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Casino heist movies have long been a popular sub-genre of action and crime movies, and continue to draw people into movie theatres to see the protagonist and his crew devise a cunning plan to break into a casino vault to rob it of the money/gold/diamonds within.

 

The best of these casino heist movies all share similar elements, thievery as an art form, a sudden, shocking betrayal, the unity of the crew, and the thrill of the execution of the plan. Of course, the thrives are always Robin Hood-esque heroes, with a heart of gold, while the casino owners are evil, violent mobsters!

 

If you’re planning a movie night, you can’t beat a good casino heist movie for thrill, suspense and excitement, so we’ve had a look at some of the best casino heist movies made to help you pick your favourite!

 

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

 

When it comes to gathering a professional crew for an elaborate heist, few films do it as well as Ocean’s Eleven. The suave George Clooney plays ex-convict Danny Ocean, who, with Brad Pitt’s Rusty Ryan, assembles a team with all the skills and know-how to rob a casino.

 

But it’s not just one casino, the crew plans to rob THREE Las Vegas casinos - The Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand - all in one night, and all owned by Terry Benedict, played by Andy Garcia. It’s not going to be easy, and they’ll have to find out how to work with each other to get away with $150 million. Can the team pull off the heist and live to tell the tale?

 

No spoilers, but given there are two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen, and an all-female-led spin-off film Ocean’s 8, you might be able to guess at the outcome of the first movie. But it’s how they get there, the team dynamics, and the ingenious and elaborate means they devise to pull off the audacious heist, that make it an exciting film that will have you on the edge of your seat.

 

Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) (1956)

 

Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, this outstanding casino heist move is about habitual gamer and former bank robber Bob (Roger Duchesne), an ageing gambler, once again down on his luck after losing everything. But after hearing that a casino will have eight million francs there for the taking, he gathers a crew and devises a plan to rob the Deauville Casino safe.

 

As Bob and his team devise the audacious plan, the stage seems set for a final, winner-take-all robbery. However, close friends warn him against the plan, and the police already know about the planned coup, with greed, blackmail, and even death standing in the way of success, can Bob the Gambler get away scot-free?

 

The Good Thief (2002)

 

The Good Thief is an adaptation of Bob le Flambeur, starring Nick Nolte as Bob, a gambling addict with nothing to lose, who gathers his team, including tech geeks Vladimir, Paulo & Raoul, identical twins Albert & Bertram, a young girl Anne, and former-drug-dealer-turned-informant Said, to rob the Monte Carlo Casino.

 

It’s the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime casino heist, with a spectacular sleight-of-hand with a fake heist to distract from the actual robbery, but which is the real one and which isn’t? Meanwhile, Roger, a policeman who would as soon save Bob, his longtime opponent, as arrest him, watches on…

 

Hollow Triumph (1948)

 

Following his release from prison, Johnny Muller reunites with his former criminal gang, and begins plotting the heist of a casino owned by the violent and dangerous gangster Rocky Stansyck. But when the heist all goes wrong, Johnny has to run away and hide in a city where his face isn’t known.

 

But when John is followed by a stranger who tells him he is the double of his neighbour Dr Bartok, Johnny decides to assume his identity. But will the plan work and save his life from the powerful Stansyck, or will his new identity bring new troubles and danger?

 

Hollow Triumph is a masterful hard-boiled Film Noir, with suspense, danger, betrayal, and even romance, and is sure to keep you gripped right until the very end.

 

Army of the Dead (2021)

 

If casino heists weren’t already perilous enough, what about adding zombies to the mix? You can trust the superhero movie director Zack Snyder to give the casino heist move an unusual overhaul by adding even more high stakes in this 2021 Netflix movie.

 

Six years after a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, the US government decide to end the problem once and for all with a nuclear strike. There’s only 32 hours until Las Vegas is wiped off the map under a huge mushroom cloud, and billionaire Bly Takana hires Dave Bautista’s mercenary Scott Ward to steal the $200 million lying abandoned in a casino vault in the city.

 

With a misfit band of thieves, including old friends Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera), Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) and Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), newcomers like German master safecracker Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), sharpshooter Mikey Guzman (Raúl Castillo) and his partner, Chambers (Samantha Win), the team, with the clock ticking and zombies hot on their heels, soon discover that a successful heist will come at a very high price.

 

Army of the Dead is a wild, action-packed B-movie, in contrast to the slick, suave heist of films such as Ocean’s Eleven. It’s silly, packed with awful jokes, and simply a good fun, sometimes gory ride. It’s mindless fun, outrageous, and full of action set pieces, and spawned a prequel, Army of Thieves.

 

3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)

 

It’s International Elvis Week on the Las Vegas strip, and the city is flooded with impersonators of the King decked out in jumpsuits and sideburns. It also presents an opportunity for Kevin Costner’s Thomas Murphy and Kurt Russell’s Michael Zane to gather their Elvis-loving crew and pull off a heist at the Riviera Casino.

 

But following a violent heist, Murphy decides to keep all of the money for himself and shoot all of the crew. With $3.2 million at stake, the US Marshals closing in, and single mom Cybil and her son Jesse constantly complicating things, Michael must track down Murphy.

 

It’s a violent movie, filled with foul language, but also a great action film, with Costner revelling in his bad guy role, and an excellent supporting cast, and certainly one to watch.

 

Heist (2015)

 

Vaughn’s (Jeffery Dean Morgan) naughty is gravely ill and in need of a costly surgical operation, which the single father simply can’t afford as a dealer at Francis ‘The Pope’ Silva’s (Robert De Niro) high-stakes riverboat casino.

 

As a last resort to find the huge amount of money needed to save his daughter, Vaughn along with disgruntled employee Cox (Dave Bautista) devise a plan to rob the powerful crime lord’s gambling operation. But when things all go wrong, the robbers hijack a city bus, and their plans for a quick and lucrative payday have turned into a volatile hostage situation.

 

Heist is a casino heist with heart, and has a solid, excellent cast with excellent performances from the lead actors and a gripping story, and well worth a watch.

 

So there you have our selection of some of the best heist movies for your next casino-themed movie night. Obviously, Coral Island Casino does not condone robbery of any type, but everyone loves a good heist movie! And unless you’re George Clooney, it doesn’t seem to end well for many of these thieves, no matter how wholesome their intentions!

 

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