''The Last Casino'' (also known by its French title, ''La Mise Finale'') is a 2004 French-language Canadian drama film about a

card counting Card counting is a blackjack strategy used to determine whether the player or the dealer has an advantage on the next hand. Card counters are advantage players who try to overcome the casino house edge by keeping a running count of high and low ...

scheme. The film was produced by Greg Dummett, Lorraine Richard and Madeleine Henri, directed by Pierre Gill and written by Steven Westren. ''The Last Casino'' stars

Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor, writer, and director of film and television, based in British Columbia. He is known for his roles in ''American Graffiti'' (1973), '' The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), '' Never Cry W ...

as Barnes,

Katharine Isabelle Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing ...

as Elyse,

Kris Lemche Kris Lemche (born 1978 or 1979) is a Canadian actor. Career At 17 years old, Lemche answered a newspaper casting call and won a role on the Disney series ''Flash Forward''. Abandoning plans to study biochemistry in University, Lemche instead ...

as Scott,

Julian Richings Julian Richings (born 30 August 1956)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at Ancestry.com is a British- Canadian character actor. He has appeared in over 225 films and television series. Career After touring t ...

as Orr and Albert Chung as George. ''The Last Casino'' draws heavily from the story of the

MIT Blackjack Team The MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at bla ...

.The MIT Blackjack Team. (2018)
"The Last Casino"
Retrieved on April 2, 2018. The

was a group of students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology who were trained by Bill Kaplan.Ball, Janet. (2014)
"How a team of students beat the casinos"
Retrieved on April 2, 2018. Kaplan delayed his entrance to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

because he believed he could create a mathematics model that would assist him in being successful at

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

. In 1977, Kaplan turned $1000 into $35000 within a nine-month period.

Summary

Mathematics professor Doug Barnes plays the game of

at casinos using a tactic known as

. Wilson, a casino security manager, captures Barnes' face and effectively blacklists him from the casino. Barnes' usurer, Orr, meets with Barnes to discuss how he will get his money back after Barnes is banned from the casino. Barnes suggests the idea of creating a team of card counters from the students at the university where Barnes teaches. Orr snips off one of Barnes' fingertips, explaining that this will assist Barnes in remembering him, and tells him that he will consider his proposal.Gill, Pierre. (2016
"The Last Casino (Master)"
Retrieved on April 2, 2018. After searching around the university, Barnes recruits three students: George, who has memorized pi 70 units past the decimal; Scott, who aces a complex memorization test; and Elyse, a waitress who successfully memorizes a complicated order Barnes makes for a pizza in a short period of time. After convincing them that his plan has little risk, Barnes proceeds to teach the students to count cards. Barnes brings the students to Orr, and tells them that he is their investor. Orr agrees to give money and tells Barnes that they are partners and he will get 75% of Barnes' 50% share. Prior to the group going to their first casino, Barnes gives them different identities. At the first casino, George becomes overwhelmed by the game and Elyse jumps in to help. After their first night, they make $6,000. One night at the casino, Elyse is approached by a man who claims he chases gamblers. Elyse asks him if he noticed any pros at the casino that night and he points out Scott, saying that it is obvious that he is a card counter. After an off night at the casino, Orr tells Barnes that the deal is off because the students are struggling and Barnes' compulsive gambling is becoming a problem. He gives Barnes one week to pay back his $100,000 debt. Barnes meets with the students and tells them that they have one week to earn $500,000. Barnes tells them that Orr is not a man they want to mess with and the students devise a plan to play at all the casinos in the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...

area. The casino discovers the team and attempts to get them all in a room to talk. The casino first questions Scott and George. The students then move onto the

region, hoping that local casinos have not been alerted to their activities. After their night in

, Elyse discovers that Scott lost $20,000. George goes back to the casino in attempt to make the team money. After hours at the casino, George apprehended by the casino management where he gets in a fight because he did not want to give up the money he made. The team buys their way into a secret game, where they discover that their card counting will not work. After a big win, Elyse suggest they take a break. Elyse tells the secret casino manager that the deck is short four cards and asks for them to be counted. The team packs up and decides to bring the money they have to Barnes. When they hand over the money to Barnes, they arranged for Orr to meet as well, to ensure that Barnes does not steal the money. The movie concludes with them finding out that Barnes lied about the amount owed. George gives Elyse money to help her with school and they part ways.

Cast

as Doug Barnes *

as Elyse *

as Scott *

as Orr * Albert Chung as George * Normand D'Amour as Wilson *

Jacques Godin Jacques Godin (; 14 September 1930 – 26 October 2020) was a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He was born in Montreal, Quebec. Career He won the Canadian Film Award for Best Actor at the 25th Canadian Film Awards in 1973 for his role ...

as Saunders

References

External links

* * Gill, Pierre. (2016
"The Last Casino (Master)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Casino, The 2004 television films 2004 films 2004 drama films Canadian television films Blackjack films English-language Canadian films 2000s Canadian films