The Gambling Heroes

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski

What occurs to you when you think of the word ‘hero’? Who are those people who can be called this way, or what features do they possess? One of the first characteristics you may think of is bravery, great achievements, and extraordinary skills. We all enjoy watching heroes in movies and analyzing them in books and art. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to become imaginary characters that embody idealistic heroic features in real life. However, with ElRoyale Casino, you can try your real skills out as it suggests a huge variety of casino entertainment. In today’s article, we are going to tell you about gambling heroes and their motivation to risk, play, lose and win, but first, let’s dig into some of their major characteristics: 

  • They make decisions, and their actions move the plot forward; 
  • Players have a clear goal and motivation in the game; 
  • They’re extremely intelligent and stand out from the crowd; 
  • Heroes are brave to take the risk, and they look for opportunities fearlessly; 
  • They are ready to sacrifice their lives if necessary for the sake of good; 
  • Players are ready to step back to help the people they care about; 

This article will tell you about some of the most famous and outstanding gambling heroes. You may have watched some of the movies mentioned.

Ben Campbell From the Movie “21” 

Hollywood adventurous drama about students of a prestigious university who beat Las Vegas casinos in blackjack. The movie’s plot is based on the real events described in the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich. Directed by Robert Luketic, the film stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne.  

The main character of the movie is Ben Campbell. He is an undergraduate math student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He passed the exams for Harvard Medical School, but to be accepted into this prestigious educational institution, he needed to find 300 thousand dollars somewhere. For a guy from a low-income family working as a salesman in a clothing store, it is impossible to collect such an amount on his own in a short time. So Ben applies for a scholarship, but the competition is too high for a favorable outcome. 

One day in a class at MTU, math professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey) talks about Monty Hall’s statistical problem, which Ben explains brilliantly. The professor, impressed by the student’s abilities, opens the doors of a secret club for him. It turns out that Professor Rosa is a former blackjack player who leads a group of students playing in a Las Vegas casino. They all are united by the ability to count cards, which they train and improve with the professor’s help. Ben joins the team, promising to leave the game as soon as he reaches the required amount to pay for his studies at Harvard. Almost every weekend, the team flies from Boston to Vegas, where anyone can be whoever they want.  

Expensive clothes, luxurious rooms, and Vegas entertainment impact Ben, who starts getting a taste of that beautiful life. But not everything is going smoothly. Ben loses his old friends with whom he was supposed to participate in a science competition. His success makes Fischer, one of his teammates, jealous.  

Meanwhile, casino security chief Cole Williams starts suspecting that Ben is a professional gambler. Being distracted, Ben loses 200 thousand dollars. Enraged, the professor quits the team demanding to pay him the loss back. Ben has no choice but to enter the game on his own. The team agrees to help him and play at their own risk. The conflict between the gambling Ben, the self-confident professor, and the experienced bloodhound Williams will lead to the most unexpected result. The movie finishes with Ben telling the university authorities about his gambling adventures. Being dazzled and amazed by the courage and sharp brain of the student, the director decides to grant Ben Campbell such a dreamy scholarship.  

One of the most important ideas we can bring out from the movie is simple: difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. 

James Bond From “Casino Royale” 

We can’t help mentioning the legendary movie about the most famous spy James Bond.  

The film tells about agent 007 when he had not yet received a “license to kill” from the British intelligence agency MI6. These are the first years of Bond’s work in the service of Her Majesty, but even now, he is a real threat to the underworld.  

Casino Royale is the 21st installment in the James Bond film series and is based on Ian Fleming’s first novel about an invincible super spy. 

James Bond is informed that a certain Le Chiffre, a financial genius specializing in underground transactions, was involved in organizing the recently foiled terrorist attack. Playing on the stock exchange, he was going to warm his hands on the fall in the stock price, but the price remained unchanged, and because of this, Le Chiffre lost $ 100 million. So this financial adventurer, who used his clients’ money, must recompensate his losses at all costs. A great poker player and mathematical genius, Le Chiffre set out to win the amount he wants at the Royal Casino in Montenegro card table. Well, the only person who can beat Le Cipher in poker is, of course, James Bond.  

James Bond demonstrates his best qualities as a top-class intelligence officer working for the most powerful secret organization. He is an incorrigible individualist, capable of ignoring a direct order if necessary. Even in shock moments, despite his declared inexperience, he feels like a fish in water. Nevertheless, a few moments stand out the most in the movie. The first one takes place in Venice, where, for entertainment, the authors sank a high-rise building, which had stood for more than one century to serve as a training ground for the confrontation between agents 007 and his worst enemies. And the second one takes place in the Casino Royal itself, where we can enjoy a psychological, emotional, and intellectual battle between the players at the card table and beyond. 

 

Huck Cheever From the Movie “Lucky You” 

Young and adventurous Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) can’t raise the necessary amount of money to participate in the poker championship in Las Vegas, where he will play with the main opponent of his life. 

During one of the poker championships, he meets Billy Offer, who becomes his charming lover later. Huck’s main rival in this championship is his own father, who is completely insensitive. He abandoned Huck’s mother many years ago. He is like his son, a professional and talented player. Huck now faces a difficult choice: remain a human or play by the unwritten rules.  

Billy secretly comes to the tournament at the last moment and cheers for Huck. In the final hand for father and son, Huck is dealt the best cards, but he unexpectedly gives in and folds where he could have won. As a result, Huck takes third place and wins $650,000, while his father takes second place. After the tournament, father and son make peace. Huck’s relationship with Billy is also improving.  

As the showdown approaches, Huck realizes one simple truth: to win both in life and the game, one needs to combine human dignity with the player’s talent. 

Mike McDermott From the Movie “Rounders” 

 A young law student and a part-time professional card player, Mike, who dreams of big money, fame, and winning major poker tournaments, lose a significant amount of money to crime boss Teddy KGB. After that, Mike decides never to hold cards in his hands, and he returns to his studies. Unfortunately, Mike’s childhood friend Lester, nicknamed “The Worm,” interferes with Mike’s calm and measured life. His friend has just left prison with a huge amount of debt and manages to make a lot of enemies in his first days in freedom. In an attempt to save his friend, Mike returns to the card game world. They get lucky for a while. However, an effort to raise money quickly with ordinary players fails. 

“The Worm” is on the run. Mike has only one thing left – to try again to collect a large amount of money and play quickly at large stakes in an underground casino. Everyone refuses him, but at the last moment, his teacher Abe Petrovsky lends him $10,000. Mike visits Teddy’s KGB place again. Having demonstrated composure and knowledge of psychology, Mike wins back the debt from the owner overnight. After paying off his creditors, Mike heads to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker to fulfill his dreams. 

The movie ‘Rounders’ perfectly shows us the light and dark sides of the gambling world. Because of gambling, you may lose a lot: a friend, girlfriend, money, and even remain indebted. But you can both lose and win if you are persistent and talented. The film can be seen in two ways: as a game story and a friendship saga. Mike’s evolution as a player is shown neatly, interestingly, and psychologically believably. Although unpretentious, the film’s plot makes you feel some tension until the last frame, empathizing with the characters and thinking about the morality that this movie presents. 

This film can be watched as entertainment and a moralizing lesson, admiring the acting of wonderful actors and the intensity of the poker game.  

The Card Counter 

William Tell (Oscar Isaac) is a skilled card player who mastered this skill during his long stay in prison. After being released, the man began to “travel” to various casinos in the USA, playing for little money without pursuing fame. It seems there is nothing else in his life but cards. But for the main character, cards do not serve the purpose of getting richer. One day he meets a young man called Kirk. He offers Tell to take revenge on a man named Gordo. It turns out that they both have reasons to wish for revenge on the former senior prison warden, Gordo. William eventually takes guardianship of Kirk, and he decides to pay off his considerable debts and return him to his mother. Despite its sad nature, the film is a fascinating guide to America’s poker and casino realities. Oscar Isaac’s voice-over speaks surprisingly in detail about the features of this game, reveals psychological nuances, dictates recipes for victories, and emphasizes pitfalls. In terms of action, the entire film is a continuous movement of the main character from casino to casino, city to city, and hotel to hotel. The ultimate goal of all the location changes is to play poker.

Interestingly, this movie is not just an adventurous or gambling drama about a man finally reaching worldwide recognition as a poker player. On the contrary, the hero of Isaac is the absolute opposite of the ambitious, charged-for-success, generally stereotyped film characters of such films. Moreover, the movie is an existential, psychological, not-at-all superficial drama, where poker is just a way for the hero to find himself in this strange and unfamiliar world after a long imprisonment. 

Conclusion 

In this article, we presented several types of gambling heroes. Some are more ambitious and brave, ready to risk their lives to save the world or deal with evil characters. Others take gambling as therapy to learn more about their past and present and to see a brighter future. Some heroes pursue their dreams about gambling championships, and scientific scholarships, while others easily step back and lose to make peace with family and friends. There is a lot to learn from each of them. To learn that gambling is serious entertainment that requires a lot of effort, a responsible approach, and sometimes a bit of luck is inevitable. It can bring happiness, help fulfill dreams, and meet new interesting people, but at the same time, it can give not only opportunities but problems if not treated seriously. 

Gambling heroes inspire. And the question we may sometimes ask: is there anything else we’re looking for in life but a grasp of fresh air, inspiration, a chance to change something or correct past mistakes? We believe everyone finds their answer, and we hope this article will give food for thought.