Even Money is a 2006 American film directed by Mark Rydell. It stars Nick Cannon, Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Kelsey Grammer, Danny DeVito, Tim Roth, Jay Mohr, Carla Gugino, and Ray Liotta. It was also released in theatres on May 18, 2007.
Even money has an elite cast and concerns three strangers whose lives intertwine through their gambling addiction. They are a novelist, a former stage magician and an older brother of a college basketball star.
The Main Story
Even Money is a crime movie highlighting how addiction to gambling leads to destruction and bad choices.
Carolyn Carver is a published author who gambles away her family’s life savings while her husband and daughter think she is working on a new book. Along comes Walter, a struggling wannabee magician with a gambling problem who befriends Carolyn. Clyde Snow, the third character, is the brother of a college basketball star and hugely in debt to gamblers and turns to his younger brother for assistance in the form of shaving points at games.
As the story unfolds, Carolyn’s husband becomes frustrated with her continual absences and ultimately catches her gambling and asks for a divorce. Walter gets information about the rigged basketball game and places everything he has on the outcome and convinces Carolyn to do the same, which will lead to their demise. Unbeknown to them, Clyde tells his brother his gambling debt is settled, which is not the case; however, Clyde’s life is threatened by Victor an abusive and violent criminal, hence ensuring his brother does not lose the game.
The Ending
The game’s outcome has devastating consequences as happens to many gamblers searching for that next big win. Stakes get higher, and they lose everything, including their families, which happens to Carolyn. Even money also has a twist that adds that extra feeling of anticipation.
Casino is a gambling movie released in 1995 and directed by Martin Scorcese. It is based on the non-fiction book called Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Casino has a big name cast and stars Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollack and James Woods.
The Main Story
Casino follows Sam Ace Rothstein, a Jewish American played by De Niro. He is an expert gambling handicapper who is asked by the Chicago Outfit to manage and oversee the Tangiers Casino’s daily runnings in Las Vegas. Ginger McKenna, played by Stone, a former dancer, and prostitute, is married to Ace and she is a streetwise chip hustler with whom he has a daughter.
Casino details Sam’s casino operations, which come with numerous difficulties. In particular, the Mafias involvement and his gradual breakdown of relationships and standing in the gambling industry as Las Vegas starts to change.
The Ending
During his time at the Tangiers, Sam doubles the Mafia bosses’ profits, which of course they skim off before paying tax. However, in 1976 Sam fires his slot manager Don Ward for incompetence. When Ward’s brother-in-law, Clark County Commission chairman Pat Webb, hears about this, he tries to convince Sam to rehire Don.
However, Sam refused, so Webb uses his influence to ensure that Sam’s gaming license gets denied by the relevant authorities.
This puts Sam’s position at the Tangiers casino in jeopardy. Moreover, it angered the Mafia bosses, and they brought in an incompetent Kanas City Underboss to oversee the operations. He wrote everything down in a notebook which the FBI gets their hands on, resulting in an investigation.
The FBI shut the casino down in 1979. Sam life comes full circle when he eventually retires to San Diego as a sports handicapper, ending up right where he started.
Kakegurui is a Japanese movie/series produced in Japan in 2019 and Directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa. It is still running as a series on Netflix.
The story is set at a High-Class Elite School in Japan called Hyakkaou Private Academy. The students that attend the school are all from high profile families with many future leaders in the student body.
The difference between Hyakkaou private academy and other schools is that the Academy focuses on gambling. Students are ranking depending on how much money they give to the Student Council. In the council, students gamble against each other, and if they win, they earn prestige and popularity among their peers. However, if they lose, they become slaves (housepets) to the council’s other members.
They receive nicknames like “Kitty” and “Doggy” and wear tag collars around their necks. These Housepets who have not cleared their debts by the time they graduate pay their debts with their lives.
The Plot
Yumeko Jabami is a second-year student who is beautiful and intelligent. However, she is a compulsive gambler that gambles for the thrill of gambling, not for the money and social standing that the other students strive for.
She does not believe in playing by the rules and does not use logic either, which results in upsetting the other student body members. Added to this, was the fact that she had an uncanny ability to sniff out gambling scams.
The Ending
Most of the series revolves around how the student body frantically tries to shut her down. The scenes show Yumeko Jabami beating her opponents, including the President of the Student Body Council. There are, however, lots of twists and turns and we don’t know the conclusion yet as the series is still running on Netflix, with season 3 due to be released in early 2021.
