Casinos and gambling might be one of the things you associate with the 007 legacy, but not necessarily with the heroes and villains of comic books. However, once you dig a little deeper, there is a rich history of DC and Marvel characters enjoying a toss of the dice or the spin of the roulette wheel.
Below are some of the heroes and villains from comic books who enjoyed gambling, had an obsession with luck or ran a glamourous casino.
Roulette
Aptly named, Roulette is a villain heralding from the DC Comics Universe who runs her own casino called “The House.” The casino includes a battle arena where captured heroes are forced to fight one another as villain spectators place bets.
She is a super genius when it comes to quickly calculating odds and the winnings from bets. She is also very successful at capturing heroes and pinning them against one another – at one point, she had captured nearly everyone in the Justice Society! If she were to try online gambling, you can be sure she would choose the best option, such as free slots win real money no deposit required.
Gambler
This villain from the DC Comics Universe first broke onto the scene in a battle against the Green Lantern in 1944. As his name suggests, he is a highly skilled gambler, coming from a long lineage of successful gamblers.
This debonair villain is a master of disguises and uses his cunning and luck to pull off impressive heists and escapes from the authorities.
Chance
Another expert gambler is the villain Chance, one of Spiderman’s archenemies. Chance completes missions for other villains using his love of luck and gambling as motivation. For example, if he were able to achieve the mission, he would win the reward, but if unsuccessful, he would lose the bet and need to pay off his clients instead. He uses a system of odds when deciding whether to take on another mission.
The Penguin
Although his name may not be particularly intimidating, The Penguin certainly had a penchant for casinos. Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot is one of Batman’s most relentless foes; this mobster, thief, and all-around nefarious character from the DC universe ran his own casino called “The Iceberg Casino,” which does float like an iceberg.
Although his casino is technically a legal operation, it attracts several unsavory characters, and he continues to commit crimes and exchange secret information.
Professor X
As the most intelligent human being on Earth, Professor X certainly has a leg up on the rest of us when it comes to gambling. This member of the X-Men can read minds and project his own thoughts.
If Professor X ever stepped into a casino, you can imagine that he would win big in every poker and blackjack game he played simply by reading the minds of his opponents. Then, if he noticed anyone getting suspicious of him, he could simply change their thoughts himself.
Black Jack
While he may not be well known, Black Jack is a fantastic superhero, named after the casino card game blackjack. The story goes that Detective Jack Jones was an avid blackjack player, and one day he was lured into a small room by some gangsters. They trapped Jack Jones in the room and left him to die there, but thankfully he had a card, the ace of spades, in his pocket.
Using this card, Jack Jones was able to escape from the room. He then became a hero and, eventually, fought the gangsters who had trapped him and brought them to justice.
Amos Fortune & the Royal Flush Gang
Amos Fortune is a character who became obsessed with the concept of luck and how one might control your luck. Through his research, he found that humans possess a “lucky gland,” which determines whether a person will have good or bad luck.
After discovering the lucky gland, Amos Fortune learned how to control it and developed the Royal Flush Gang. It was composed of a number of villains with names inspired by playing cards – the King, Queen, Jack, Ten, and Ace. Since developing the formula and creating the gang, Amos Fortune has gone on to control the Royal Flush Gang and has used them to fight against the Justice League.
These are just a few of the many increasingly popular comic book characters who have dabbled in gambling, betting, and chasing after Lady Luck.
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