My first exposure to any kind of casino gambling came through the movies.  When I was a little girl, my parents and I would go to a movie theater in Chinatown to watch the Chinese films that would find their way to the US for immigrant audiences.  One of the films I remembered was God of Gamblers and the series of movies it ushered in.  Please note: I’m not talking about the parities that came out of it, and come to think of it, I think this may be the first to launch the gambling martial arts genre in Asian film.

God of Gamblers was released prior to Chow Yun Fat’s partnership with John Woo, which introduced him to western audiences as a gun totting bad-ass.  If you can believe it, Chow Yun Fat does comedy in this series, at times acting like a child addicted to chocolate.  The films run the gambling gamut, including stud, blackjack, dice, and mah-jong.  Some of the plays are insane and the fact that they use plaques instead of chips for $1 million and higher actually makes me happy.  (I wish more casino entertainment companies used them).

For those who don’t know Cantonese (don’t worry, I don’t either), the films are all subtitled, courtesy of the British government (when Hong Kong was still run by the Brits).  There are better translated versions of these online on YouTube (one above).

Get your popcorn ready, and you’re welcome.