On hearing the ‘gambling’, the scene that comes to the mind is a poker table in some posh casino in Las Vegas. However, in reality, gambling has spread all over the world both offline and online. Online gambling, however, has some good advantage like you can get some Free Spin no Deposit UK casino bonuses. Well, it is time to get back to the all reel-life gamblers who have just nailed it on the screen. Some characters are recent ones while some are several decades old yet young in our mind.
Let’s find out who they are:
1. Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (Casino)
How can one forget Ace from the great gambling movie ‘Casino’ released in 1995? Before he was given the job to run Tangiers, the biggest casino in Las Vegas, he was surely a great handicapper. Must have had the exceptional talent change country’s every bookmaker’s odds. His childhood friend Nicky is an enforcer who later got driven down by alcohol and drugs. Everything was going smooth but then the story takes a different turn as Ace fall in love. Ace gets disturbed because his wife Ginger was scheming and cheating him. Now to know, what happens next you need to watch the movie yourself.
We never got a chance to witness him exhibiting his card skills, but no one can deny that he knows gambling and the nature of players. There is treachery, greed, power, and gambling, what else do we need!
2. Jack Manfred (Croupier)
Clive Owen simply owns the role of Jack Manfred in the movie ‘Croupier‘ in 1998. It got a great story, amazing characterization and last but not the least what a performance! The story follows a writer, struggling one to be more accurate who got struck by the dazzling glamour of a casino life. He wasn’t really a gambler in the flick, but a croupier, but it is still related to poker so we thought of including it. Moreover, croupier is an essential part of the gambling culture and Jack possessed every essence of himself.
He has simply discharging great confidence while juggling the chips. The scene where Jack shows his croupier skills it is hard to believe that he isn’t a professional one. In one word, he was simply magnificent! This character has marked its place in the history of gambling movies without a reason. For many coming years, we are not going to delete Jack Manfred, the croupier from our mind.
3. Le Chiffre (Casino Royale)
Le Chiffre from the James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’ has earned himself a place on this list for many reasons. He is creepy, sometimes weeping blood, but he is a mathematics genius! Formerly, introduced as a banker funding terrorism, he has put in a huge sum of money against an airline company. Well, thanks to James his indecent plans got washed away and he was forced into gambling to recover the money and save his back. There we saw the great gambler Le Chiffre who could decode the cards like a piece of cake.
In the last game, he tried poisoning James but luckily (with Vesper’s urgent and much-appreciated help) he got saved. Relieved thinking he has eliminated a major competition, he was focused on his hand. One could never miss his shocking expression when he sees James back on the table ALIVE! He literally bankrupted MI6 all by himself, but then again 007 has failed him! Yet, no one can forget Le Chiffre!
4. Teddy KGB (Rounders)
Another crook has jumped into this list. It’s the Teddy KGB, Russian mobster from the movie ‘Rounders’ released in 1998. At first, he got an upper hand on Mike and forced him to quit gambling. Then got Mike’s friend and holster ‘Worm’ for a debt. Mike vouched for him but Worm abandoned him in a mess. Left with no choice, Mike comes back to play another hand with Teddy. We get to see some real game here. This time Mike got a chance to beat him down. When Mike tried to lead, Teddy taunts him and makes him play more. Finally, Mike got him in a straight. Teddy couldn’t take his defeat and throws some tantrum but then says ‘Pay that man his money’. Now, that was something!
Every time when Teddy splits an Oreo in between the game, this man caught our attention. His Russian accent and impressive mannerisms just make him damn entertaining to watch!
5. Micky Rosa (21)
With a whole team of gamblers, it is sure hard to stand out but Kevin Spacey as the wicked genius MIT professor Micky Rosa is most memorable one. Whatever role Kevin plays turns out to be a masterpiece and Micky Rosa makes no exception to that. The movie is based on true events where Massachusetts Institute of Technology students and professor formed a group of card counters. They called themselves MIT Blackjack Team. However, the reel version is quite different from the real one.
Micky Rosa is an insensible, greedy, heartless old man who is exploiting his genius student Ben Campbell. He took advantage of Ben’s cash contingency (for paying fees for his medical studies) and convinced him to participate at Blackjack tables as a card counter. As Ben starts to enjoy the sweet fruits of his efforts, we find Micky attempting to cheat him! However, it definitely gives the audience some dirty pleasure watching him.
Though not included in this post, there are a few more characters that were honestly remarkable! Like, Raymond from ‘Rain Man’, Eric Stoner from ‘The Cincinnati Kid’, Alex Freed from ‘The Gambler’ are really praiseworthy. We love them all. Now, reading about these best gambling movies and their iconic characters might make you wish to gamble a little so why try some online gambling and enjoy some gaming indulgence.