5 Things Movies Get Wrong About Gambling and Casinos

Movie fans have been treated to excellent films about gambling and casinos. For instance, the film Rounders, released in 1998, is credited for making Texas Hold’Em more popular. On the other hand, films like Ocean’s 11 of 2001 depict casinos as enchanting and fun places to be. However, the movies usually give some wrong impressions about casinos.

Here are five things that movies about gambling and casinos did not get right:

Shady, crooked people run casinos  

A movie like Casino depicts a casino operated as a front business funded by the mob. That might have happened in the past, but modern casinos differ from the dishonest organizations shown in movies.

However, you still need to check out a casino before wagering on it. For instance, the PEI online gambling guide is an excellent tool for people looking for information about casinos on Prince Edward Island. Fortunately, most jurisdictions have regulations that define the boundaries within which the casinos must operate, making them safe for gamblers.

Counting cards will win you millions of dollars!

The film 21, released in 2001, depicts a fictional way of winning a blackjack game. For instance, the film shows MIT geniuses using their smartness to defraud casinos of thousands in what looks like an effortless way.

However, to win $10 in an hour, you’ll need to wager $100 each hand if you use the counting cards approach. In fact, even the MIT geniuses would spend weeks in the casino counting cards, and they would win nothing! Therefore, look for a day job; don’t try to earn a living counting cards!

Casinos hire thugs to rough you up

This is another wrong impression created by the film 21 and many other movies about casinos. For instance, while counting cards is considered illegal, the casino will not hand you over to thugs to beat you up. Most of the security guards in the casinos are professional, honest, hardworking people who live normal lives. Also, they are not looking for an opportunity to beat someone.

Casinos hire coolers

The film The Cooler, released in 2003, has William H. Macy featured as a cooler. The casino hires coolers to go to tables to stop winning streaks. The idea behind this is that the presence of a “cooler” gives bad luck to players at the table.

However, it doesn’t make sense when you think about it, right? Is bad luck transferable from one person to the other? If you are playing cards poorly, it’s just that; it has nothing to do with the cooler. Casinos don’t have secret employees.

Ridiculous poker hands

Casino Royale (2006) shows ridiculous poker hands played by the legendary Jame Bond. In the film, there is a 40 million hand with a four-way pot and players having a flush, a straight flush and two full houses. The probability of such a thing happening in a real casino is 18 trillion to one!

In the film, Maverick, released in 1994, three gamblers are remaining in a pot having four of a kind, a royal flush and a straight flush. Such hands can’t happen in real life!