Fictional High Rollers: Slots Players in Novels and What They Tell Us

Gambling is often used as a core theme in novels and movies to convey risk, danger and an insight into the underworld. There have been many great novels and movies with a storyline based in casinos such as Casino Royale and Ocean’s Eleven, which tend to focus more on high roller games of poker or baccarat.

However, in recent years, as the popularity of online slots has grown, some contemporary writers have started to include references and storyline related to this current gambling trend. These are some examples of novels that use slots and casinos to convey character insights and provide an added layer of drama. 

Axel Freed in The Gambler

The Gambler is a novel revolving around the main character, Axel Freed who spirals into a dark period in his life. Despite establishing a respected career as a literature professor, Axel finds himself drawn into high-risk gambling behavior which leads to mounting debts.

One of the interesting aspects of Axel’s relationship with gambling is that he is driven by boredom in his life and he uses gambling on sports and slots games as an escape from the stability that his lifestyle provided. Along the way he continues to chase losses and make bets with bad odds. He is intelligent enough to know that the odds are strongly against him, yet he is compelled to carry on betting.

His betting behaviors have a devastating knock-on effect on his personal relationships and his career, highlighting how easy it can be for your life to be turned upside down in a very short period of time. The storyline emphasizes that irresponsible gambling can impact even the people who you would least expect to be drawn into making poor decisions.

The Gambler does not glamorize gambling in any way, unlike many fictional high-roller games we see with characters like James Bond. The novel helps to raise awareness of the dangers of gambling, which highlights the importance of self-control and using responsible gambling tools on online casinos. Many casino themed novels convey the extremes of gambling, to create a more dramatic storyline, despite there being a huge number of casino players who enjoy casual iGaming with no detrimental effects.

How High-Roller Characters Feature in Other Novels

Axel Freed’s story is one based around destruction but there are many more novels and movies that use casino environments and storylines to convey more positive messages.

In Casino Royale, James Bond competes in a high-stakes baccarat game against Le Chiffre to help bring down an enemy organization. In this novel, which was later developed into the famous movie, high-stakes gambling is integral to the plot and the card game is used to convey risk, power and the struggle for survival.

Rather than a storyline based around generating personal profit from card games, Casino Royale uses the card game as a battle for power. As a secret agent, under this mission Bond is tasked with using psychology over weapons or physical violence. The tension is high and the rising stakes build this further to an enthralling climax.

Gambling also can be used across many genres including crime, tragedy, espionage and comedy, as it is very adaptable and it can be used to build narrative settings for all classes of society. Different types of games appeal to different types of people, from high-roller poker games to Las Vegas holidaymakers or people with financial struggles looking for a big win that could change their fortunes.

How Writers Use Gambling to Convey Character Personalities

Introducing a gambling storyline allows writers to convey details faster than going into depth about character traits. Different types of games are also often used to signal different types of personalities. For example, slots can be used to portray someone with a compulsive personality, while poker is often used to convey deception or strategic thinking.

High-stakes games help to set up a theme of luxury and glamor, usually with characters who have vast bankrolls to play with. Alternatively, high-stakes games can depict desperation, when characters stake more than they can afford to in a bid to turn their life around.

Slot machines are not as common in novels as poker, roulette and baccarat as they are a more passive type of game with limited scope for bringing in other characters. However, with online slots becoming increasingly popular, we can expect contemporary literature to feature more of this theme in the future, as well as all the other forms of digital entertainment that is becoming an everyday part of people’s lives.