Marcus Richards
There’s nothing quite like losing yourself in the storyline of a great movie. Movies provide a temporary escape from our daily lives, allowing us to explore parts of the world we may not otherwise get to see. Casinos are one of the most popular and exciting locations for movies. From Las Vegas to Macau, some of the most iconic movie scenes take place in casinos.
Since slots are one of the best loved and most recognizable casino games, it’s not surprising they have a role in many of these movies. Although slot scenes in movies continue to happen in traditional brick-and-mortar casinos, playing slots online has become increasingly popular. With websites offering so many themed-slot games 24/7, it wouldn’t surprise us if we soon see a blockbuster film featuring slots in an online casino.
Here we take a look at some of the top scenes featuring slots in the movies.
Vegas Vacation
No other city in the world has a greater association with casinos and slots than Las Vegas, so it’s appropriate that Vegas Vacation made our list. This 1997 comedy was the fourth installment in the wildly popular National Lampoon’s Vacation series, and it’s all about playing slots. The movie follows the lives of the Griswolds, and it doesn’t disappoint.
The slot scene centers on one of the main characters, Rusty, succeeding at playing slots. Rusty wins repeated jackpots and receives four cars for his efforts. The movie ends with each member of the Griswold family driving one of the cars off into the sunset to begin their new lives. Of course, Rusty continues plotting how he could continue his winning streak playing slots.
What Happens in Vegas
This movie starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher is a favorite of slot lovers everywhere. It’s so good you may consider using subtitles, so you don’t miss any of the dialogue. The comedy follows the story of Jack and Joy, who meet in a nightclub and decide to get married. They happen to be in Vegas, setting the scene for some memorable casino and slot shenanigans.
When the couple realize they rushed into marriage, they decide to get a divorce. However, before they get divorced, Joy gives Jack a quarter which he plays in a slot machine. As Jack walks away from the machine, he hears the sound of it celebrating his success. He looks back and discovers he’s won the jackpot.
Since they’re still married, Joy wants to split everything, and that’s how the movie begins. If you love slots and romantic comedies, you’ll enjoy this movie.
Ocean’s Thirteen
It’s almost impossible to talk about movies filmed in casinos featuring slot scenes without mentioning the Ocean’s franchise. The third movie in the series takes place in a Las Vegas casino and stars Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Andy Garcia.
The movie begins when Reuben Tishkoff suffers a heart attack after a friend coerces him into signing an investment deal with casino mogul and investor, Willy Bank. Danny Ocean decides to avenge him by sabotaging the opening of Bank’s new casino.
The memorable slot machine scene happens towards the end of the movie when Ocean’s partner Rusty sets up a slot machine to win at the Las Vegas airport. A food critic who Bank treated poorly throughout the film sits down at the slot and ends up walking away with a victory.
Race to Witch Mountain
While several sci-fi movies are ranked among the best movies of 2022, 2009’s Race to Witch Mountain is a sci-fi moving worth revisiting or watching for the first time if you’ve never seen it. The movie features a short but memorable slot machine scene, with the film’s main characters trying to escape from government agents.
When they get trapped in a casino, Sara sets all of the slots to winning combinations, so everyone in the casino walks away with something. The main characters use the chaos to escape the casino and avoid arrest.
Casino
With a name like Casino, it’s not surprising this film features an iconic scene with a slot machine. The iconic Martin Scorsese film from 1995 stars Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone. It tells the story of the rise and fall of mobster Sam ‘Ace” Rothstein’s casino empire.
Rothstein firing a slots manager after customers had more luck than he liked was one of the most memorable scenes from the movie. The manager didn’t notice the casino was being scammed, and a furious Rothstein made him pay for it with his job.
Rothstein didn’t know that the manager had a powerful uncle who would demand he get his job back. In the end, Rothstein refused. Robert DeNiro was masterful as Rothstein and Casino remains one of the best casino movies ever made.
