The Greatest Bets On-Screen

Nothing glamorizes gambling like the big screen, but you might be surprised to know that some of the biggest on-screen bets are based on real-life stories. VegasSlotsOnline.com have created a fun infographic detailing some of the biggest wins and losses on-screen, and some of them are based on real stories.

The 2008 movie ‘21’, starring Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth, tells the story of the real-life MIT Blackjack Team who won their fortunes in the 80s by counting cards. While the Hollywood version took creative license with the story, the intelligent MIT team did find success counting cards until the beginning of the 21st century. In the film, the team wins a cool $650,000 on their final night of gambling, making it one of the most epic on-screen wins.

‘Boardwalk Empire’ is an American crime drama series set during Prohibition era that is based on real people that existed through that time, starring Steve Buscemi as main character Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson. A powerful political figure, Nucky enter a game against infamous mobsters ‘Lanksy’ and Arnold Rothstein in season 4 and manages to win $400,000, which is equivalent to $5.5 million today.

Sometimes it’s fun to let our imaginations run wild with extravagant gambling though, which leads us to some of the most outrageous fictional bets on-screen. One of the most unrealistic, ‘What Happens in Vegas’, sees Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher play two characters that accidentally win $3 million on a Vegas slot machine using a single quarter. In order to keep the winnings, they must remain in an unwanted marriage with each other after drunkenly tying the knot the night before.

The biggest onscreen win on the infographic is that of James Bond in ‘Casino Royale’. On a mission to force a terrorist financier into asylum with the British Government, Bond must win a high-stakes Texas hold ‘em tournament with a $10 million buy-in. After losing his initial stake, being gifted chips from a fellow player who’s a CIA agent on the same mission and being poisoned, Bond manages to win the $115 million prize pool with a straight flush.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide what you think is the best on-screen bet of all time. Head to the infographic to see them all ranked from biggest loss to win.