Over the last ten years or so, casinos have become incredibly popular, thanks to the fact that they have an online presence. Whether you enjoy the roulette wheel or slots online, there is certainly plenty to keep you occupied. Sadly, it has meant something over demise in the bricks and mortar casino in most towns and cities. However, with places like Las Vegas And Monte Carlo, the glamour of the casino will never die. Such is the attraction to the decadence and fascination with the casino that we find it threaded through popular culture across the years.
The Hollywood Casino
There are many different films that have taken place, either entirely or at part within the glamorous location of a casino. Some have offered a gritty reality whereas most play on the luxurious angle and some of the most famous are James Bond, Sin City, and Ocean’s 11. They portray high rolling punters and weave in stories of deception and gangster dealings. They are often shown in television series, from crime programmes like CSI two comedies like Friends where the group all head to Las Vegas and get up to plenty of high jinks. Even The Simpsons parodied the casino with Ned Flanders and Homer ending up married to cocktail waitresses they met when inebriated. It is undoubtedly something that television producers and filmmakers consider that viewers are going to want to see.
The Written Word of Casinos
Of course, it’s not just films where we find the depiction of casinos, but in works of literature around the world. One of the most famous true heist storeys about casinos is also a book with a very long title called: Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Las Vegas for Millions. Later this was made into a film, but of course, the book came first. It recounts how a group of students from the American University MIT figured out one of the most creative card counting techniques ever and took their newfound talent to the casinos of Las Vegas and the blackjack tables. They actually managed to avoid security for a long time and scammed millions of dollars because, of course, counting cars is considered illegal. Eventually, they were caught, and the scam came to an end. The Hollywood film starred Kevin Spacey and was called 21, which is a significantly shorter title. The biggest game in town is a book by al Alvarez and is centred around the sultry underworld of poker. The focus of the book is all about the interesting people who take part in the world of professional poker. Casinos also feature in books on a lesser scale. Again, they generally tend to be crime or murder mystery type books as casinos have that edgy vibe and make the perfect location for criminals to hide.
The Music of the Casinos
There are lots of ways that music and casinos are linked. First of all, some of the largest casinos host other events in order to or in the crowds, and this includes residencies for popular musical acts. Over the years both Celine Dion and Britney Spears have held a casino residence in Las Vegas. The original incarnation of Ocean’s 11 featured the rat pack, which included musical icon, Frank Sinatra. Not only did he have a fantastic voice, but he turned his hand very successfully to acting. One of his most iconic songs Luck Be a Lady Tonight centres around the theme of love and gambling. Other big acts have also had casino themed songs including ABBA with the Winner Takes It All, The Rolling Stones with Tumbling Dice and Bruce Springsteen with Roll of the Dice they all use terms associated with the casino within these songs. Motörhead has an incredibly famous song called the Ace of Spades which relates to the card game; The Gambler was a hit for Kenny Rogers and BlackJack for Ray Charles. Of course, another famous name associated with Las Vegas is Elvis Presley and his hit Viva Las Vegas was released in 1963 just one year before they followed up with the film starring Elvis and with the same title.
The Famous Casino Names
Finally scattered through history, we find some great names you may not realise have a long association with gambling and casinos. Henry the eighth had a passion for dice games and card games and lost over 3000 pounds which of course back then was an incredible amount of money playing the above. Many big named Hollywood stars of today are also associated with professional poker including Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio. Some names had even become famous because of the casino for example in 2015 a punter won over €17,000,000 in an online slot game, and his name was Jon Hayward.
