Visiting a casino to play blackjack isn’t always in the cards (pun intended). Sometimes life gets in the way of fun and there isn’t time to hop in a car, drive to the casino, and have at least one multi-hour session of blackjack.
There are plenty of blackjack apps to pass the time when the mood hits you no matter where you are. I love opening one of the blackjack training apps when I have the itch to play the game but don’t feel like driving down to the nearest casino.
Thankfully, there are quite a few movies that feature blackjack games in at least one scene. Even if the focus of the movie isn’t blackjack, there are plenty of movies that have a scene or two that can be entertaining.
In fact, some of the most fun movies that include blackjack only feature the game for a scene or two.
Here are some of my favorite movies that have some blackjack and are streaming or on cable fairly often. Don’t tell anyone, but there’s a link to watch one of the movies for free anytime below.
The Hangover
The Hangover isn’t a movie about gambling. However, it’s a fun movie about a weekend in Las Vegas.
This movie was filmed at multiple locations in Las Vegas. While the home base for the crew in the movie is Caesars Palace, the blackjack scene was filmed at the Riviera. The casino has been destroyed since the movie was released.
The blackjack scene is one of the most popular parts of the movie for gamblers. The vibe during this scene is bolstered by the music selections.
There are two songs in this scene starting with a remake of “Iko Iko” when the guys ride the escalator. When the blackjack game intensifies, the movie switches to the hard-charging “Joker And The Thief” by Wolfmother. This is perfection.
Vegas Vacation
Vegas Vacation is a hysterical movie about a family visiting Las Vegas. Most of you are probably familiar with this classic movie but there are always younger readers who may not be familiar with the classics.
The blackjack dealer in Vegas Vacation is one of the lowkey great characters of the movie. Wallace Shawn isn’t a featured character in the movie but he adds spice and laughs to Vegas Vacation.
While dated, Vegas Vacation still holds up as one of the funniest casino-based movies. Much of the movie takes place at The Mirage. The property will undergo major changes over the next few years.
The Mirage was sold last year and will become Hard Rock Las Vegas in a few years. While the property today looks different than when the movie was released in 1997, there are still inklings of that vibe. That may not be the case much longer.
Here’s a video of all blackjack scenes from Vegas Vacation spliced together.
21
I feel like I’m on an island with how much I enjoy 21.
The movie adaptation of the book “Bringing Down The House.” The book isn’t a 100% accurate depiction of the card counters it’s based on and neither is the movie.
The book is an embellishment of reality. And the movie is an embellishment of that embellishment.
Knowing this going into both is important in finding pleasure from either. Understanding this puts you in the mood for a blackjack tale based on a real story instead of a true-to-life account of what happened.
21 is quite campy and has lots of Las Vegas casino eye candy. This movie is easily watchable if you’re a fan of Las Vegas and its casinos. Here’s the final blackjack card counting scene of the movie.
You can actually watch the whole movie for free here.
