6 Best Shows About Casinos
Welcome to my list of the best casino TV shows for gambling enthusiasts. I include everything from reality TV to docuseries set in real Vegas casinos to fictional drama series following the lives of tight-knit casino crews.
These TV shows about casinos are all entertaining and informative, and they also provide real gambling footage from high-stakes tables at top casinos.
Las Vegas
- Years Running: 2003-2008
- Genre: Comedy-Drama
Las Vegas is centered on a team of people working at the Montecito, a fictional casino on the infamous Vegas strip. The team encounters all of the issues real casino security would: security issues, guest problems, and more.
Led by an ex-CIA agent who works closely with a former marine, the show is full of laughs and drama, including two of the employees killing the female character’s father for abusing her. This high-intensity drama is interspersed with lots of belly laughs.
Casino Confidential
- Years Running: 2013
- Genre: Documentary
Casino Confidential is a 10-part docuseries about the underbelly of Las Vegas. It’s set in Binions Casino and covers everything from out-of-control bachelor’s parties to casino cheats to serious security situations and dealing with unruly guests.
If you enjoy real-life situations and agree that sometimes reality is stranger than fiction, this is probably the casino TV series for you. It’s similar to the various Netflix documentaries exposing the drug trade, except it’s focused on one of Vegas’ most popular casinos.
This show will take you through a range of emotions, from hilarious laughter to “oh wow!” giving you a glimpse into the people who work there and have to deal with it all the time. Of course, there’s plenty of real money action on the screen, too.
The Casino
- Years Running: 2004
- Genre: Reality TV
The Casino is a reality TV series that follows two internet millionaires who manage the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino. Rather than focusing on the Las Vegas Strip as many TV series about casinos do, this one is about downtown.
This series bombed and was ultimately canceled because it didn’t appeal to the typical reality TV viewer. However, many gamblers, including me, enjoyed it because of the high-stakes gambling it captured using HD cameras. An entire area of the casino was sealed off to allow for filming at roulette, craps, and blackjack tables.
While it didn’t do as well as some of the other series on this list, I still think it’s worth watching if you enjoy casino games and get a thrill out of watching others play.
American Casino
- Years Running: 2004-2005
- Genre: Reality TV
American Casino was shot at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel & Casino in Henderson, Nevada. That makes it different from most of the other documentaries that focus on Las Vegas.
The show follows the daily lives of managers and employees at the casino as they deal with game tournaments, high rollers, VIP guests like Chuck Lidell and LL Cool J, renovations, parties, and a whole lot more.
This series features some epic gaming footage of high-roller blackjack and roulette tournaments and games. It also follows several high rollers as they come and go.
High Rollers
- Years Running: 1974-1976 and 1978-1980
- Genre: Game Show
OK, so this isn’t specifically a casino TV series, but it does deliver the thrills of real money gaming as contestants roll dice to win real-money prizes.
The idea behind this show was that two contestants competed to remove numbers one to nine from a board by rolling oversized dice. The host would also ask questions to see who controlled the dice.
Contestants would win $100 for each number removed from the board, followed by the top prize for clearing them all.
Viva Laughlin
- Years Running: 2007
- Genre: Musical Drama
Viva Laughlin is an American adaptation of the BBC serial Blackpool. It is based on small-town businessman Ripley Holden as he follows his dream of opening a casino in Laughlin, Nevada.
As his financing falls through when the casino is only half completed, Holden approaches a rival casino boss who tries to muscle him out of the deal. He declines, and before long, he’s at the center of a murder investigation after his business partner’s body is found at the casino.
Hugh Jackman was an executive producer of this show, and it features lots of gaming action shot at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California.
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