The new James Bond film, Spectre, is set to be released later this year, promising guns, gadgets and girls aplenty. Daniel Craig will reprise the role of the British spy for the fourth, and possibly final, time. Craig’s first appearance as Bond on the silver screen came in Casino Royale, the 2006 remake of a 1960s classic. Casino Royale, of course, was Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, introducing us to one of the greatest fictional characters of the 20th century.



Casino Royale: the plot

Unusually for an action film, the most tense moments in Casino Royale take place at the poker table, where Bond goes head to head with Le Chiffre, a banker who uses his position to fund terrorist organisations all over the world. Le Chiffre owes these groups a lot of money and, under pressure to deliver, decides to organise a high-stakes Texas hold ’em tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. As a way of forcing the villain to cooperate, MI6 enters Bond into the tournament, where he must try and defeat the mathematical genius at his own game. Despite threats and subterfuge – including an attempt to poison the British agent – occurring away from the table, Bond discovers the stony-faced villain’s tell, and manages to defeat him in typical style.

Women and casinos

The high stakes and the high-end vibe of the casino suits Bond down to a T; he can wear a tuxedo, sip a Martini (shaken, not stirred) and attract the attention of the dealer, who, more often than not, is a beautiful woman. Bond, of course, has many vices, and Casino Royale is not the only movie in which we see him having a flutter. The first line ever spoken in a Bond film occurs in a casino, during Dr. No, as Sean Connery’s Bond plays baccarat with love interest Sylvia Trench. George Lazenby only played Bond once, but he remains the only actor to depict the agent as a married man; in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, he rescues future wife Teresa di Vicenzo from oblivion at the roulette table. And, in GoldenEye, femme fatale Xenia Onatopp crushes Bond at baccarat, before trying to do the same in the bedroom.

Face-to-face with the villain

Bond doesn’t just risk his money to woo the fairer sex. In Thunderball, the spy goes up against villain Emilio Largo in a tense scene where the two men – each aware of who the other is – engage in a very public battle of wits. Inevitably, the white tuxedoed Bond emerges victorious over his eye patch-wearing nemesis.

How well do you know your casino movies?

Of course, there are hundreds more movies that depict the art – or vice, depending on how you look at it – of gambling in more detail. We’ve not even touched on Las Vegas, the famous casino resort that is the setting for numerous films, including the Ocean’s series, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the Hangover trilogy. So, how well do you know your casino movies? Put your cards on the table by taking Casino Tropez’s ‘Casino Movie Quiz’. Will you be cashing in your movie knowledge chips, or are you just calling everyone’s bluff?

This post was brought to you in association with Casino Tropez.