Everyone loves a bet. The thrill and anticipation of seeing your bet come in is a sort of drug-like feeling, to a degree there is a sense of euphoria involved. Human nature actively seeks out thrills, we all love a bit adrenaline and that is one of the reasons people look to gambling. Celebrities are no different albeit they do have a bit more change to throw around.

Below is A-List of gamblers.

Ben Affleck
While he may be at odds with Batman fans all over the world, Affleck is a hustler on the table. His game is poker. His biggest win to date is the California State Poker Championship, which netted him a $350,000. But it was Affleck’s antics on the blackjack tables that got him in the newspapers recently. It has been reported that Affleck was counting cards at the Hard Rock Casino, Las Vegas, and is now banned indefinitely. Considering he is worth $75 million it is not as if he is short of money so he must love the thrill.

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In our previous article we let you know about the latest classic Hollywood blockbuster that has got a slot machine makeover thanks to Microgaming, the Isle of Man based software developer. As you probably guessed, Microgaming is not the only developer who releases games based on successful Hollywood features. Let me compile a short overview for you below.

Superman by Cryptologic

Actually, this one is more like a game based on the comic book character, or maybe the one from the animated feature. It is part of a whole series of games created by the company based on popular DC Comics characters (like The Green Lantern and others, many of which have already had their chance to greet us from the big screen).

Superman is a five reel, 50 payline slot machine, with a series of bonus features, quirks and other stuff that make it a good slot machine (enthusiasts will know).

You can play this game at William Hill, or any Cryptologic – powered online casino.

The Magnificent Sevens by BetonSoft

A small, relatively new player on the casino software development market, BetonSoft has taken on the tough job to give a Hollywood classic a slot machine makeover. This is one of the games that didn’t manage to reproduce the original feeling of the movie. It’s more like an attempt to sell a product by making use of an already successful, but almost abandoned brand.

This is one of the bad examples. I don’t know why anybody would want to play this game.

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It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since “Seinfeld” debuted on NBC as “The Seinfeld Chronicles.” Many like me consider it to be the best show in television history and it’s still relevant today. The show about nothing certainly made an impact even if few people noticed when it debuted.

Slot machines are among the most popular games of the world. There are other games extremely popular, of course, but these are the ones available – both online and in real life – in probably the greatest variety. There are literally hundreds of variants available in casinos, pubs, betting shops or restaurants of the world, and there are also hundreds of them – free to play or real money versions – available online.

Commercial slot machines – the ones that can be played for real money – are built with a great variety of themes, inspired by a bunch of things. There are some with shoes, fish, hunting, wildlife, sports, vacations, office work, spies, and there are those – among the most popular – that are inspired by Hollywood hits, just like the one recently released by Microgaming, one of the best rated casino games developers of the world: “Terminator 2 – Judgement Day.”

This is the last in the series of popular casino titles based on hit movies launched by the developer based in the Isle of Man. It has launched several others before – for example, one of their most popular ones based on the high tech vigilante cleaning out the streets of Gotham City, as imagined by Christopher Nolan, besides a bunch of others based on successful TV series and video games (including the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider franchise).

Terminator 2 – Judgement Day was released based on a licensing agreement signed by the developer and Studiocanal, back in February. The game was launched at the beginning of June. It features cut scenes, sound effects and the characters from the hit movie – we can see familiar faces, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Robert Patrick, the lead actors from the movie.

The game itself is a modern video slot machine, with five reels and 243 ways to win. It features everything a modern and successful slot machine needs: stunning bonuses (although no progressive jackpot this time), free spins and the possibility to expand to 1024 ways to win, maximizing the winnings of the lucky player. The morphing capability of the T-1000 (masterfully played by Robert Patrick in the original movie) was exploited during the Free Spins bonus game – it can morph into any of the symbols, offering players an even bigger chance to win.

Did I make you curious? Are you asking where could you try this game? Well, it depends where you reside. Jackpot City is still one of the best casinos for Canadian players, so I would suggest to start there if you happen to reside in Canada. Europe and the rest of the world has a great variety of Microgaming – powered casinos to choose from, while in case of US players I can only suggest to try one of the places where the game is available in “fun mode”, as the licenses usually prohibit them from registering to most online casinos anyway.

One of the memorable quotes from the movie was “I’ll be back”. Well, he is back again. Good luck.

Baseball is as American as apple pie and so it’s not surprising that there have been quite a few baseball movies produced over the years. The movies below are three great examples.

Eight Men Out

Eight Men Out is a 1998 film, based on the true story of the ‘Black Sox’ scandal of 1919, when the poorly paid White Sox players were bribed by mobster Arnold Rothstein to deliberately lose the World Series. Rothstein, of course, stood to gain massive amounts of money through the World Series bets placed as the White Sox were the better team.

The World Series is an annual championship series played between the American League and National League team champions. In 2013, the winners of the Fall Classic (the World Series takes place in October) were the Boston Red Sox. They beat the St. Louis Cardinals by four games to two. This year, the favourite team to win the World Series at betting exchange Betfair are the Detroit Tigers, also the favourites to win the American League, with Betfair offering a price of around 11/4. The San Francisco Giants meanwhile are favourites to win the National League.

In the movie, the scandal is set against the backdrop over a pay dispute between the players and the team owner. The film shows the conflict many of the team members felt in playing to deliberately lose, and indeed towards the end of the World Series, some decided to play as well as they could in order to win. However, two years after the White Sox had lost the World Series, two players confessed and there was a trial of eight players. The film shows that they were not found guilty, but they were banned for life by Judge Landis, the new independent baseball commissioner.

Field of Dreams

Kevin Costner has made a ton of movies, but this 1996 film is one of his best for its combination of mystery, adventure and magic – all set around the game of baseball. Iowa corn farmer Ray (Costner) is convinced by voices he hears in the corn to build a baseball diamond in his field. ‘If you build it, he will come’ works a treat as the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) – one of the Chicago Black Sox – turns up in his field for a game. But that’s not all; Ray comes to understand that his ballfield is somewhere that people who have made sacrifices in their life can come for a second chance. Examples include Doc Graham (Burt Lancaster), a doctor who gave up his future in baseball in order to practice medicine. The final visitor to the ball field is someone very close to Ray’s heart.

Moneyball

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill star in this baseball movie – based on the real-life story of player turned manager of Oakland Athletics, Billy Beane. Billy has a team to run on a low budget, which means they’re on a losing streak against the bigger teams. He turns to an untested and seemingly crazy method to pick new players which, against all the odds, begins to pay off. It’s a great film and although it was nominated for six Oscars, it didn’t actually win any in the 2012 ceremony.