The Best Casino Scenes in Comedy Series History
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the world of casinos and gaming have been well-explored by show creators as they look to put their characters in situations that titillate and tantalise the viewer.
Dramas such as Hustle and Boardwalk Empire have used the casino as the focal point of their action – the latter particularly so in their depiction of real-life gangsters and Mafia bosses. But it is arguably comedy shows and sitcoms where the casino life has been best – and most entertainingly displayed. Here are five occasions where poker, roulette, blackjack and slot machines have been used to elicit a belly laugh or two from those watching from their armchair.
The Simpsons (1993)
Even the animated family from Springfield have got in on the act, in an episode which aped the full-length title of Dr Strangelove: “$pringfield (Or, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)”.
The weird and wonderful cast are outraged when a casino opens its doors in Springfield, owned by the nefarious Mr Burns. Homer gets a job as a blackjack dealer, while Bart starts his own casino in his treehouse.
There are the usual clever parodies – this time Rain Man, The Wizard of Oz and 2001: A Space Odyssey come into the crosshairs, plus the immortal line “once something has been approved by the government it’s no longer immoral”.
The deleted scene where Homer ends up dealing cards to James Bond is also beloved by hardcore fans of the show…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1994)
For those not familiar with the show, the crew aboard the Starship Enterprise were well known for passing the time travelling between galaxies by setting up their own card school.
One of the crewmen, Data, a sort of genius-level android commander, took things to the next level by programming a special game of poker using holograms of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Professor Stephen Hawking, who appeared as himself in the cult show.
The quartet go at it in a game of Texas Hold’em, with Newton and Einstein heckling each other throughout.
In the end, Hawking reigns supreme after Einstein erroneously calls his bluff. It is a fun end to what is a truly bizarre scene from a programme that had a habit of subverting the expectations of the viewer.
South Park (2003)
Another animated series to feature casino scenes was South Park, most prominently in the seventh episode of the seventh season, “Red Man’s Greed” (lucky number 7, indeed!).
As is customary for writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, they like to hold a mirror up to society, and in this episode focused on the pattern in the early 2000s for Native American owned casinos that became popular in many states where legalised gambling was outlawed.
The South Park boys end up winning at roulette in a casino that opens up near to South Park, but after losing all their money (they didn’t follow an appropriate staking plan!) they face a race against time to save the town from developers.
Featuring characters including a Native American leader, “Chief Runs with Premise”, and his son “Premise Running Thin”, this is the usual South Parkian, tongue-in-cheek look at the gaming industry.
The series is no stranger to the casino industry itself either, and you can enjoy a hilarious South Park slot game that features original content and video/audio from the show’s creators Parker and Stone. Some of the very best casino sites offer games that have the same irreverent humour as the Comedy Central classic: fans logging into the Silver Oak Casino site will love titles such as Hillbillies, Lucha Libre and The Big Bopper.
Friends (1999)
The last episode of series five took the gang out of their New York flat and plopped them in Las Vegas for their usual brand of hi-jinx and hard-earned moral journeys.
Here, Joey is working in a casino as a “gladiator”, making ends meet as the funding for his latest movie has failed to come through. Completely coincidentally, Monica treats Chandler to a trip to Sin City for their one-year anniversary, Phoebe tags along and… well, chaos ensues.
Famous for the “slots lurker” – the little old lady looking to cash in on others’ bad luck, the feature-length road trip has entered the pantheon of Friends’ legend, regularly featuring in lists compiling the best episodes in the sitcom’s history.
The Office (2006)
The US version of The Office outlasted the original UK series thanks in part to the brilliance of Steve Carell’s character Michael Scott, who moulded the David Brent template into something even more toe-curlingly embarrassing.
In the final episode of series two, Scott decides to host a casino night for charity in the paper merchant’s warehouse.
Cue all manner of comedy gold, including the unforgettable scene where he goes all-in during the first hand of a game of a Texas Hold’em. His line, “if luck weren’t involved, I’d always be winning” takes some beating.
The humble casino has served up top-notch entertainment over the years, both on the tables and on the silver screen. Let’s hope for plenty more to come in the future.
