In the age of technology, it seems like gambling has only gotten sexier. Sure, you can play blackjack and poker in your underwear all day in an online casino on a site like bwin.be, but today’s technology has made slots and cards as flashy (and technologically advanced) as ever.
But that unique brand of cool is still best personified by the old-school Vegas casino movies, where the down on their luck dream of beating the house and scoring their dreams in an instant.
Here are six of the coolest old-school casino flicks.
The Cooler (2003)
A hardscrabble drama starring William H. Macy as a "cooler," a living embodiment of bad luck whose presence tends to squash the hot streaks of gamblers. When he meets a waitress (Maria Bello) and finds love, he finds his luck changing. Alec Baldwin plays his boss in the best role of his career.
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
The essence of casino cool, "Eleven" lives up to the responsibility of remaking a film from some of the coolest cats to ever live. George Clooney and Brad Pitt attempt to pull off a casino heist with nine of their best friends in Steven Soderbergh's remake of this Rat Pack Classic.
The Hangover (2009)
Sure, most of the casino action in "The Hangover" revolves around the hotel portion of Caesar's Palace, but don't forget a major plot point involves a large sum of poker chips the guys and Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) won gambling. A movie about regaining what you've lost in Vegas, it also carries the dream of taking home a whole lot more.
Lucky You (2007)
This underrated drama from Curtis Hansen ("L.A. Confidential") sees Eric Bana as a down-on-his-luck card player who finds himself pitted against his legendary father in a high-stakes poker game without losing his soul or his life. Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall co-star.
Hard Eight (1996)
Paul Thomas Anderson's first film is a good indicator of things to come ("Boogie Nights," "Magnolia," "There Will Be Blood"), with an outstanding cast that includes Phillip Baker Hall as a crusty old gambler who has lost everything ... and wants it back. Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly co-star.
Casino (1995)
"Casino" is Martin Scorsese's companion piece to his own "Goodfellas," bringing back several cast members (notably Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci) for this film about Las Vegas' burgeoning gambling empire.