Or at least, watch the trailer before deciding to head to Netflix. A thoroughly researched and tightly-scripted foray into the world of compulsive gambling, Rounders is an often humorous drama that deserves to be watched.

Both Damon and Norton’s chemistry is alone an excuse to watch the film, Norton’s unapologetic hustler the source of Damon’s larger problems yet an entirely human character that we grow to love despite his flaws. Believing only that his talents at poker can save him, Matt Damon’s character chases win after win, and as the stakes rise, so does the tension. It explores the lengths at which addiction can be destructive, as well as the hunger for redemption that many addicts feel. The film does a great job showing the best and worst sides of the world of high-stakes poker tournaments and deals with the reality of gambling addiction with realism and sympathy. A cult classic, Rounders tells the story of two friends, played by Matt Damon and Edward Norton, who after racking up a huge gambling debt to the Russian mob have no choice but to win a high-stakes poker game.

If you want to jump on the bandwagon, you can find a list of the best poker sites here. Once you finish you’ll be blown away to learn that it was all based on a true story.įew films can claim to have done as much for poker as 1998’s Rounders, which, alongside the advent of online poker casinos, was said to inspire a boom in interest in the early 2000s. On top of the story, the production design and soundtrack are pure Scorsese, and you’ll love being sucked right into the gaudy, bloody world he’s created. Thanks to Scorsese’s dynamic directing chops and his eight-time collaborator De Niro’s brutal characterization, the film is a heart-pumping yet realistic telling of the height of Vegas’ most corrupt era. The film explores the lives of its many characters as they are all embroiled in the alluring but dangerous world of mafia-run casinos. De Niro plays Sam Rothstein, a Mob-associate who is hired to run their Tangiers Casino in Vegas, exploiting gaming law loopholes to double their profits before lodging their takings with the IRS. Released in 1995, Casino is an epic crime film set in Las Vegas in the 1970s starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone in career-defining performances.

If you liked Goodfellas, then this is the film for you. If not one of the best movies of the ’90s, Casino is certainly one of the best films of Martin Scorsese’s career.

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