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Images of gambling in film
Nigel E. Turner, Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health,
E-mail: nigel_turner@camh.net
Barry Fritz,
Masood Zangeneh,
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health,
Abstract
This article examines the depiction of gambling
in recent films. Often gambling is portrayed either very positively or very
negatively. The authors found eight overlapping themes represented in these
movies: (1) pathological gambling, (2) the magical skill of the professional
gambler, (3) miraculous wins as happy endings, (4) gamblers are suckers, (5)
gamblers cheat, (6) gambling is run by organized crime, (7) the casino heist,
and (8) gambling as a symbolic backdrop to the story. These themes suggest
that the portrayal of gambling in movies has a number of interesting
distortions. The discussion centres on how these distortions have an impact
on efforts to accurately disseminate information about gambling to the
general public.
Keywords: distorted images of gambling in
films, movies about gamblers, exaggerated skill, misinformation
Introduction
Gambling is the act of risking the loss of
something of value (usually money) on an uncertain outcome in the hope of
winning something of greater value (usually money). Gambling has often been a
popular topic for myths, operas, books, songs, and in recent years, motion
pictures. The current article examines images of gambling in motion pictures.
The portrayal of gambling in movies is complex and shaped by social,
historical, and cultural events and processes. While not all films that
include images of gambling are 'about' gambling, many include characters that
engage in some form of gambling activity.
Most people gamble as a means of
entertainment. However, according to Shaffer, Hall, and Vander Bilt, (1999), between 1.35% and 1.85% of the population
in
North America
develop a clinically
significant gambling pathology. Pathological gambling (PG) is an
addiction-like disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV)
(American Psychiatric Association,
2000), lists PG as an impulse control
disorder that is characterized by persistent and maladaptive gambling
behaviours that have disruptive consequences on familial, occupational, and
social pursuits. The availability of gambling has varied over time from unrestricted
gambling to prohibition and back again (see Asbury, 1938; Rose, 1986). Over
the past 20 years there has been a tremendous increase in the availability of
gambling opportunities around the world (Room, Turner, & Ialomiteanu, 1999; Shaffer, Hall, & Vander Bilt, 1999).
According to Dement (1999), the
number of films that depict gambling has also varied over time. As shown in
Figure 1, between 1908 and 1930 only six films about gambling were produced.
However, during the depression and again after the end of World War II,
gambling became a popular subject in movies. In the past 10 years there
appears to have been an increase in the number of gambling-related movies.
Figure 1. Release dates for the movies reviewed in this article and for movies listed in Dement (1999)
Dement's (1999) book, Going for Broke is a thorough examination of movies that depict
pathological gambling. He examined a number of films in terms of the extent
to which the portrayals delivered accurate and appropriate messages about
problem gambling. Although some movies accurately portray the nature of
pathological gambling at least during some segments, Dement found that many
movies about pathological gambling had irresponsibly happy endings. Film images
in some cases reflected societal views on gambling. However, images in films
may also alter societal views of gambling (Dement, 1999). According to social
theory theory (Bandura,
1977), people learn by observing the behaviour of other people and the outcomes
of those behaviours. For example, it is commonly believed that images of
smoking in films may have encouraged people to smoke (Sargent,
Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) would suggest that this might also apply to media images of gambling (see also Tremblay, Hoffman, & Drabman, 1998). For example, irresponsibly happy endings in movies about pathological gambling could encourage problematic gambling. It is therefore important to examine the images of gambling presented in films to determine what distortions are present in recent movies.
Dement focused only on movies that were about
problem and pathological gambling. Many films that depict gambling or have
images of gambling that are not about pathological gambling per se. In this
article we will extend Dement's work by looking
more broadly at films about gambling. The purpose of this article is to
examine gambling images in motion pictures and to find general themes that
are common across a number of movies. We examine how gambling has been
depicted in recent films, and explore the messages about gambling in these
films. One key topic will be the exploration of misinformation about
gambling.
Gambling is a well-established recreational
activity and it is not surprising that it makes its way into movies. The
first and second authors are recreational gamblers who play poker and enjoy
watching movies about gambling. For balance, the third author is a
non-gambler for political, psychological,
and personal reasons. In examining these films we are not trying to
raise an alarm about the encroachment of gambling into our society, nor are
we encouraging gambling in movies. Rather, it is our hope that understanding
the depiction of gambling in films will assist us in mapping out the
obstacles and opportunities that might be present along the road towards
greater public awareness of the potential negative side effects of gambling.
Method
Sample
Several hundred films were considered in the
process of conducting this study. Sixty-five films were viewed and discussed
in this article. The authors conducted a purposive sampling of films that had
a focus on gambling. The purpose was to allow us to construct a complete
understanding of gambling as seen in recent films. Most of the films listed
here are relatively recent films produced within the past 20 years, but we
have also listed a few older films that we felt were excellent exemplars of
themes. The chart in Figure 1 summarizes the release dates of the films
reviewed in this article.
The first two authors are both avid
enthusiasts of movies about gambling. Many of the films we discuss are
personal favourites that we have watched several times (e.g., Rounders, The Hustler, Vegas Vacation, The Godfather). Some of the films reviewed in this
article have been also discussed by Gluss and Smith
(2001), Dement (1999), and Hayano (1982). Some
films were included because they were found listed as gambling films in film
catalogues or by Web searches for "gambling movies" (e.g., Get Shorty).
Other films were suggested to us by recovering pathological gamblers,
counsellors specializing in problem gambling, recreational gamblers, video
rental store employees, and postings to the bulletin board of Gambling Issues
International (a listserve for gambling treatment
professionals). Our examination of movies was restricted to movies released
in cinemas (i.e., not television), and filmed in English (with one exception, Pig's Law).
Procedure
The authors conducted a purely exploratory
study of gambling in movies. The only starting point in our exploration was Dement's (1999) discovery of irresponsible endings in
films about pathological gambling. We started with this view, but wanted to
look at gambling broadly defined, not just pathological gambling.
In all cases, either the first or second
author viewed each film. In some cases both authors viewed the same film
separately. The authors then discussed the themes that they thought were
depicted in the film. The authors then collected the descriptions of movies
and organized them into general themes.
Results
Dement (1999) primarily focused his
examination on the irresponsible messages in many films about pathological
gambling. We took a different approach and instead extracted from these films
several different themes. Following along from Dement's work, we first identified movies about pathological gambling. However, we
also identified several other movies that focused more on the skill of the
professional gambler. As a result we collected these together into a separate
category of movies about professional or skilled gamblers. As we worked our
way through this list of films, we uncovered two other themes: miraculous
wins and negative stereotypes of gambling. Each time we added a movie to our
list, we searched for additional themes that were emerging.
As the number of films increased, we realized
that negative images of gambling could be further divided into themes of
"cheating," "suckers," and "crime." As more
films were added, the crime theme was sub-divided into movies about crimes
committed against a casino, and movies about criminals who run gambling
operations. These seven categories thus completed our venture into the themes
of gambling films.
However, we had an additional collection of
titles that did not fit into these categories. These films made reference to
gambling, but were not about gambling. We collected this last assortment of
movies into an eighth theme: movies in which a gambling venue or gambling
activity has a symbolic function in the story. These eight themes are not
distinct but overlap. Several movies were related to more than one theme.
Some of the films that we examined did not fit into any of the categories
discussed in the article (e.g., The Odd
Couple, Guys and Dolls). The
rest of the Results section is made up of a list of themes with a description
of the movies that illustrate each theme and detailed discussion of these
themes.
Theme one: Pathological/problematic gambling
Dement
(1999) identified numerous films that depicted a pathological gambler. Many
of these films included accurate portrayals of problematic gambling. However
this accuracy was often undermined by irresponsibly happy endings.
·
Fever
Pitch (Fields & Brooks, 1985) is an accurate
portrayal of pathological gambling, but the movie is severely undermined by a
Hollywood
happy ending.
·
The Gambler (Chartoff,
Winkler, & Reisz, 1974) is about a college
professor and gambler who is so egotistical that he believes
he can change reality by force of will. He is forced to fix a basketball game
to pay off a gambling debt.
·
The Great Sinner (Reinhardt & Siodmak, 1949) portrays a man who becomes addicted to
gambling after his first spin of a roulette wheel.
·
In Let It Ride (Giler & Pytka, 1989), the
main character is a pathological gambler who experiences an amazing winning
streak.
·
In Lost in America (Katz
& Brooks, 1985) a couple hits the road to "find themselves,"
but the wife loses the family's nest egg of over $100,000 at their first stop
―Las Vegas.
·
Owning Mahowny (Camon, Hamori, McLean, & Kwietniowski,
2003) is the true story of a
·
Pig's Law (Bonin, Veillet, & Canuel,
2001) is the story of a young woman who steals drugs to pay her gambling
debts. She is murdered as a result.
·
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (Spielberg, Cohen, &
·
In California Split (Altman
& Walsh, 1974), two gamblers go on a gambling spree and drinking binge.
·
In Vegas Vacation (Weintraub & Kessler, 1997) a man sits down at a blackjack
table and obsessively gambles away his life savings.
·
The Hustler (Rossen,
1961) is about a showdown between two highly skilled pool players.
·
White Men Can't Jump (Lester, Miller, Rappaport, & Shelton, 1992) is about men who try to
make a living gambling and playing basketball. The main character is a
skilled player, but addicted to gambling.
·
Two for the Money (Cohen, Robinson, & Caruso,
2005) depicts the inner workings of a sport advice service. The owner appears
to be addicted to everything that one can be addicted to including gambling.
Several movies have included characters who
have a problem or who develop a gambling problem during the movie. However,
few explore the reasons for the problem. The
Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,
Vegas Vacation, and Lost in America show gambling problems developing rapidly. In most cases, no explanation of
the development of the problem is given whatsoever. In Owning Mahowny, we see the experiences,
temptations, and thoughts that explain Dan Mahowny's (Philip Hoffman's) gradual slide into greater and greater levels of
embezzlement. However, the origin of Mahowny's gambling problem itself is completely unexplored. Similarly, The Gambler includes a few scenes in
which Axel Freed (James Caan) justifies his
irrational behaviour as a conscious exercise of free will and power. However,
the development of the disorder per se is not explored.
The Flintstones in
Viva Rock Vegas is one of the few movies that explore the motivations for problematic
gambling. Fred Flintstone feels he needs to impress Wilma because of her
family's wealth. This is followed by a casino-manipulated series of wins (see
Turner, 2001, for a full review). The combination of emotional need and a
series of wins (intermittent reinforcement) are a reasonably accurate
explanation of problematic gambling. However, both Fred's addiction and his
subsequent escape from gambling occur too easily.
Dement (1999) describes several films about gambling
problem as irresponsible because they tack on a happy ending that leaves the
viewer with the impression that the gambler can win it all back. Fever Pitch, Let It Ride, Two for the
Money, and Vegas Vacation are
particularly apt examples of films with irresponsible happy endings. Owning Mahowny,
The Gambler, and The Hustler are probably the most "responsible" movies about problem gambling
that we have seen.
Very few of these films ever show the gambler
getting any help. In The Gambler and Dinner Rush (DiGiaimo, Greaney & Giraldi, 2000), another character encourages the
pathological gambler to seek treatment, but nothing more. Fever Pitch (1985) shows a gambler
attending a Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meeting. However, after the GA meeting,
the main character goes back to gambling, has a lucky streak, and wins back
just enough to pay off his $89,000 debt. Two
for the Money (Cohen, Robinson, & Caruso, 2005) has a brief episode
in which the two main characters attend a GA meeting, but then try to drum up
business for their sports advice service. Owning Mahowny (2003) shows Mahowny at the beginning and end of the movie talking to a therapist about how he
will live without gambling. The movie does not show very much about the
process of treatment, but the use of a treatment session to resolve the plot
is a vast improvement compared to most movies in this group.
The Hustler and White Men Can't Jump are of interest because they explore
problematic gambling in games of skill. Both illustrate how a highly skilled
player can be a pathological gambler if he lacks emotional control. In The Hustler a contrast is drawn
between Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) and Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Fast
Eddie loses their first tournament together because of his over confidence
and his drinking. He is emotionally crushed by the defeat. In contrast, when
Minnesota Fats is defeated near the end of the movie, he graciously accepts
defeat, shakes Fast Eddy's hand and goes on with his life. But Fast Eddy gets
into a fight over the table fees and is barred from the games room.
Theme two: The almost
magical skill of the professional gambler
However, not all movies about gambling are
about problem or pathological gamblers. The second theme to emerge during our
exploration of movies was the depiction of the almost magical skill of the
gambler. This theme is most often related to skill games but the role of
skill in these games is often exaggerated.
·
In The Cincinnati Kid, (Ransohoff & Jewison, 1965) a
young and highly skilled poker player (Steve McQueen) tries to prove to
everyone that he is now the master of the game.
·
Maverick (Davey & Donner, 1994) is about an extremely skilled
gambler trying to get into a Winner Take All poker tournament.
·
Rounders (Stillerman, Demme, & Dahl, 1998), is about a skilled poker player who has a nearly magical ability to figure
out his opponents hand.
·
In Rain Man (Johnson &
Levinson, 1988) a man with autism is also mathematically gifted and is able
to count cards flawlessly.
·
James Bond films such as Never
Say Never Again (Schwartzman, & Kershner 1983), Diamonds are Forever (Broccoli, Saltzman, & Hamilton, 1971), and Thunderball (McClory & Young, 1965), often have at least one
episode where James Bond demonstrates a magical ability to win gambling
games.
·
The Hustler (1961) is a story about a pool
hustler player who makes his living getting people to bet against his ability
to sink impossible shots.
·
White Men Can't Jump is a story about basketball
hustlers. One of them is extraordinarily good at sinking 3-point shots, but
cannot dunk.
·
Two for the Money (Cohen, Robinson, & Caruso,
2005) depicts the career of a sport tout who is extraordinarily good at
picking winners for the first half of the movie.
In a skill-oriented game such as
poker, pool, basketball, horse racing, or sports betting, long-term success
is theoretically possible. With the exception of some of the James Bond
movies, these films illustrate play in skill games. However, the level of
expertise is often highly exaggerated. In one scene in Rounders, Mike (Matt Damon)
watches a group of professors playing poker for a few seconds, and then tells
each of them exactly what they are holding. The main characters in The Cincinnati Kid and Maverick also show a magical ability
to read their opponents' hands. In Rain
Man, the autistic savant Raymond's (Dustin Hoffman) mathematical skill makes a
blackjack game a sure victory. Card counting is indeed possible, but it only allows
a card counter an edge of 1% or 2% over the house. The Hustler and White Men Can't Jump illustrate
a magical ability to make impossible shots. Similarly, no matter what
game James Bond plays, he is always able to win and prove that he deserves
the designation of being lucky agent 007. He can even win games that he has
never played before or games of pure chance such as craps (Diamonds are Forever). Bond films have
been added to this category because these wins are portrayed as part of his
overall secret agent skill. These movies glamorize professional gamblers and make skilled play
seem like a sure thing.
Theme three: Miraculous
wins as happy endings
The wins discussed above
were the result of skill. However, many movies end with a miraculous win.
Dement (1999) calls these sorts of films irresponsible because they encourage
gamblers to hope to win.
·
Fever Pitch (1985) is the story of a
pathological gambler who goes on a spree and wins back the money he lost.
·
In Vegas Vacation (1997),
Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) loses all of
his family's money, but then is given a winning keno ticket from a dying man.
·
In Let It Ride (1989) a
chronic loser, Jay Trotter, (Richard Dreyfuss) has an
incredible winning streak at the races. For one race, he picks a horse for
the sole reason that none of his racetrack friends have picked it.
·
In Rounders (1998), Mike wins the big showdown at
the end of the movie and goes off to
·
In Stealing Harvard (Cavan
& McCulloch, 2002), a young man needs money to pay for his niece's
education. He unsuccessfully tries to steal the money, gives up, and instead
wins the money he needs at a racetrack.
·
In The Good Thief (Seaward,
McLean, Wells, Woolley, & Jordan, 2003), Bob
the gambler (Nick Nolte) manages to quit heroin, find love, pull off a major
theft of a casino, and has an incredible lucky windfall at the casino.
·
The Cooler (Furst, Pierce, & Kramer, 2003) tells the story of a person with chronic
bad luck who works in a casino to "cool" the luck of winning
players. His luck changes when he falls in love.
·
In Two for
the Money, after a disastrous losing streak, Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey)
makes one last pick by flipping a coin. It wins.
The miraculous wins in these movies are often
simply the usual
Hollywood
happy ending.
People often go to movies for entertainment and escape so it is not
surprising that they want a happy ending. The movie Vegas Vacation, for example, was a comedy and so the writers
likely felt that they could not leave the Griswold family destitute.
Additional irresponsible comedy was added by the contrast between the father
(Chevy Chase) who lost virtually every time
he played and his underage son (Ethan Embry) who won every time he played.
Many comedies that have nothing to do with gambling have financially happy
endings. Stealing Harvard is
interesting in this respect because until the final scene the movie has
nothing to do with gambling. Gambling is merely used as the means towards a
happy ending.
However, the down side of the happy ending in
films about gambling is that it may encourage distorted expectations about
winning. Some viewers may take the magical ending seriously and be encouraged
to chasing losses while gambling.
The main character in The Cooler (2003) suffers from
contagious bad luck. The movie informs us that at one time he suffered from a
gambling problem that resulted in a massive debt. The mob boss/casino owner
had his legs damaged to punish him, but then employed him to kill the luck of
other players. He walks around the casino touching tables or merely walking
by slots and bad luck happens to the players. However, this all changes when
he becomes involved in a mutual love relationship and the opposite starts to happen―he develops a case
of infectious good luck. At the end of the movie, he walks out of the casino
with a huge sum of money. The Cooler is filled from end to end with superstition and erroneous beliefs. The movie
gives the viewer the impression that without the cooler on staff, the casino
would lose money.
The reification of luck
is not unique to gambling movies. In the recent movie Holes (Blank,
Theme four: Gamblers are suckers
There are a number of movies that portray
highly negative images of gamblers.
·
In Casino (De Fina & Scorsese, 1995), the casino's customers are
shown as suckers, criminals, or degenerates.
·
In Croupier (Cavendish, De Mardt, Olen, Ruppert, &
Hodges, 2000), the main character and narrator seems to view all gamblers as
addicts or cheats.
·
Mafia (Badalato &
Abrahams, 1998) is a parody of movies about organized crime such as Casino.
·
In Two for
the Money we are told that all the people who call the sports advice
service are "hooked." The character
Brandon
is told to "reel them
in."
Films in this category exhibit a negative
attitude towards the ordinary gambler, often viewing all players as addicts.
For example, in Croupier, the main
character and narrator calls the casino the "house of addiction"
and tells his girlfriend that gambling is about "not facing reality" and "ignoring the odds."
Later the narrator goes on to conclude that the gambler is not self-destructive,
but rather wants "to destroy everyone else." Similarly, in Two for the Money, Walter (Al Pacino) tells us that all of the customers of the sports
advice service are addicts. This attitude is also echoed in an interview with
the real person on whom the character
In Casino, the key scenes that reveal the
movie's attitude towards the players are those narrated by Sam
"Ace" Rothstein (DeNiro), in which he
describes the operation of the casino or the counting room. During these
scenes, he makes a number of comments about the suckers who come to
Mafia is a parody of Casino. It takes the negative view of
gamblers one step further by explicitly making fun of the
players. The slot machines come with
names such as "Kiss your Money Good-bye," "Last Red
Cent," and "Big Loser." There is also a table game
called "You Absolutely Can't
Win" where the customers put their money on the table and the dealer
takes the money, stuffs it in a hole and says "thank you for
playing." Another dealer uses a vacuum cleaner to remove bets from the
table. The narrator goes on to say that "smart ones" just send the
casino the money and save "the plane fare."
Theme five: Gamblers cheat
Several movies show people cheating in order
to win. In some movies the casino is also shown cheating, but more often it
is the player.
·
In Rounders (1998), Mike's friend Worm seems to be a pathological liar. No matter how
often Mike tells him not to cheat, Worm keeps cheating.
·
In Cincinnati Kid (1965),
the dealer tries to help the main character by stacking the deck. The
Cincinnati Kid refused to allow any cheating.
·
In House of Games (Hausman & Mamet, 1987), a
poker player talks a psychiatrist into helping him cheat.
·
The Sting (Bill, Phillips, Phillips,
Phillips & Hill, 1973) is centred around using a
fake off-track betting parlour to lure a Mafia leader into a major con.
·
In Maverick (1994), in the
final hand at a poker table, the cards are stacked to draw all the players
into the showdown for a huge pot of money.
·
In Lucky Numbers (Daniel, Ephron, Krane, Lazar, & Ephron Resnick, 2000), three
friends conspire to rig the lottery.
·
Eight Men Out (Pillsbury, Sanford, &
Sayles, 1988) focuses on the alleged fix of the 1919 World Series by
gamblers.
·
In The Flintstones in Viva Rock
Vegas (2000), Fred Flintstone is treated to an unusually long winning
streak and then the casino owner throws a switch and Fred loses everything.
·
In Austin Powers: International
Man of Mystery (Moore, Myers, Todd, Todd, & Roach, 1997), one of Dr.
Evil's henchmen, Number Two, is playing blackjack with X-ray glasses so that
he can read the next card in the deck.
·
In Waking Ned Devine (Holmes, Murray, & Jones, 1998), two men discover the dead body of a
friend who appears to have died of a heart attack upon winning a major
lottery. They try to claim the prize.
·
The Cooler (2003)
shows a player, the main character's son, cheating at craps.
·
Shade (Hammond, Hartley, Schnepp, & Niemanm, 2003) is about a gang of poker hustlers who are
anxious to prove that they are better at cheating than The Dean (Sylvester
Stallone).
·
Croupier (Cavendish, De Mardt,
Olen, Ruppert, & Hodges, 1998) has several scenes of players or dealers
cheating.
·
In
·
In Finder's Fee (Arragon, Wallin, Williamson,
& Probst, 2001), a man discovers a wallet
containing a winning lottery ticket.
·
Rat Race (Daniel, Zucker,
& Zucker, 2001) depicts a race staged by a
casino owner to give his high rollers something unique to bet on.
·
In The Grifters (Scorsese, Harris, Painter & Frears, 1990), a
con artist works for a bookie, placing bets to change the odds at the track.
According to these movies gamblers are dishonest
people. Finder's Fee, for example,
suggests that even honest nice people will cheat when the prize is large
enough. Rat Race suggests that
people will do anything whatsoever to win a prize. In Austin Powers, The Sting, and Waking
Ned Devine the cheaters are successful and keep their wins. However, in Rounders, Casino, and The Cooler the cheaters are caught and dealt with rather harshly.
In Croupier, cheaters were dealt
with in a more legal manner being either barred from the casino or arrested.
However, in The Cincinnati Kid and Rounders the
main character refuses to win by cheating.
The casino also cheats
in some movies. In four movies―Viva Rock Vegas, The
Sting, Croupier, and
Theme six: Organized crime runs the game
The management of the casino is also
portrayed in a negative light. Several movies draw a strong link between organized
crime and casinos. While organized crime has definitely been involved in
gambling in the past, this stereotype appears to be persisting.
·
In The Dinner Rush (DiGiaimo, Greaney, & Giraldi, 2000), the owner of a restaurant is threatened
by the Mafia over his son's gambling debts.
·
Casino (1995) depicts gangster involvement in
·
In The Godfather (Ruddy
& Coppola, 1972) and The Godfather II (Coppola, 1974), the Mafia Corleone family runs casinos in
·
In The Flintstones in Viva Rock
Vegas (2000), a rich criminal runs the casino.
·
In The Mask (Engelman & Russell, 1994), gangsters run
·
Mafia (1998) is a spoof on Mafia movies such as The
Godfather and Casino.
·
Get Shorty (1995) is centred on a loveable
"Shylock" played by John Travolta, in search of a gambler who owes
him $15,000.
·
In The
Cooler (2003) the casino is run according to the "old school"
which means gangster style.
·
Bugsy (Beatty, Johnson, & Levinson, 1991)
is about the life of Benjamin "Bugsy"
Siegel, who in the 1940s set up the Flamingo, the first major destination
casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
·
In Walking Tall (Briskin, & Karlson, 1973; Burke, Schiff, Foster, Amritraj, Hoberman, & Bray, 2004) a man returns
home and finds that a corrupt casino owner controls his town. The casino uses
loaded dice to cheat the players.
Gambling produces a lot of money and criminal
involvement is not surprising. Movies such as Casino, Bugsy, and The Godfather series are based in part on actual events and are
reasonably accurate portrayals of the historical link between gambling and
organized crime (Asbury, 1938; de Champlain, 2004). However, in our view modern
The link between gambling and criminals is also
hinted at in many other films discussed in this article including James Bond
movies, The Hustler, The
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