According to data issued today by online gaming company CircusCasino.com, the previous film, Casino Royale, takes the top two places with Bond winning US$115m at the poker table with a spades straight flush, while earlier in the film arch enemy Le Chiffre picked up US$17m, also in poker, with four jacks.

We're not yet sure whether casinos will feature in the new Bond movie, but with poker now officially recognised as a sport and its popularity burgeoning around the world, its place as a central plot theme on the silver screen is likely to be with us for a very long time. Third in the all-time film gambling win league table is 'The VUP' a character from Ocean's Thirteen who won US$11million from a slot machine - eight of the top ten biggest ever on-screen wins have come from poker hands.

Top Ten Biggest Movie Gambling Wins

Amount, character, film, year of release, type of game (how won)
1. $115million: James Bond, Casino Royale, 2006, Texas hold 'em poker (4-7 spades straight flush)
2. $17million: Le Chiffre, Casino Royale, 2006, Texas hold 'em poker (four-of-a-kind, Jacks)
3. $11million: 'The VUP', Ocean's Thirteen, 2007, Slot machine
4. $9,743,515*: Bret Maverick, Maverick, 1994, Five card draw poker, (spades royal flush)
5. $3,641,410*: Stu Ungar, High Roller (aka Stuey), 2003, Texas hold 'em poker (straight)
6. $2,084,726**: Bob Montagnet, The Good Thief, 2003, poker (ace high straight)
7. $2,000,000: The Dean, Shade, 2004, Five Card Stud poker (three of a kind)
8. $1,434,489*: John Gage, Indecent Proposal, 1993, Craps (7 - 5 and 2 rolled)
9. $1,244,550*: Valentin Zukovsky, The World is Not Enough, 1999, One Card High Draw poker (ace of clubs)
10. $1,100,042*: 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 1998, game type Three Card Brag poker (pair)

Source: CircusCasino.com
*Winnings in films pre-2000 recalculated to equivalent 2007 value (eh.net).    
**conversion from French francs

Film expert Thomas Craig, Lecturer in Film History and Theory at the University of Derby, analysed the major gambling movies for CircusCasino.com to reveal the biggest ever wins and the most popular games featured in the movies.

Peter Nolan, MD of CircusCasino.com, said: "Casinos, and poker in particular, have been central themes to many Hollywood blockbusters over the years - the tension of a card game showdown clearly thrills audiences.

"However, the glamour, excitement and 'quick wins' of high roller games featured in films don't represent the reality of poker, and multi-million dollar games in the real world are clearly not commonplace.

"We're not yet sure whether casinos will feature in the new Bond movie, but with poker now officially recognised as a sport and its popularity burgeoning around the world, its place as a central plot theme on the silver screen is likely to be with us for a very long time."

The research also found that Daniel Craig - with his 007 association - was the actor players would 'most fear' in a head-to-head game of poker, ahead of George Clooney and Nick Moran.

The top five actors 'most feared' at poker
1. Daniel Craig - 26%
2. George Clooney - 24%
3. Nick Moran - 17%
4. Robert Redford - 16%
5. Clive Owen - 10%
6. Other - 07%

Source: CircusCasino.com ; Based on the views of 1,000 poker players questioned in July 2008 by Your Say Pays

The CircusCasino.com study also revealed the most popular game variations and locations for gambling in films - Las Vegas, home of the super casino, came top, featuring as a backdrop for 52% of the films; London/New York were joint second, featuring in 18% of the films.

The most popular casino games seen in films
1. Poker - 48%
2. Black Jack - 16%
3. Roulette - 14%
4. Slot machines - 12%
5. Craps - 10%

Source: CircusCasino.com

Most popular locations for gambling in films
1. Tourist hotel and casino - 34%
2. High class casino - 23%
3. Illegal gambling den - 20%
4. Other (private game/home etc) - 17%
5. Small town casino - 06%

Source: CircusCasino.com