When watching a movie, and if you haven’t noticed it at the start, it’s common to wait until the end credits to see if the film was based on a real story or true events. You could argue that when this is the case, it makes the film even more astonishing! Not surprisingly, there are some epic gambling films that real-life events have inspired… shall we deal you in?

Molly’s Game

Molly’s Game is a movie that was released in 2017, and it stars Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom, with Idris Elba and Kevin Costner also featuring. Bloom, a real person, was a seriously talented skier who moved to LA and found herself running high-stakes poker games. Celebrities, sports stars, leading entrepreneurs and more got involved in the action but, so did the Russian mafia, which led to events taking a turn for the worst. Maybe Molly should’ve considered organising more Vegas games online, as there are more of them, and it could have prevented certain things from transpiring!

Casino

Not only is Casino one of the top gambling films of all-time, but it’s also one of the greatest movies in general. You’ll often see it featured on top ten lists, and for very good reasons. The interesting thing about Casino, released in 1995, is that this Martin Scorsese hit took inspiration from a book by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling based on real-life events in Vegas. The story involved an ordinary guy tasked with running a casino. But with the mob getting involved, things start to unravel….

21

If you have ever played blackjack, you will likely have heard of the technique known as card counting. It’s a system that some have used in the past to beat the house, as it were. And a lot of the popularity surrounding the card counting technique stems from movies such as 21, which stars the likes of Jim Sturgess, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Bosworth. In 21, a group of students used their mathematic abilities to find a way to win at some of Las Vegas’ top gaming venues. And this is what six MIT students once managed to pull off until they got caught and barred from Sin City’s casinos for the foreseeable.

High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story

If you wanted to watch a gambling movie based on true events, there isn’t a better fit than High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story, starring Michael Imperioli. By watching the film, viewers will see Ungar go from a youngster who is a dab hand at playing cards to a gambling megastar. Early on, Ungar’s liking for gambling takes him down the wrong path, with the mob circling. But, after getting a second chance to turn his passion into a career, he takes it with both hands, becoming one of the most high-profile poker players of all time.

What you get from gambling movies is a rollercoaster of highs and lows, they’re always an excellent watch and often have you on the edge of your seat, anticipating what’s going to happen next. However, you buy into them even more, when they’re based on actual events, with stronger emotions fully intact.