Directed by John Dahl with Matt Damon, Edward Norton,

Damon is Mike McDermott, a law student who has given up his true talent, poker. When his friend Worm (Norton) gets out of jail he must decide whether or not to help his friend, threatening his student status and relationship with his girlfriend. Tightly written, beautifully photographed by the brilliant Escoffier, and well-played all across the board this is a work of slick, enjoyable entertainment.

Directed by D.J Carusso with Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey

D.J. Caruso's Two for the Money stars Matthew McConaughey as Brandon Lang, a former college quarterback whose life plans changed when he suffered a career-ending injury. Brandon turns out to have remarkable skill at picking winning football bets. Eventually, he comes to the attention of Walter Abrams (Al Pacino), a very successful business tycoon […]

Directed by Robert Luketic, with Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth

"21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings […]

Directed by Mike Figgis, with Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue

Leaving Las Vegas is set in Las Vegas and centres around Ben, an alcoholic and former Hollywood screenwriter. He is in despair over losing everything to his drinking and arrives in Las Vegas with the wish to drink himself to death […]

The 19th century Russian novelist's twin obsessions of love and gambling are reflected in this novel, seen through the eyes of Alexei, a young tutor working for a formerly wealthy Russian general. […]

Written by one of Britain's most widely-read 20th century authors, this 1975 novel follows a lower-class gambler in northern England who rises in society through self-motivation and a marriage to a rich woman.[…]

Critics call this the best example of gonzo journalism, a style of journalism written subjectively, in which the reporter often appears in the story using a first person narrative.

The story's protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr Gonzo, chase the American dream to Las Vegas while taking lots of drugs.[…]

This was actually the original James Bond book by the creator of the fictional British agent 007.

Released in 1953, Bond is assigned to defeat Monsieur Le Chiffre, an agent of a Soviet assassination bureau, at a game of baccarat he is running at a casino in France. The eventual hope is that Le Chiffre's agency SMERSH will kill him as a result of his own gambling debts.[…]