Not only has casino gaming found a place for itself online – sometimes proving even more popular than playing at a brick-and-mortar location – but we can also now find references to the classic games in pop culture.
Blackjack was one of the first games to take the casino world by storm and can be played at online casino sites with a casino bonus new customers, giving players a whole new way to enjoy the classic game.
This led to a rise in the game’s popularity, causing it to feature prominently in a lot of films, music and literature, capitalising on this newfound love for casino gaming.
Join us as we explore some of the best examples of Blackjack in pop culture, offering you a whole new way to enjoy the game.
At the movies
Several revered films have implemented Blackjack in the crutch of their plots, or to add a little more tension to the protagonist’s journey.
21 is an American heist film which centres around the MIT Blackjack team who set about “beating the casino”, based on the 2003 best-selling novel by Ben Mezrich, which documents the true story.
A team of playing card aficionados, who also happen to be mathematical geniuses, travel to Las Vegas to try their luck at outsmarting the casino.
Rain Man is another cult classic that also incorporates Blackjack into the plot, and sets up the protagonist’s make-or-break moment.
Charlie “Rain Man” Babbitt is the main character, who boasts a super-powered brain and, alongside his brother, decides to take on the Blackjack table.
He uses a technique called card counting, which is usually frowned upon, although not technically illegal or cheating.
Babbitt monitors his brother’s hands and uses this knowledge to place his next round of bets.
At the library
Sucker Bet is a James Swan novel which centres around a dark underworld, with Blackjack being one of main parts of the deals and dalliances.
In fact, the central element of the plot involves the winning of 80 consecutive hands by a cheating player.
Leaning towards a more visual example, Osama Tezuka’s manga novel, and main character, is called Black Jack, and the images are inspired by playing cards such as the Ace of Spades.
The comic has been in print since November 1973, and has been distributed weekly, the print running over 10 years consecutively.
On the radio
Over the years, the online Blackjack phenomenon has even crept its way into the music we listen to.
One of the first examples comes from the Orchestral world, with the miracle temperament being discovered by George Secor in 1974.
The temperament’s evenly-distributed scale consists of 21 notes and is often referred to as the Blackjack scale.
Between 1979-1980, Michael Bolton – mostly known for singing ballads and participating in Pantomimes – performed alongside his friends in a rock band called Blackjack.
Although you may not have heard of this group, you will be interested to hear that they released two albums and even went on a small tour of America in their short time together.
In fact, big names such as Jay Z and Kanye West have gone on to sample and re-record parts of Blackjack’s music.
Can’t all be bad then!