The Last Casino (2004)

A university teacher recruits 3 bright students to learn the art of card counting and makes them play, and win, for him.

Director:

Pierre Gill

Writer:

Steven Westren

Stars:

Charles Martin Smith, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Martin Smith	...	Barnes
Katharine Isabelle	...	Elyse
Kris Lemche	...	Scott
Julian Richings	...	Orr
Albert Chung	...	George
Normand D'Amour	...	Wilson
Jacques Godin	...	Saunders
Roy Lund	...	Casino #1 BJ Dealer #1
K.C. Coombs	...	Saleswoman - Sexshop
Una Kay	...	Recruiter
Carl Alacchi	...	Casino #1 Floor Manager #1
Sean Lu	...	Asian Player
Tim Post	...	Hotel Game Boss
Livia Duguay	...	Hotel Game Dealer
Nancy Tang	...	Mrs. Chen

Storyline

One deadbeat teacher discovers that three of his students are great math wizzes and decides to teach them how to count cards and make lots of money. As they learn how to play the casinos, things get tricky when the debt owing teacher informs them that their front man wants restitution for loses (of supposed $500,000 Canadian) in about a weeks time. The three students decide to hit all the major casinos in Ontario and Quebec until discovered. Will they make the money needed? Or will they suffer the concequences?

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Plot Keywords:

casino | card counting | scheme | caper | blackjack | 

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Taglines:

We like our guests to win their money, not earn it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English None

Release Date:

26 June 2004 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Az utolsó kaszinó

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Astral Films, Cité-Amérique Cinèma Télévision Inc., Corus Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Chinese dialect that the tuna salesman and George speak is Cantonese.

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Goofs

Barnes says that Casinos will do anything to distract a player including sending over free booze. While this is true in the United States, the movie is set in Canada, and Canadian casinos are not permitted to "give" free alcohol. Soft drinks and coffee only.

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Quotes

Orr: [while laughing hysterically] Go, my young friends! Go off and make something of yourselves!

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Connections

Version of 21 (2008)

User Reviews

The Last Casino - review

Before "21" came along, there was Pierre Gill's "The Last Casino," which is about Professor Barnes (played very well by Charles Martin Smith) creating his own card counting team to win a huge fortune in Canada's major casinos -- and, oh yes, Barnes also needs the money to pay off his booky Mr. Orr who has his own peculiar way of ensuring the prompt repayment of outstanding debts. "The Last Casino" has half the glitz and thrills of "21"; it even had to do without Kevin Spacey, Lawrence Fishburne and Rihanna's single "Shut up and drive." Yet, it was so much better and far more original than "21" ever was. Many factors contribute to making this under-appreciated film a jewel. To begin with, you can tell the writer Steven Westren put a lot of thought into his screenplay. He created original characters, including the ones that only had small parts. He put the protagonists -- essentially the team of card counters, Elyse (Katherine Isabelle), Scott (Kris Lemche) and George (Albert Chung) -- in the kinds of situations you (or I) would never expect in a film like this. But most importantly, Pierre Gill and Steven Westren succeeded in filling the scenes at the gambling table with tension and thereby conjured up the feelings and impulses of the people who were prepared to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table on a single bet. I also appreciated the surprise at the end of the film, which is so cleverly done that it may leave many of the viewers scratching their heads.

The other factor that makes this film great are the performances. Charles Martin Smith does a great job as the professor whose deep in debt, because his gambling via card counting finally got the best of him. Katherine Isabelle puts in a good performance as Elyse, as does Kris Lemche and Albert Chung as her companions so that, by the end, we (as an audience) are able to sympathize with all of them. But the one person who almost steals the show in this movie is Julian Richings whose performance as Mr. Orr must go down in the history books as one of the best (if not the best) villain roles in recent times.