooler,great ending
                              Comment
                              • RickySteve
                                Restricted User
                                • 01-31-06
                                • 3415

                                #16
                                Originally posted by jumper
                                i vote for the cooler,great ending
                                The Cooler was good, EXCEPT for the ending.
                                Comment
                                • ganchrow
                                  SBR Hall of Famer
                                  • 08-28-05
                                  • 5011

                                  #17
                                  Check out Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight.
                                  Comment
                                  • doc
                                    SBR High Roller
                                    • 06-01-06
                                    • 116

                                    #18
                                    Owning Mahoney and Rounders are heads and shoulders above the rest...
                                    Comment
                                    • pags11
                                      SBR Posting Legend
                                      • 08-18-05
                                      • 12264

                                      #19
                                      Best movies for me are: Let It Ride and Rounders...
                                      Comment
                                      • bigboydan
                                        SBR Aristocracy
                                        • 08-10-05
                                        • 55420

                                        #20
                                        i forgot about let it ride. that was a great gambling movie.
                                        Comment
                                        • JoshW
                                          SBR MVP
                                          • 08-10-05
                                          • 3431

                                          #21
                                          Dark Horse: Love The Good Thief, haven't seen it in a couple years, thank you for the reminder.
                                          Comment
                                          • Boss
                                            SBR Rookie
                                            • 06-15-06
                                            • 26

                                            #22
                                            Let it ride & Maverick
                                            Comment
                                            • pags11
                                              SBR Posting Legend
                                              • 08-18-05
                                              • 12264

                                              #23
                                              damn, I forgot about maverick...I was named after that TV show (Bret, one of the brothers)...
                                              Comment
                                              • Dark Horse
                                                SBR Posting Legend
                                                • 12-14-05
                                                • 13764

                                                #24
                                                Originally posted by lakerfan
                                                Dark Horse: Love The Good Thief, haven't seen it in a couple years, thank you for the reminder.
                                                My pleasure.

                                                One of my favorite movies period. Nolte at his best (reportedly on 'a little bit of' heroin every day to get in character), beautiful unknown actress, great dialogue, classy storyline. For people who get tired of the gambler-down-the-drain movies, this is a breath of fresh air.
                                                Comment
                                                • scottyy11
                                                  SBR Wise Guy
                                                  • 03-08-06
                                                  • 693

                                                  #25
                                                  Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

                                                  is excellent, well worth the rental....i liked it better than rounders
                                                  Comment
                                                  • Tchocky
                                                    SBR MVP
                                                    • 02-14-06
                                                    • 2371

                                                    #26
                                                    "Two for the Money" is probably the most recent film to cover the subject. It was much better than I thought it was going to be. Good performances from Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughy.
                                                    Comment
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