The success of 21 at the box office ($46 million and counting) probably ensures a whole new wave of casino movies on the way – not to mention a new wave of would-be geniuses who think they can beat the system crowding the tables in Vegas. James Donaghy of The Guardian takes note of Hollywood’s addiction to games of chance. “If some ball-busting genie made Hollywood choose a vice then gambling would win every time. The movies are infatuated with risk-takers: the maverick, the hopeless optimist, the plucky underdog who beats the odds. Then there's the charming conman who breaks the bank at Caesars who never has to buy another drink as long as he lives.”

Sure, it all looks easy enough in 21, with its vastly oversimplified card-counting scenario.

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