Tv Show About Gambling

Axel Freed is a literature professor. He has the gambling vice. When he has lost all of his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, then his mother, and finally some bad guys that chase him. Despite all of this, he cannot stop gambling. Director: Karel Reisz Stars: James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton, Morris Carnovsky. Sneaky Pete is a TV series we all enjoy watching. There are several reasons for that. TV Shows With Episodes That Featured Gambling There’s no denying that gambling is one of the most popular activities to do around the world. In fact, its influence is so big that it’s actually been featured in episodes of various television shows, including some very famous programs.

There’s no denying that gambling is one of the most popular activities to do around the world. In fact, its influence is so big that it’s actually been featured in episodes of various television shows, including some very famous programs. Take a look below at some of the different TV shows with episodes that focused on gambling.

The Simpsons – ‘$pringfield (Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Legalised Gambling)’

The Simpsons is one of the most popular television shows around and has been running for over 30 years now. Throughout its history, the show has focused on various themes and one its most famous episodes is season five’s ‘$pringfield (Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Legalised Gambling)’ in which Springfield legalises gambling and millionaire Mr Burns opens a casino where is Homer works as a blackjack dealer.

Over the course of the episode, Marge develops a gambling addiction, spending all of her time at Mr Burns’ casino and neglecting her family. The episode sees Marge accept her addiction and move forward with her life. The episode is widely regarded as a Simpsons classic for touching on a serious issue while also retaining the traditional humour the show is known for.

Fun fact: Matt Groening revealed that Springfield is situated in the state of Oregon, a state where casinos are legal, as long as the gaming occurs on tribal land. Online casinos, on the other hand, are illegal and there are currently no plans to change these laws despite the nation-wide development of legalising remote real-money gambling, as explained on this website.

Friends – ‘The One In Vegas’

‘The One In Vegas’ is the double episode finale of Friends’ fifth season which sees the group visit Las Vegas and enjoy some of the finest blackjack and craps games in the real-life Caesar’s Palace casino. The biggest shock comes at the end of the episode’s second part where Ross and Rachel drunkenly marry at a Vegas wedding chapel.

The episode is now regarded as one of the best episodes of Friends for its hilarious subplot as well as the development of Chandler and Monica, and Ross and Rachel’s relationships. The fact the episodes were set in Vegas was a refreshing change from the usual New York setting.

Bones – ‘The Eye In The Sky’

The 15th episode of Bones’ tenth season, ‘The Eye In The Sky’, is a hugely important episode for main character detective Seeley Booth. When someone is found dead and his murder is tied to an underground poker ring, Booth must risk relapsing into his gambling addiction while joining the poker games to solve his latest case.

The episode saw Booth relapse into his gambling addiction, something Booth and those around him struggle to deal with. The episode highlighted the struggle of gambling addiction and how it affects addicts and those around them.

South Park – ‘Red Man’s Greed’

‘Red Man’s Greed’ is an episode from South Park’s seventh season. The episode sees the characters of South Park visit a casino on a Native American reservation. When Kyle’s father loses his house on a blackjack game due to a gambling addiction, the entire town of South Park is bought by the Native Americans who begin tearing it down to construct a superhighway to connect their casino to Denver.

To prevent the destruction of South Park, the residents must come up with $300,000 and do it by pooling the entire town’s money on a roulette game. Unfortunately, they bet all their winnings and lose them again, forcing Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny to save the day. The episode is one of South Park’s wackiest but references the real-life events of the 2002 – 2004 SARS outbreak as well as the Native American removal policies between the 16th and 20th centuries.

The best gambling movies are frequently discussed again and again throughout the internet. Interestingly enough, the top gambling TV shows of all time are rarely covered.

Perhaps this is because it’s hard to create enough gambling subject matter to fill entire TV seasons. Instead, this is a subject best suited for two hour movies, where you can show the highlights and drama without getting into the more mundane details and character development.

Nevertheless, there are several television shows that have done a good job at portraying the gambling world.

Below you can read about my 7 favorite TV shows that were either centered on gambling or at least included a fair amount of betting.

1 – Deadwood (2004 – 2006)

Deadwood has served as inspiration for several famous movies due to its legendary place in the Wild West. And this HBO drama also revolves around the historic South Dakota town that still includes many casinos today.

Spanning three seasons, Deadwood covers the lives of the town’s legends, including Wyatt Earp (Gale Harrold), Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine), and Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert).

One of the key spots in the show is the Bella Union Saloon, an upscale brothel and casino. Bella Union and its gambling activities are frequently portrayed within the show’s first two seasons.

As you may know, Wild Bill was famously shot by Jack McCall while playing poker. In fact, the infamous dead man’s hand is attributed to the cards that Hickok was holding at the time of his death.

Not surprisingly, Deadwood recreates this event in the middle of the first season. McCall shoots Wild Bill during a poker game at Tom Nuttall’s #10 Saloon.

McCall is later put on trial and forced to defend himself. Al Swearengen, the brothel owner, convinces the judge that they should acquit McCall so that the town avoids further scrutiny from Washington D.C.

The magistrate agrees and McCall gets off with no punishment. However, two characters pursue him afterward and take McCall to Yankton to stand trial again.

Like many HBO dramas, Deadwood is another winner. It combines the grittiness of the Wild West with enough interesting storylines to keep the average western fan entertained.

It’s surprising to me that they cancelled the show after three season. But what we’re left with is a nice portrayal of the Wild West that has enough gambling aspects to keep the average bettor happy.

2 – Las Vegas (2003 – 2008)

No gambling centered show has lasted as long as Las Vegas. This NBC drama spanned five seasons and featured a solid cast, including James Caan (Edward Deline), Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel), and Nikki Cox (Mary McConnell).

The series is based on the lives and workplace drama of employees at the fictional Montecito Resort and Casino. Las Vegas does a good job of straddling the line between getting involved in the characters’ lives, while still focusing on the casino.

Deline is a former CIA operative, who’s made a major career change and runs security at the Montecito. McCoy is Deline’s apprentice and is training to one day take over the operation.

One of my favorite things about this show is all of the Las Vegas locations that are used. Early episodes were shot at Mandalay Bay and Monte Carlo.

Audiences are also treated to exterior shots of the Luxor, The Mirage, and The Flamingo. All of these Vegas shots create authenticity that makes it feel like you’re really watching the day to day operations of a Vegas casino.

3 – Give Us a Break (1983 – 1984)

Give Us a Break is a BBC drama that follows the life of a professional snooker player and his protégé. This is the classic story of a grizzled gambler who sees an opportunity to make money off of his younger mentor.

Robert Lindsey played Micky Noades, a snooker pro who mentors Mo Morris (Paul McGann). What’s interesting about this is that Lindsey would later become a huge Broadway star, while McGann went on to fame in movies like The Three Musketeers and Alien 3.

Give Us a Break was also created by Geoff McQueen, who later gained famed for Big Deal (see point #6).

Unfortunately, the storyline wasn’t enough to keep Give Us a Break on air for more than eight episodes. The primary problem is that the snooker based content didn’t grip mainstream British TV audiences.

Nevertheless, this is a great show for anybody who enjoys betting on pool and/or wants more character development than what’s seen in the famed pool movie The Hustler.

And if you like Give Us a Break, then you should check out McQueen’s Big Deal too.

4 – Tilt (2005)

Released near the height of the poker boom, ESPN’s Tilt dives into the world of high stakes poker.

This show featured great promise, given that it was created by Rounders’ writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Unfortunately, it only lasted a single season.

Tilt follows the quest of a group of professional poker players, who want to take down a legendary player named Don “The Matador” Everest (Michael Madsen).

Everest has not only built his reputation based on skill, but also on cheating. He uses “horses” to collude with him in both cash games and major poker tournaments.

For example, the colluders dump chips to Everest during the “World Championship of Poker” tournament. He’s also involved in a number of illegal activities away from the table and is a dangerous man.

The primary hero in this story is Eddie Towne (Eddie Cibrian), who infiltrates Everest’s operation by gaining his trust. Towne then proceeds to set up a high stakes cash game with The Matador in an effort to take him down.

Tilt is no doubt worth watching for anybody who wants a TV show dedicated to poker. And while this show is filled with frustrating poker clichés, it still ranks highly in terms of all poker TV programs.

5 – Luck (2011)

HBO’s Luck is a show that had a lot of potential. In fact, many wondered if Luck would carry the network banner when The Wire ended after five seasons.

Tv Show About Gambling Brothers

But this horse betting drama was canceled after just one season due to concerns over animal safety. Several horses died during the season, which caused HBO to shut it down for PR purposes.

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This leaves us with a morsel of what probably would’ve been a great show.

Dustin Hoffman stars in the lead role of Chester “Ace” Bernstein, a nefarious con who’s involved in the horse racing and casino industry. Ace is set out for revenge against his former associates, who helped put him in prison for three years.

One great thing about Luck is that it really nails the horse racing industry, right down to the companion animals that travel with the race horses. Hoffman is also very believable in his role, while Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, and Nick Nolte also provide good support.

Critics seemed to truly appreciate the cast and the overall storyline. But it’s a shame that the horses died, making it inevitable that the show wouldn’t go on.

6 – Big Deal (1984 – 1986)

The Big Deal is a comedy/drama that aired on the BBC in the mid 1980s. It focuses on Robby Box (Ray Brooks), a small time gambler who dreams of moving up the stakes and getting rich.

The plot has the feel of Rounders, only set in the grittier sites of South London and Camden Town. The locations really sell the feeling that Box is trapped in his low stakes gambling career and depressing environment.

And there are plenty of shots of vacant lots throughout the city to remind us of this.

The 30 year old Box continually grinds in low stakes games while hoping for a shot at the big time. This opportunity finally presents itself when an American high roller named Hal Brookman comes to town.

Outside of the gambling scenes, we’re also treated to Box’s personal life, which consists of him dating women who become frustrated with his current status and compulsiveness.

Overall, The Big Deal is a very good show for anybody who wants to a realistic depiction of a small-time hustler.

7 – The Office (2005 – 2013)

NBC’s The Office has fewer gambling elements in it than the other shows on this list. However, it still belongs because there are multiple episodes dedicated entirely towards gambling, along with more betting references made throughout.

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In a Season 2 episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) hosts a casino night in the warehouse to raise money for charity. His boss mentions that this is illegal, but Scott runs the full blown gambling event (albeit with fake chips) anyways.

An episode in the third season entitled “Safety Training” features gambling as the main side plot. The office workers make prop bets on everything from how many jelly beans are in a candy dish to if an aloof character will mistake eating a potato for an apple.

An accountant named Kevin Malone is also portrayed as a compulsive gambler who once won a WSOP Razz tournament and is also very adept at golf gambling.

The Office was one of NBC’s longest running due to Carell’s talents, and a strong supporting cast that includes John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), and Rain Wilson (Dwight Schrute). The show does an excellent job at injecting humor into its gambling episodes.

Conclusion

Tv Show About Sports Gambling

Few networks have been willing to dedicate an entire program to gambling. But some of the shows on this list have gone down this path with a fair degree of success.

Big Deal, Give Us a Break, Las Vegas, Luck, and Tilt are good shows if you’re looking for something that’s entirely based on gambling. Deadwood and The Office are perfect for anybody who wants a mainstream storyline, coupled with gambling sprinkled in.

Tv Show About Gambling

No matter what you’re looking for, I suggest checking out all seven of the shows if you’re an avid bettor who wants to see your passion played out on the TV screen.