If you enjoy poker with friends or you regularly visit your favourite online casino to play blackjack and slots, you’ll love these shows about gambling. Some of them teach you how to bet on sports. A few provide pure drama and laughter while others remind you of the dangerous path of compulsive gambling.
The Casino (2004)
You may never buy a casino in Las Vegas but ‘The Casino’ TV show by Mark Burnett can show you what it takes to own one. The reality series follows two millionaires who operate the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino.
To make the show work, the Golden Nugget closed sections of its casino. This allowed the showrunners to create high roller gambling scenes more effectively. They also had access to management areas and other vital parts of the establishment.
Fox Network ultimately canned the Show after a series of dismal ratings. But if you want a tour of a glamorous Las Vegas casino on your TV and what it takes to operate it, The Casino TV show is worth watching.
Las Vegas
While The Casino only runs for one season, Las Vegas gives you five seasons of entertaining TV drama. The Show revolves around a fictitious casino and its day to day operations. The plots change constantly. So, there are times you could watch about casino security, the restaurant section or the gambling floors.
Although Las Vegas doesn’t delve deep into actual gambling, it features the fast-paced, flashy style of downtown Las Vegas. It’s also unique. The Show’s behind the scenes episodes shine a light on a lot of things you would never know about casinos unless you are a former employee.
Caesars Challenge
Short, sweet, and nostalgic are what you’ll probably say after you watch Caesars Challenge, a show aired on NBC from 1993-1994. It had a simple plot despite being shot at the prestigious Caesars Palace casino.
Caesars Challenge was a reality game show in which people would compete to answer questions asked by show host Ahmad Rashad. Their answers were displayed on a giant slot machine. Home viewers got a sneak peek of each question’s category, but competitors didn’t.
Nonetheless, Caesars Challenge was an immensely entertaining and rewarding show. Competitors earned up to $500 for solving the letters needed to form specific words. Players also earned bonuses, including exclusive prize rewards like speedsters.
Celebrity Poker Showdown
Celebrity Poker Showdown sounds like a fun show. But which celebrities are featured? Ben Affleck, John Spencer, Coolio, Carrie Fisher, Wanda Sykes, Nicole Sullivan and Willie Garson all appeared during different episodes.
The Show was set at the Palms Casino, so it features all the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. It also revolves around high stakes gambling and had prize pools as high as $1 million. Surprisingly, you can also win similar amounts on gambling sites featured on Fruity slots casino reviews. But you would need to be extremely lucky if you played slots or posses excellent poker skills.
Back to TV, Celebrity Poker Showdown gives you five seasons of watching your favourite celebrities battle out for money. It was also a hit show and even inspired parodies from Mad TV and Saturday Night Live.
King of Vegas
In King of Vegas, only the very best blackjack and Texas Hold’em player takes home the $1 million prize money. The Show usually assembled 12 players, six professionals and six amateurs. A player is eliminated after each episode until the season finale when the three best players face off.
With one million to play for, King of Vegas shows the spontaneous mix of emotions players display as they battle to stay through the tournament. At times, they compete in “death matches” where the loser walks out of the Show with nothing.
King of Vegas wasn’t shot at a stylish casino, though. It takes place at a makeshift studio assembled at Bally’s Las Vegas parking lot. Despite that, the series revolves around gambling, and it does it in ways that will grip you from the start to the end of each episode.
Vegas Strip
Vegas Strip is a documentary-style TV show about cops patrolling the Vegas Strip. It doesn’t feature many gambling scenes as it mostly focuses on the experiences of cops outside of casinos like the Boulevard.
In many episodes, the law enforcement officers come across disorderly road users, solicitors, homicides and other crimes. As such, you would have to love cop shows, especially those that revolve around crime to enjoy Las Vegas.
Big Deal
Big Deal is a British classic casino show that revolves around Ray Brooks, a professional poker player. It first aired on the BBC in 1984 and ran for three seasons before it got canned. The series mostly shows the negative impact gambling has to Brooks, his girlfriend and her daughter.
Unlike many casino shows, Big Delves gravitates away from the extravaganza of casinos. Instead, it focuses on its main characters to give an honest overview of their lives and what they go through to make ends meet in London-based casinos.
Luck
What does it take to win horse racing bets? Luck, excellent research skills and the ability to move on from your losses are some of the prerequisites. Unfortunately, the TV Show Luck wasn’t very lucky as it got snipped early in its second season. It also had tragic moments where a few horses used in the Show died, prompting anger and concerns about animal abuse.
Despite that, the Show was heralded for portraying horse race betting accurately. It also featured talented actors and crime plots that make it more than a show about gambling. Of course, you’ll want to watch the series to get a few tips about betting on horse racing. But you’ll also be treated to exciting drama and action.
Poker After Dark
If you are a big fan of poker, you probably know Daniel Negreanu. He’s arguably the best poker player in the world. And thanks to Poker After Dark, you can watch the legend showcase a few of his moves on TV.
The Show first aired in 2007, but it got cancelled in 2011. It was later rebooted in 2017 and mainly cast professionals. It also allows you to listen to the players as they talk and changes its formats to challenge players to win at different tournaments regularly.