Five of the Best TV Episodes Centred around Casinos
Last updated: February 20, 2025
It is no surprise that the glitz and glamour of casinos translate effectively into the gripping storytelling required to produce a TV show. Casinos, with their timelessness, high stakes, and allure are versatile tools that can be incorporated into shows across multiple genres. From comedy to thriller, the world of the casinos creates a unique atmosphere that can pull the watcher in and keep them as gripped as they would be were they attending a casino themself.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best TV shows from popular series’ that centre around casinos, and delve into what makes them engaging to their audiences.
Number One: What We Do in the Shadows–Season 3. Episode 4: The Casino
What We Do in the Shadows is a hilarious comedy that follows the lives of three vampires living in modern-day America. Brought to life by the minds of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, this show has been nominated for and won various television and media awards during its running time from 2019 to 2024.
The Casino episode follows the vampires as they join their neighbours and friends, Sean and Charmaine for a thrilling night in LA’s famous casinos. However, trouble strikes when the hotel's housekeeper hoovers the native soil that the vampires require to sleep in. As their trusty familiar turned bodyguard Guillermo scrambles to find them new soil, the vampires slowly lose their powers, and consequently, their minds, as they navigate the casino appearing like three drunkards.
Perhaps the vampires should have stayed at home and obtained a casino thrill through one of the many casino sites available online. A lot of these sites provide bonuses and incentives to new players, and remove the need to visit a brick-and-mortar building to enjoy the thrill of a casino (source: ukgamblingsitesnotongamstop.com).
Number Two: Star Trek: The Next Generation–Season 2. Episode 12: The Royale
The hugely successful Star Trek: The Next Generation aired from 1987 to 1994. The show followed a group of Starfleet offices as they explored space to ‘go where no one has gone before.’ As such, the episodes often found the crew in some strange and unlikely places, and the casino episode The Royale was no exception.
This episode saw beloved characters Riker, Data, and Worf trapped in a strange hotel on an alien planet. To escape they must follow the plot of a novel, that the casino has been crafted around, and win against the brutal house edge the casino has. They manage to do this, buy the hotel give all the winnings to the staff and leave. Thus following the plot of the novel and granting themselves freedom.
Number Three: Friday Night Dinner–Season 4. Episode 3: Congratulations
Friday Night Dinner was an immensely popular comedy TV show that, as the name would suggest, documented one Jewish family's escapades during their weekly reunion for Friday Night Dinner. Whether it was Martin’s (the dad’s) unique obsessions with magazines or plastic bags, or the constant and brutal pranks the two brothers Adam and Johnny played on each other, each episode brought a new, half-relatable, half-ridiculous scenario to viewers at home.
Although the episode titled Congratulations, is not directly based within a casino, one is mentioned in great detail. When Johhny returns from a trip to Las Vegas, he brings home an unexpected guest. His wife, Lisa, who he met at a casino and married soon after. Echoing the message brought to us in the Disney film Frozen, Johnny’s family insists ‘You can’t marry someone you just met’ and when Johnny and his wife, Lisa, realise that they may have rushed things, they decide to get a divorce giving the whole family a reason to celebrate.
This situation is a nod to the thrill of casinos and how the bright atmosphere and other-worldliness of these places can lead to people making rash decisions, with hilarious consequences.
Number Four: Poker Face–Season 1. Episode 1: Dead Man’s Hand
This fascinating TV show follows Charlie Cale a casino worker who has the supernatural ability to tell when people are lying. In the first episode, we learn that Charlie had used her skills to win at Poker, but was caught and employed by the casino owner Sterling Frost Jr. who wanted to utilise her talents when running his own illegal poker games.
This series is a reflection of the gritty realism and dark corners of the casino world and suggests that beneath the glitz and glamour, there are much darker forces at work. Although the show doesn’t focus heavily on casino mechanics, the setting works perfectly to frame Charlie Cale’s ability and shows one effective way this talent could be used.
Number Five: How I Met Your Mother–Season 2. Episode 8: Atlantic City
Returning to comedy, How I Met Your Mother was a much-loved, show that ran for nine years and followed the life of Ted Mosby and his friends as he recounts to his children, in very great detail, the events that led to him meeting their mother.
In the Atlantic City episode, the group undertakes a spontaneous trip to Atlantic City so that Marshall and Lily can elope. However, upon arriving they realise there is a three-day wait period to be married in the state, and as such, the group entertains themselves with some gambling. Barney has the opportunity to show off his fluent Mandarin in a complex game called ‘Xiang Hai Shi Bu Xing’
In Conclusion
It is easy to see why the casino world provides a perfect backdrop for multiple genres of TV shows. The harmless mistakes and impulsive decisions that can be made in these buildings are the perfect fuel for hilarious comedies. However, the darker side of gambling offers a dark and gritty setting for countless thrillers, dramas and even horror shows. No matter the genre, casinos can bring a new and unexpected twist to a show, and help reveal truths about characters that we may have never seen before.
