The casino film is a classic genre – with a film set in a casino you’ve got a location that’s a prime cocktail for high tension, wild emotions and some serious loot up for grabs. So you’d imagine that almost every film made involving a casino as a piece of the plot would have the groundwork for a solid film? Unfortunately not.

We’re going to uncover 5 of the worst casino films around. These films seem like they should’ve been good on paper. But in all honesty, you’d probably be better off spending your time with one of the classics such as Casino or even playing on an online casino, like the ones you can find at CasinoOnlineIn.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

5, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Obviously, no one was expecting this film to be in the contest for an Oscar, what we actually got was one of the worst-rated films on Rotten Tomatoes. Not a lot of people even thought there was going to be a sequel to the massively mediocre first Paul Blart.

Plot-wise, the sequel see’s Kevin James’ mall cop return, this time as a security guard in the Wynn Las Vegas resort. The plot is goofy and very loose and the fact they somehow got to film in the actual Wynn Las Vegas whilst only featuring it minimally is unreal.

The film went on to be entered for various awards – with those being Worst Director, Worst Actor and Worst Screenplay at the 2015 Golden Raspberry Awards.

4, 21

21 has it all on paper – the great cast, a pretty decent plot and the coveted casino setting. It was even based on a best-selling book about maths geniuses from MIT who used their skill to rake it in playing blackjack at the casinos.

But it was this plot, the glamorisation of pretty much cheating in the casino to achieve the wins, that roughed some casino fans up the wrong way and meant that the box office didn’t achieve what it should have – despite casting Kevin Spacey amongst other acting heavyweights.

The script was also not the greatest. Even though the actors do give a good effort, there are points where you’re left scratching your head thanks to the murky dialogue.

3, Runner Runner

Yet another film that has the premise to actually be an absolute barnstormer of a casino film – but unfortunately gets sidelined thanks to a few things – mainly the rather fantastical plot and lack of chemistry between co-stars.

You’ve got Justin Timberlake as an online gambler who feels like something is a bit amiss with a casino site, and so goes on the hunt for billionaire owner Ben Affleck. Stuff happens, police get involved and there’s a chase and then everything else is pretty unforgettable.

The lack of chemistry really pops out at you and is probably one of the reasons the film only got 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.

2, Oceans Twelve

How do you get from possibly one of the best casino heist movies of all time… to a sequel that was almost universally panned?

It’s a hard one to put your thumb on. You’ve still got the stellar cast of Clooney, Pitt and Roberts. You’ve even got Andy Garcia in the mix this time. The only real element of the film that is slacking is the plot – which is completely average.

Whatever it was, it seriously rubbed the critics the wrong way, with them calling the film uninspired, dull and fluff. Avoid it and take a look at some of our top picks instead.

1, National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation

It’s incredibly hard to not like the Griswold family and their various outings. Some of the classics have special places in people’s hearts and the films usually have incredibly well-paced plots and solid scripts.

But all of that seemed to disappear for this film. Even die-hard National Lampoon fans didn’t enjoy it. The idea of the Griswolds going for a trip to Las Vegas sounds so good on paper – how could they butcher it?

Many view the pacing and plot of the film as the reason it’s so bad. You have gags that are set up and then brought up over and over until these jokes lose any relevance. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 13% and deservedly so.