Gambling Heists: 10 Top Casino Caper Movies

Heist films are the ultimate guilty pleasure, a scheming world of cons and quips with the audience along for the ride as accomplices.

George Clooney’s celebrity-packed Ocean’s 11 (2001) rebooted the genre. The billion-dollar franchise - spinning off three sequels at last count - may be a superstar take on the casino heist theme, but there are plenty of other legendary films. 

SPYSCAPE counts down some of the ‘jobs’ you may want to stream right now. 


10) Five Against the House (1955)


10) Five Against the House (1955)

Five Against the House is a neo-noir drama involving four college friends briefly detained by Reno police in connection with a casino robbery. Their minds soon turn to plotting the perfect heist and the intellectual game becomes deadly serious. Siren Kim Novak (star of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo) steals the show as a nightclub singer. If you like black and white films, you’ll also want to check out the classic Bob le Flambeur (1956). (YouTube, Amazon Prime)

Casino Jack - Heist film


9) Casino Jack (2010)

Kevin Spacey stars as a Washington lobbyist convicted of stealing funds from an Indian casino. Following his arrest, he’s on parole and working in a pizza parlor but Casino Jack may not be down for long. (Amazon Prime)

3,000 miles to Graceland - heist film


8
) 3,000 miles to Graceland (2001)

3,000 miles to Graceland’s top cast includes Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), Kurt Russell (Escape from New York), and Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) in a plot to rob the Riviera Hotel during International Elvis Week in Las Vegas. The film got rave reviews from Amazon viewers (4.5 stars) but Rotten Tomatoes’ audience gave it a big ‘meh’, so stream and enjoy the music. It’s now or never. (Amazon Prime, Hulu,  Vudu, Apple TV, YouTube, Microsoft, Google Play)


7) Ocean's 11, the original (1960)

Before George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s inspired 2001 film, there was the original Ocean’s 11 starring brat packer Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean along with his crew Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford. Danny and 10 friends from WWII decide to rob five of the biggest Las Vegas casinos in a single night but does their master plan have a flaw? (Amazon, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft)

21 - heist movie


6) 21 (2008)

This breezy, retro film sees MIT student Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) scrounging to pay his university tuition when he joins a group led by a professor (Kevin Spacey) who wants to use his students’ mathematical abilities to hit the jackpot in Las Vegas. Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne) plays the casino enforcer. (YouTube, Google Play, Amazon)

Gambling Heists: 10 Top Casino Caper Movies

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Heist films are the ultimate guilty pleasure, a scheming world of cons and quips with the audience along for the ride as accomplices.

George Clooney’s celebrity-packed Ocean’s 11 (2001) rebooted the genre. The billion-dollar franchise - spinning off three sequels at last count - may be a superstar take on the casino heist theme, but there are plenty of other legendary films. 

SPYSCAPE counts down some of the ‘jobs’ you may want to stream right now. 


10) Five Against the House (1955)


10) Five Against the House (1955)

Five Against the House is a neo-noir drama involving four college friends briefly detained by Reno police in connection with a casino robbery. Their minds soon turn to plotting the perfect heist and the intellectual game becomes deadly serious. Siren Kim Novak (star of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo) steals the show as a nightclub singer. If you like black and white films, you’ll also want to check out the classic Bob le Flambeur (1956). (YouTube, Amazon Prime)

Casino Jack - Heist film


9) Casino Jack (2010)

Kevin Spacey stars as a Washington lobbyist convicted of stealing funds from an Indian casino. Following his arrest, he’s on parole and working in a pizza parlor but Casino Jack may not be down for long. (Amazon Prime)

3,000 miles to Graceland - heist film


8
) 3,000 miles to Graceland (2001)

3,000 miles to Graceland’s top cast includes Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), Kurt Russell (Escape from New York), and Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) in a plot to rob the Riviera Hotel during International Elvis Week in Las Vegas. The film got rave reviews from Amazon viewers (4.5 stars) but Rotten Tomatoes’ audience gave it a big ‘meh’, so stream and enjoy the music. It’s now or never. (Amazon Prime, Hulu,  Vudu, Apple TV, YouTube, Microsoft, Google Play)


7) Ocean's 11, the original (1960)

Before George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s inspired 2001 film, there was the original Ocean’s 11 starring brat packer Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean along with his crew Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford. Danny and 10 friends from WWII decide to rob five of the biggest Las Vegas casinos in a single night but does their master plan have a flaw? (Amazon, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft)

21 - heist movie


6) 21 (2008)

This breezy, retro film sees MIT student Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) scrounging to pay his university tuition when he joins a group led by a professor (Kevin Spacey) who wants to use his students’ mathematical abilities to hit the jackpot in Las Vegas. Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne) plays the casino enforcer. (YouTube, Google Play, Amazon)


The Good Thief - heist movie


5) The Good Thief (2004)

Bob (Nick Nolte) is battling an addiction to heroin and a gambling problem in The Good Thief. Perhaps one last job - an art heist at a Monte Carlo casino - would give him a fresh start. Nolte carries the film. Keep an eye out for Ralph Fiennes as criminal Tony Angel who tells Nolte: “If I don't get my money back by Monday, what I do to your faces will definitely be Cubist."



4) Now You See Me: The Second Act (2016)

Four magicians mesmerize an international audience with illusions and heists. In this second in the three-film franchise, two of the performers (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson) end up at the Sands Hotel Casino in Macau, China where they are coerced into a robbery. Critics were underwhelmed with the first movie but audiences disagreed and plans for another sequel are underway. (Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Netflix)

The Gamber heist movie


3) The Gambler (2016)

Mark Wahlberg stars in The Gambler (2016) as Jim Bennett, a Los Angeles teacher who owes $245,000 in gambling debts and must resort to crime. Wahlberg’s performance is top-notch, but fans may also want to check out James Caan’s star turn in the original film, The Gambler (1974). (Amazon, YouTube, GooglePlay, Netflix in some countries, Vudu)


2) The Cooler (2003)

The Cooler is a twist on the heist genre. Bernie Lootz (William Macy) is a professional loser, a cooler at the Shangri-La casino who wanders around bringing bad luck to high rollers and anyone else on a winning streak at a ‘hot’ table. His boss, Shelly (Alec Baldwin) is delighted the casino can steal back money from players but can this dubious plan last forever? (Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix in some countries, Voodoo, Hulu, GooglePlay, Microsoft)

Casino Royale


1) Casino Royale (2006) 

Need we say more? Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) uses Vesper (Eva Green) to lure Bond (Daniel Craig) into a trap so he can extort the tournament winnings. (Amazon, Apple TV, GooglePlay, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft)

Robert De Nero in Heist


Honorable Mention: 

The eminently watchable Robert De Niro (Goodfellas, Raging Bull) doesn’t seem to hit his stride in Heist (2016) but stream it anyway. De Niro is sensational, as always .(Amazon, GooglePlay, YouTube, Apple TV, Microsoft)

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