The Best Gambling Scenes in Television History
It’s always a different kind of energy whenever you find yourself immersed in the middle of a casino. You can hear the soft shuffling of cards from every table. Chips are being shoved into the middle of tables. Roulette balls are making their way around the spinning wheel. The sights and sounds of a casino are unlike any other. There’s a certain drama and theatricality that comes with the casino environment. This is part of the reason why gambling has become one of the most popular pastimes in the world.
Of course, gambling hasn’t merely been relegated to casinos anymore. Nowadays, there’s a different kind of casino that is vastly gaining much popularity—online casinos. Many casino platforms like Betnero are loaded with everyone’s favorite casino games like online slots, poker, and baccarat. There are even live dealer games nowadays which make use of virtual video conferencing technology which allows for players to fully interact with dealers and fellow gamblers at virtual tables.
It’s undeniable just how influential gambling has become in society. It’s one of the most lucrative industries in the world. Aside from the sheer size of the gambling market, it has also inspired many renditions in art, music, film, and television. For this particular article, we are going to cover some of the best television scenes that have depicted gambling in some shape or form. Some of these scenes have the typical drama and excitement that’s associated with casino gaming. Other scenes will be more humorous in nature. Either way, using casinos and gambling as a setting for scenes is always a great way to spice up any kind of television show.
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is undoubtedly one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 2000s. And one of the main reasons for the show’s popularity is the character of Barney Stinson who is so masterfully portrayed by the ever charismatic Neil Patrick Harris. In this classic How I Met Your Mother scene from the eighth episode of the second season. Lily and Marshall plan to elope while in Atlantic City, but they discover that they don’t have the money to pay for the wedding. So, Barney decides to enter a strange gambling game that has some unorthodox mechanics. What ensues is a montage of comedic sequences involving some intense gameplay between Barney and a bunch of Chinese men. No one really understands what’s going on, but Barney eventually ends up winning all the money they need for Lily and Marshall’s wedding.
Friends
Friends is a beloved 90s sitcom that still maintains so much popularity even today. From the first season of the show, the boys try to teach the girls how to play poker. There’s nothing that’s obviously memorable or iconic about this scene. It’s just another classic example of the show’s great writing with excellent comedic timing from the actors.
Suits
For a more dramatic take on television gambling, let’s turn to the sixth episode of the second season of legal drama Suits. One of the protagonists of the show is Harvey Specter, a James Bond-esque type of character. The show opens with him playing a game of poker in Atlantic City. Eventually, the whole episode revolves around gambling behavior and casino video footage that can be used as evidence for a case. The highlight of this scene is really the suave demeanor of Harvey Specter while he’s playing. He’s the type of gambler that all men aspire to be like. The scene in question has Harvey casually chatting with his partner at the firm while simultaneously bluffing his way through a round of poker so effortlessly.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is one of the most iconic television shows of all time. We’re probably all familiar with the idea of going on tilt whenever we’re caught in a hot streak. But one of the most exaggerated representations of going on tilt is perfectly portrayed by Silvio in a classic poker scene from the sixth episode of the show’s second season. No one ever likes the feeling of going on tilt. And it’s easy to see that Silvio probably isn’t going to be invited back into any other poker games after his outburst. Always maintain proper decorum while you’re playing.
