Famous Movies That Had Slot Machines in Them
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Slot machines have become an iconic part of casinos and gambling culture. As such, it’s no surprise that slot machines have made appearances in many famous Hollywood movies over the years. Here is a look at seven popular movies that featured slot machines as part of the setting or plot.
Martin Scorsese’s classic Las Vegas mob film Casino is filled with slot machine scenes throughout its 3-hour runtime. The movie takes place in the 1970s and stars Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a gambling handicapper tasked with running the Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. Much of the film takes place inside the Tangiers, where rows and rows of colourful slot machines can be seen in the background of scenes. The slot machines help establish the casino setting while characters like Ace and his friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) walk through the busy gaming floors interacting with patrons.
The sequel to 2005’s Sin City follows Dwight McCarthy (Josh Brolin) as he tries to rescue his former lover Ava Lord from her abusive husband. One memorable scene takes place in a seedy dive bar called Kadie’s Club Pecos, where Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) dances next to a SlotZilla machine. Based on the comic books by Frank Miller, the world of Sin City is highly stylised with splashes of colour. The bright lights of the SlotZilla machine add visual interest to the scene while highlighting the dilapidated state of Kadie’s bar.
Paul Verhoeven’s cult classic Showgirls may be most remembered for its over-the-top sexuality and campy dialogue, but Las Vegas iconography also plays a big role. Much of the movie takes place inside opulent casinos where slot machines and gambling imagery help set the scene. Elizabeth Berkley plays Nomi Malone, an ambitious dancer who gets a job performing at the Stardust Casino. Several montages show Nomi exploring the casino floor, walking by rows of clanging slot machines and vacant-eyed gamblers.
In the third instalment of the Ocean’s trilogy, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his crew plot an elaborate casino heist to sabotage a greedy hotel owner named Willy Bank (Al Pacino). The flashy Las Vegas casinos in the movie are full of slot machines constantly being used by extras in the background. In one humorous scene, the team rigs the slots at Bank’s casino to pay out massive jackpots at a predetermined time. This leads to a chaotic scene where the casino floor descends into celebration as patrons eagerly win big on the slots. If this has you eager to win big yourself, you can try slots online.
Zack Snyder’s recent zombie heist film follows a group of mercenaries planning to rob a Las Vegas casino vault amid a zombie apocalypse. After entering the quarantined Vegas, the team makes their way through zombie-infested casinos. Shots show zombies wandering aimlessly among slot machines and card tables, with pull handles still spinning on slots despite no one being alive to gamble. The slots represent the light-hearted thrills of pre-outbreak Vegas, now ironically surrounded by mindless zombies.
Matt Damon returns as amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne in this 2016 entry in the action franchise. In one scene, Bourne stalks CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) through a noisy Las Vegas casino. Bourne weaves his way through crowds at slot machines to follow Dewey and eavesdrop on his conversation. The bright, buzzing slots and their inattentive players provide cover for Bourne as he disappears seamlessly into the chaos of the casino floor.
Daniel Craig’s first James Bond film introduces a grittier version of the suave British spy. In Casino Royale, Bond faces off against Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) in a high-stakes poker tournament set in Montenegro. Shots of the casino show a modern, high-class interior with slot machines integrated elegantly into the environment’s sophisticated design, and in one scene, Bond walks past a patron calmly playing slots.
From classic mob tales like Casino to flashy blockbusters like Ocean’s Thirteen, slot machines have made memorable appearances in many hit movies. They help establish the Las Vegas atmosphere, sometimes ironically in bleak or dangerous settings. Slot machines also represent gambling addiction and casino greed in films aiming for social commentary. But often they simply exist as decoration, recognised for their nostalgic connection to casino gaming culture. Whatever the context, slot machines always add visual style and thematic depth when featured on the big screen.
