Best James Bond casino scenes
James Bond – or agent 007 – has been part of the movie landscape since 1962. Despite it being over 50 years since Dr. No launched the franchise it is still hugely popular though. The upcoming instalment No Time to Die is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year. It will be the last one to feature Daniel Craig as Bond and there is lots of speculation about who will replace him.
We don’t know that for sure yet, but we can guess at some of what to expect from the movie. No Time to Die is rumored to put a modern spin on the Bond idea, but the classic elements should be there. Bond movies always bring lots of exciting action and beautiful women to the screen. 007 will surely also hit the casino at some point in his tuxedo.
The movies almost always have scenes set in casinos. This is because Bond and casinos go together so well. The glamour and chance to play for high stakes that casino gaming offers matches the stylishness and thrills of the Bond world.
These are some of the best casino scenes from the James Bond movies.
Casino Royale
This 2006 movie was the first outing for Daniel Craig and breathed new life into the series. It rebooted the increasingly gag and gadget filled franchise with psychological depth and grit.
One of the most pivotal scenes in the movie still took place at the tables of a luxury casino though. It sees Bond take on bad guy Le Chiffre – played by Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen – in a very high stakes game.
An interesting twist on the classic Bond casino scene sees 007 playing Texas Hold’em poker rather than his usual chemin de fer. He also knows that if Le Chiffre wins he will give the money to terrorists. The scene is much longer than most other Bond casino sequences. The tension really rises as Bond loses his stake and seems dead and buried at one point.
He is saved when Felix Leitner, an agent for the CIA, gives him another stake. He uses that to beat Le Chiffre, scoring a straight flush, with the audience on the edge of their seats. With Bond nearly dying from a mid-game poisoning at one point, this is brilliant, nail-biting cinema.
Dr. No
The very first time that we set eyes on James Bond, he is in the casino ready to play. Audiences are introduced to the tuxedo-clad agent with the iconic line “My name is Bond. James Bond” as he plays chemin de fer.
This scene is all about establishing the world of Bond, with its mix of glamour and risk. That makes a casino the perfect place to introduce him and the star Sean Connery.
It sets the rules for how he will be portrayed onscreen, from his clothes to his effect on women. Sylvia Trench is attracted by his gaming skills as well as his masculine cool. This is the Bond casino scene all of those that have come since have taken inspiration from.
Diamonds Are Forever
The last Bond movie to feature Sean Connery (no-one counts ‘Never Say Never Again’) divided opinion. Some love its sleazy 1970s atmosphere while others think Connery looks bored and out of shape.
In reality they are probably both right, and the movie has its highs and lows. One of the best scenes in it is the sequence set in a Las Vegas casino. It sees Bond catch the eye of the hilariously named Plenty O’Toole, played by Lana Wood, who is wearing a risqué dress. It is also the only time in the whole franchise where we get to see Bond playing craps.
The scene is given added realism by the fact that it was shot in an actual Vegas casino: the International Hotel, which is now the Westgate. While Bond is playing for high stakes, the scene is more about humor and sexiness than tension and it delivers both. It shows how the series would develop during the Roger Moore era to follow.
The World Is Not Enough
This 1999 Bond movie starring Pierce Brosnan is not really viewed as a classic by most fans. By this stage, the series was heavily reliant on high-tech gadgets and comedy, which took a lot of the danger out of it.
For all of its flaws however, the movie did still have its memorable moments. One of them sees Bond visit the casino. In addition to the tux that 007 always dons for such occasions, he is also wearing an unusual accessory.
The stylish sunglasses provided for him by Q are X-ray specs! This allows him (and the audience) to see a lot of the players. Bond does have a legitimate reason for choosing to do this though. He wants to know if they are concealing guns and other weapons under their clothes.
The result was a fun scene that required complex technology to bring to the screen. It also made tinted shades ultra-fashionable that year.
The producers of No Time to Die are keeping the plot of the movie tightly under wraps. That means we know very little about what it will involve at the moment. There is a good chance that Bond will pay a visit to a casino though, maybe producing another classic scene like these ones.
