The Best Roulette Movies of All Time

Every casino table game has its appeal, but is there any doubt that roulette is the most glamorous of them all?

In addition to the thrills it has given to players, the excitement of the spinning wheel has provided inspiration for some amazing movie moments. These are films that any lover of roulette will love…

…or, for that matter, anyone who loves great cinema!

As Live Table Roulette continues to grow in popularity, here are five movies where the game of roulette takes on an unforgettable role:

#1 – Diamonds Are Forever

If roulette seems to possess a subtle, indefinable air of class, or a masculine, devil-may-care quality, James Bond is no small part of the reason why.

007 spends a lot of time in casinos, especially during the Sean Connery years of the 1960s and 1970s. Every Briton’s favorite spy was so prolific at the roulette tables, there’s a betting system named after him!

While we hardly endorse the roulette betting strategy Bond chooses to employ, the gaming table scenes from Diamonds Are Forever can be endorsed wholeheartedly.

In this seventh film in the Bond franchise (a lucky number?), 007 infiltrates a casino to gather information on his dastardly foes.

The betting scenes exude an ageless glamor and confidence. This one is a must-see for lovers of the tables.

#2 – Croupier

Most avid punters only think of gaming from the position of the gambler. This classic 1998 film, in which Clive Owen gives a breakout performance, offers an alternate take…

…seeing through the eyes of the croupier!

It’s a different perspective entirely. A filmnoir energy takes over, as the sight of endless money changing hands brings about a kind of numbness in the main character.

With so much of the plot taking place on the gaming floor and among casino employees, it might be wise to pop over to our sister site for a quick vocabulary review.

Even amidst the tuxedos, cocktails, and big bets found throughout this movie, it almost feels like an old-school, hard-boiled detective drama. Deceptions, double-crosses, sex and violence are all available in abundance.

But as far as roulette cinema goes, this one is without peer.

#3 – Casablanca

It’s easy to forget that roulette is among the oldest table games available at any casino…

…after all, it’s believed that the first roulette wheel was created by the great French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1655!

On a timeline like that, the 1942 Casablanca seems like a spring chicken.

Few films have stood the test of time like this one. Just imagine that, even almost 80 years after it was released, the names of its three stars – Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Peter Lorre – are still household names!

Roulette takes up central plot position here. Bogart’s character operates a somewhat seedy gambling den in the titular town. He offers roulette among his table games.

In one especially memorable scene, a couple tries their luck at Rick’s roulette wheel to try their luck raising funds to escape Nazi-occupied territory. Rick uses his influence to make sure the would-be refugees get what they need, manipulating his own tables in doing so!

#4 – Indecent Proposal

As in life, not all movie roulette scenes end in triumph.

In fact, it’s not always as simple as win or lose sometimes it feels as though pride, fate, or the force of a powerful personality are involved.

The roulette scenes in this dark, sexy 1993 film starring Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, and Robert Redford have this kind of feel to them.

Sex, power, and relationships are at the core of this movie, but the characters’ successes and failures at the roulette table set it all in motion. Watching actors of this caliber take on the drama of Las Vegas gambling is a big part of the pleasures this one has to offer.

While enjoying this movie, players would do well to that roulette is a game of chance and mathematics, not one of destiny. Betting strategy should reflect that fact.

#5 – Run Lola Run

This 1998 German movie is in many ways the outlier of this list.

It’s the only foreign film, as well as the only indie and the most experimental by far. Most notably, Lola Rennt (as it was called in German) is hardly set amidst the gaming glamor of Monte Carlo or Las Vegas.

It’s a gritty, urban experience, and fact there is only one scene involving gambling.

So how does this one reach the top five?

Plainly put, this whole movie explores concepts of chance versus fate, exploring again and again what might have happened if only one thing had gone differently.

In her quest to save her boyfriend from the consequences of his actions, we watch Lola try desperately to reach him before time runs out. The brilliant stroke is that we watch her attempt several times, and it never goes the same way twice. Small changes, like whether she trips or jumps over a dog’s leash, trigger massively different outcomes…

…none of them easily forgettable.

In the famous roulette scene, Lola bets all her money on the same number not once but twice. This is, to put it mildly, not the most sophisticated betting system.

(Although some widely-known betting systems don’t offer players much better chances in the long run, either!)

The results of this scene are unforgettable.