Martin Scorsese’s Casino is fiction, but its roots are planted firmly in real Las Vegas gambling history. The movie’s central figure, Sam “Ace” Rothstein, is based on Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, the legendary sports bettor, oddsmaker, and casino executive who helped shape the sportsbook side of old-school Vegas. Rosenthal was known for his sharp gambling mind, … Read more
In 1973, International superstar Bruce Lee passed away at the young age of 32, leaving a permanent gap in the world of martial arts. Weeks after his death, Lee’s most significant contribution to cinema was released: Enter the Dragon. In the film, Lee works with a government agency to infiltrate a fighting tournament hosted by … Read more
Just before the turn of the century, movie screens were littered with films that starred a fleet of youthful fresh faces, many of whom were known from series on the WB, CW, UPN, and other mid-tier cable networks of the era. This phenomenon was jump-started by the 1996 slasher film Scream, which starred Courtney Cox … Read more
Long before the Pete Rose betting scandal of the 1980s, the Chicago White Sox shook the professional sports world by aiding sports bettors and fixing the outcomes of their own World Series games. The film Eight Men Out (1988) is a dramatization of the events surrounding the 1919 World Series fix, also known as the … Read more
It’s the sport of kings. Better than diamond rings. Football. Football. Perhaps no truer words have ever been spoken on the silver screen. Whether discussing broadcast television ratings, online clicks, in-person attendance, or the action laid at sportsbooks, football reigns supreme in the United States. Where football does not hold top honors is in Hollywood. … Read more
Burt Reynolds was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood between the years of 1978 and 1982. This impressive five-year streak was no doubt caused by the overwhelming success of Smokey and the Bandit, released theatrically in 1977. The film came in second in box office revenue for 1977 behind Star Wars and was one of director … Read more
Kingpin (1996) is a mid-90s comedy classic that was one of the first movies to utilize gross-out humor, a tactic that began to take hold following the release of 1999’s American Pie. It is the story of a bowler named Roy Munson, played by Woody Harrelson, who decides to join the pro tour after winning … Read more
Vanishing Point is the story of Kowalski, a mysterious man with a sordid past who now finds himself on a cross-country mission where what’s at stake and why slowly become evident over the course of the film’s running time. Released just two years following Easy Rider, Vanishing Point is one of many sparse hot-rod-based odysseys … Read more
While the Super Bowl may be the most-watched event on the sports calendar each year, there are not many significant movies involving the big game as a major component of the plot. In advance of the NFL Playoff betting beginning this weekend, we’ve provided some of our top suggestions for the best Super Bowl movies … Read more
While The Hustler is widely considered a top all-time film by Hollywood standards, it isn’t one that comes up often when discussing the greatest sports betting movies of all time, and that’s mostly due to the game involved – pool (billiards). Unless a major tournament is going on, the books that we feature in our … Read more
I know what you’re thinking. You’ve seen Goodfellas a thousand times and not once is there an instance of sports betting amid the entire 146-minute duration. While sports betting is not a present plot element in the 1990 mafia drama directed by Martin Scorcese, the main character of Henry Hill, portrayed by actor Ray Liotta, … Read more
Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, The Running Man is part of a string of Hollywood blockbuster hits that Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in over the course of 1982 to 1994. The film is the story of Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger) who is wrongfully accused of murdering several members of a protest and … Read more