In the months of COVID-19 enforced lockdown, content streaming on OTT platforms has come to the rescue of people around the globe. The streaming giant Netflix has a promising and vast catalog for all generations in any genre of entertainment. One such niche is the world of gambling.
It has a collection of a vast range of titles that take you through the thrills and adventures of the gambling world. Few famous titles are based on the real-life story of casinos as well a few hit ones are purely fictional.
Let us check out Evergreen and the best gambling movies on Netflix that I find ticking all the check boxes of entertainment. You can plan to play them in any of the coming weekends. Let me start with my favorite one.
Two for the Money
“Two For the Money” is a gripping drama set in the high-stakes world of sports betting. One can dive deep into the world of NFL draft odds, where numbers and statistics become the language of betting enthusiasts.
The film centers around Brandon Lang, a former college football star portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, whose remarkable talent for predicting game outcomes catches the eye of Walter Abrams, played by Al Pacino. Abrams, the head of a prominent sports consulting firm, recruits Lang to join his operation.
As Lang becomes more involved in the world of sports betting, he must navigate the challenges and temptations that come with his newfound success. The film delves into themes of ambition, greed, and the complexities of the sports consulting industry.
One can also explore the latest Vegas odds NFL draft, where expert analysis and insider information converge to provide valuable insights into player selections and draft outcomes.
Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13
The first installment of the Ocean’s Trilogy is a remake of the classic Rat Pack starter, an action cum comedy released in the 1960s. The trilogy is based on the theme of casinos and has a star cast of Hollywood biggies like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts.
The story weaves around how 11 professional criminals come together and pull off heists in Las Vegas casinos. They are led by Clooney who is out on parole. The plot of the movie takes us behind the scenes of no-minimum withdrawal casinos. The journey of the crew and the thrill of challenges inside the Las Vegas casinos is what makes the movie worth watching. Everything about the trilogy is perfect be it storyline, cast, acting, locales, and direction.
After the astounding success at the box office, two more sequels came out – Ocean’s 12 and Ocean’s 13. The star cast of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon were retained and they also turned out to be blockbusters.
Croupier
The movie when released in 1999 did not do well at the box office. But over time people appreciated the direction of Mike Hodge. The movie is all about the dark world of gambling through the eyes of a casino dealer and this is what makes it more enticing. The settings of the betting tables are done at the lesser-known London card rooms and not the obvious lavish casinos of Las Vegas.
The money at stake on gambling tables is paychecks only and not the usual opulence one witnesses in Casino-based movies. The movie is studded with star cast – Clive Owen, Nick Reding, Nicholas Ball
Casino
Released in 1995, Casino starred Robert De Niro in the lead role and was directed by Martin Scorsese. It was a purely fictional movie based on the novel by Nicholas Pileggi by the same name. The movie captures the life of the owner of the Tangiers Casino, Sam Rosenthal, based out of Las Vegas. The plot happens in the era of the 60s and 70s, during the times of dirty “Fabulous Las Vegas” and how money laundering used to happen by the mob.
21
A binge-worthy movie is the American heist drama “21” based on a true story. It’s all about the mathematics skills of a student, Ben Campbell who cannot cover the tuition expenses of Harvard Medical School. The story centers on him teaming with fellow students and his professor. They use their arithmetic and physics brilliance to win on the blackjack tables of Las Vegas. A thorough entertainment piece that discourages students from opting for gambling while studying.
The Gambler
The movie “The Gambler” on Netflix is based on the life of a literature professor Jim Bennett enacted by Mark Wahlberg who is passionate about gambling. Due to his reckless habits, despite belonging to an affluent background, he falls into a debt trap. To rescue his family from the clutches of hardened criminals, the professor gets addicted to gambling in poker games.
These are a few handfuls of movies that I found the best of the lot. You can explore them on other popular OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Hulu, etc.
