Fifty Shades of Green: Sex and Gambling

The new Fifty Shades of Grey film may be getting a mixed reception from critics but the kinky tale of Anastasia Steele’s erotic baptism of fire, at the hands of horny billionaire businessman and S&M aficionado Christian Grey, is a cultural phenomenon.

The core of the book - Steele’s relationship with Grey - is essentially all one big gamble. Should she or shouldn’t she? Should she go into the Red Room? Should she bow to his kinky will? Should she surrender to his warped charms? (Spoiler alert: she does).

The book’s prose is awful. The film is mediocre and underwhelming. Despite this, Fifty Shades of Grey has enraptured a generation and sold more than 100 million copies world wide.

Sex and gambling has always been a seductive combination. In Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the strip clubs sit alongside the casinos. Players are driven by the thrill of the chase, the adrenalin of the win, and the shear excitement of the game. Motivators which can apply equally to both gaming and dating.

Bunny Money

Hugh Hefner’s world famous Playboy Clubs elegantly combined gaming and girls. Bunny girls mingled with men in sharp suits. Everyone could be James Bond, with a beautiful girl on their arm, at the Baccarat table for an evening.

The formula worked: in 1981, the Playboy Club, at 45 Park Lane, in London, was the most profitable casino in the world and contributed £32 million to the Playboy empire.

James Bond is defined by his lust for gambling and sex. He is the archetypal playboy with an added twist of violence. He is man who loves the casino and the company of the opposite sex. Anastasia Steele would love Bond post Grey.

Indecent Proposals

In 1993, the film Indecent Proposal featured yet another randy rich man making a play for the younger lady. This time, it’s billionaire John Gage, played by Robert Redford, who offers David (Woody Harrelson) a million dollars to spend the night with his wife Diana (Demi Moore).

After losing their bankroll with a rather unwise all-in bet on roulette, they accept the offer. The film was both controversial and not very good. It won seven Razzie Awards, including worst Actor, Actress, Director, and Original Song.

In real life, spare a thought for the wife of Russian poker player Andrei Karpov. In 2007, Karpov was drawing blanks playing poker and had blown his stack. In order to stay in the game, Karpov put his wife Tatiana up as the stake.

He didn’t win. His opponent Sergey Brodov went to Karpov’s house to claim his prize. Tatiana went along with it. Divorced Karpov and eventually married Sergey. “Sergey was a very handsome, charming man and I am very happy with him, even if he did “win” me in a poker game,” she said

One way to sex up your gambling is to make an outrageous bet. French weather girl Doria Tillier ended up presenting the weather in her birthday suit, after losing a bet that the French national team would qualify for the World Cup.

True to her word, Tillier stripped off, after France overturned a 2-0 deficit to win and qualified for Brazil. On her big day, the forecast was for a particularly cold front!

The popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey and online gaming are proof that humans will always be human. Our innate curiosity and lust for life are what makes the world go round. We can’t resist the thrill of the chase or the excitement of the win.

Of course, if you’re playing online: it’s always clothing optional! Finally… a joke.

Two bored croupiers are standing at the craps table when suddenly a beautiful young woman walks up to the table and says she wants to bet $10,000 on the roll of the dice but she wants to play in the nude.

The croupiers eagerly agree and the woman duly strips off. She rolls the dice and jumps up and down, screaming: “I’ve won… I’ve won…”. She hugs both dealers, grabs the winnings, picks up her clothes, and heads for the exit.

One croupier looks at the other and says: “What did she roll anyway?”. The other replies: “I don’t know. I thought you were looking!”

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