The Best Las Vegas Movies on Netflix Right Now
Since the turn of the new millennium, I’ve always had one desire; to pay for a service that enables me to instantly stream movies and shows I want to watch. While Netflix perfectly made this possible, it created a new problem: trying to decide what’s best for me to watch. And being an online gambling aficionado, it became more difficult picking the best gambling movies on Netflix. So, I did what everyone else would do when you have this too many options on the table, I Googled “Las Vegas movies on Netflix” or “Vegas movies on Netflix” and nothing really helped.
I know many of you have been in the same predicament before, especially now that online gambling in the US is legal in most states. You’d want to watch a movie or two and get what it feels like to play in Sin City. Since I cannot be alone in this struggle, I sampled most of the “gambling movies on Netflix” and came up with a list with my best Las Vegas Movies on Netflix right now.
A point to note: The availability of content, especially movies, on Netflix changes frequently and is dependent on your state. This list was compiled based on titles available across the United States as of Friday, 17 December 2021.
Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 12 And Ocean’s 13
Release Dates:
- Ocean’s 11: December 7, 2001
- Ocean’s 12: December 10, 2004
- Ocean’s 13: June 8th, 2007
Breakdown:
Ocean Eleven’s storyline is based on Daniel Ocean – a smart ex-con “implicated in over a dozen other confidence schemes and frauds” – out to take revenge on his friend cum nemesis; Terry Benedict. His objective? To wipe off clean all the $$ in Benedict’s three Vegas casinos. It’s not an easy job given the state-of-the-art security technology and security personnel in place. The silver lining is, it’s something that Daniel hasn’t done before!
This is the basis of Ocean’s 11 and what would be the start of a trilogy that would keep viewers glued to the screen from the start to the final action.
To achieve his goal, Ocean approaches some of his old friends to pull a mission impossible like heist. This includes the likes of Bernie Mac – aka Frank Catton; Brad Pitt – aka Robert “Rusty” Ryan; Matt Damon – aka Linus Caldwell plus many more. Each of these members has a special skill, which when combined, will allow them to pull a heist that will later shock all of Las Vegas.
The D-day is set to collide with a “the” biggest sporting event that will be hosted at Benedict’s casino empire. During the event, there will be up to $150+ million dollars in cash in the highly secured and guarded vault. To cut the long narrative short, they successfully wipe him clean and escape with the money.
But Benedict isn’t a man to give up that easily. He starts chasing them and sets in motion what came to be known as Ocean’s 12. One by one, he locates them and threatens them that failure to return his money plus a sizable “interest” will result into death sentences for each. A new plot is hatched by the main man himself – Daniel Ocean – to return the money back.
Ocean’s 13 transports you back to Las Vegas where the crew is set to ruin tycoon Willy Bank. The story of Willy Bank is an interesting one from the previous film, where he double crossed the team. Their objective is to control his – Willy’s – casino project, which they successfully manage to achieve and walk away with sufficient money to invest heavily in the Las Vegas Strip.
The Hangover
Release Date: June 12, 2009
Breakdown:
The smash Hollywood-buddy film, “The Hangover” earned the studios tons of cash ($1.42 billion from an investment of $218 million) …and triggered a boon for the Caesars Palace casino. Most of the scenes in the film were shot there, and apparently hundreds of thousands of tourists flock the establishment to see the actual locations used in the movie, asking questions about the action.
These many questions tend to revolve around chickens, tigers and Mike Tyson. Also, other popular sightseeing sections include the suite where one of the hilarious shots was filmed. We can’t forget to mention the spot at the blackjack table where more hilarious action unfolds. And speaking of blackjack, anyone interested in playing a few hands can try it out online for free.
Think Like a Man Too
Release Date: June 20, 2014
Breakdown:
In “Think Like a Man Too,” five friends choose to apply relationship advice sourced from Steve Harvey’s book – “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” – to their own romantic entanglements. At the end of it, Michael Ealy – who acts as Dominic – and his “band of brothers” find themselves on a journey to an everlasting love trip with the women in their lives. But the journey isn’t as rosy as they thought it would be. When the couples get together in Las Vegas for one of the couples’ wedding, a chain of uncompromising circumstances threaten to derail not only the event of the day, but also the five love affairs.
Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Breakdown:
Filmed mostly at the louche Riviera, Robert De Niro’s (Sam “Ace”) Casino is what we’d like to refer to as an anti-Bugsy; the Paradise Lost to Bugsy’s Creation Myth. A hooker, a gambler, and a mobster are served Las Vegas on a platter – a mobster’s paradise: “It’s a morality carwash for wise guys” – and go on to piss it away in an orgy of homicide and cocaine.
Martin Scorsese fetishizes the feel and look of the decadent and corrupt Vegas of the 1970s and his most reminiscent shot is that of the old establishments being bulldozed down and being replaced by Disney-themed toy castles dominated with America’s ornate peasantry.
Las Vegas has always been brash, so picture how the 1970s and Vegas collided – and see it here: sparkling, nauseating, livid, beautiful.
21 – Like Blackjack
Release Date: March 8, 2008
Breakdown:
The title “Like Blackjack” has just been inserted as the real film goes by the name 21. This one is based on the popular book “Bringing Down the House” and tells an interesting story of Bill Kaplan. What he does is assemble a team constituting of MIT students. The objective of this team is use statistical analysis to beat Vegas casinos using strategic card counting system. Kaplan operated the team as a business, which constituted of a player approval process, proper management processes, thorough training, and a sophisticated betting and counting system.
Each of the team members’ actions were monitored closely so that Kaplan could run the project professionally. The nine players under Kaplan would go ahead and play in multiple Vegas casinos, doubling their initial bets (with the seed money coming mostly from investors) within a period of three months. All the profits were split with the investors, who walked away with a 250%+ profit each.
Basically, what the film really tries to portray is how casinos, both in the Vegas strip and online, struggle to keep up with card counters. This form of strategy is so good that if you are detected counting cards at some of the brick-and-mortar casinos, you receive a lifetime ban in any of the brands.
The Hangover has earned more than $1.4 billion bucks already and it seems not to be slowing down especially when it comes to some classic cameos, the strength of a hilarious script among others. And judging from the talks we’ve had with some of my mates in the past few weeks, this film has ignited lots of interest in road tripping to Vegas with the boys for a lost weekend of gamblin’ and drinkin’.
Dealer
Release Date: October 26, 2018
Breakdown:
A team-up of some of the best filmmakers in the industry, Dealer is an film developed by five directors or/and directing teams (Adam Zielinski, Ryan and Cody LeBeouf, Mike and Jerry Thompson, Lundon Boyd, Jeremy Cloe) all tied together with Boyd’s character Kelly, an unlucky casino dealer who is forced to run errands for a mysterious mobster boss. Each part of the film has its own tone and theme, from surreal to sweet to suspenseful, with each highlighting a different side of Las Vegas, from the Thompsons’ caper on the waters of Lake Mead to Cloe’s suburban hangout comedy through the the LeBeoufs’ kaleidoscopic journey. Dealer is a showcase of home grown raw talent that shows its directors are all teed up for bigger things!
Play Like You’re In Vegas!
If any of these gambling movies on Netflix inspire you to create your own film, why don’t you put your skills to test at an online casino? If you have what it takes to beat the casino and make millions in the process, you could probably have a Hollywood-style script written for you!