Do You Have Any Info on a Video Poker Game in the movie The Vortex?

The movie The Vortex (free on Tubi) is set in 1980 at the MGM Grand. About 10 minutes in, the main character starts playing a video poker game that has a paytable that appears to only pay a royal flush and various 4-of-a-kinds. There also looks to be a secondary bet where 5 cards are dealt face down and the player turns over 2 of them to play. Can you provide any info on this game?

The only info we can provide is that this game, in all likelihood, was just a stylized or fictionalized video poker machine, not an actual casino game from 1980. We're thinking that it took at least of couple of cinematic liberties for the sake, perhaps (we haven't seen The Vortex), of some kind of drama.

Even the earliest video poker machines, which first became commercially viable around 1979, typically followed normal poker-hand rankings and paid for the royal flush, straight flush, four-of-a-kind, and on down to at least pair of jacks or better depending on the variation.

Such a major discrepancy as seen in The Vortex, paying out for only royals and quads, would have been an extremely unusual paytable, perhaps for a particular promo or novelty, though we doubt even that. After all, if a commercial machine paid only those top hands, the theoretical return would be so low and the variance so high that the casinos, certainly of that day, would probably have been reluctant to deploy such lopsided, exploitative, unplayable paytables.

As for the secondary bet, where the player flips two of five face-down cards, that neither lines up with standard video poker from that era nor rings any bells for us. We did find a video game called Double Up made by Cal Omega Products, a maker of early video poker and blackjack gambling machines, but that didn't come out until 1982, likely three years after the movie wrapped production. And it was a standalone machine, not a side bet on a royal-quads VP game.

So The Vortex game was probably a movie invention. If anyone knows any differently, we're all ears.

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Artie Jun-05-2026

Hold’em Machine

Many many years ago, Binion’s had a $.10 Texas Hold’em video poker machine, I don’t remember the payouts, layout or even how to play it, it was a bit strange.

Randall Ward Jun-05-2026

video game

in the mid-90s the arcade at the local mall had a crude video poker machine that paid out in tickets. It was really a slot machine but even then the parents would line up to play!

Bob Nelson Jun-05-2026

Just watched it on an airplane a few days ago.

The movie was set in the 80s, not filmed then.  The two card game was simply the double down feature offered in some VP games.  The player picks one of the cards to be flipped over, then the machine flips the dealers card to see who won with the high card.  The party table for the VP game was something very strange, I’ve never seen anything close to it.  The movie was pretty bad.

Bob Nelson Jun-05-2026

Pay table, not party table.

Dang autocorrect

Gregory Jun-05-2026

DDB

The machine in question is just a plain old IGT Player's Edge DDB Video Poker machine. This one has the payable presented on the screen, because the machine has generic glass installed where the payable would normally be present.  Last time I visited, El Cortez has a very similar machine to this in the "breezeway" where they still have a few coin operated machines for play. They have 1 machine back there with this configuration (although the payable is also shown on the glass).  Another thing to note is that the machine in the movie has the double-up option turned on.  That's somewhat unusual these days.

Gregory Jun-05-2026

Re: DDB

DDB = Double Double Bonus

Renee Austin Jun-05-2026

side bar

Dave and Buster's had a game you would roll balls into holes and it would give you a VP hand, then offer tickets.  It was fun.  I'd like to know more about it.

DCD Jun-06-2026

pre video poker machines

 in 1978 or 1979 the STARDUST had poker machines that had the playing cards on wheels that flipped over to the face making a splash like sound.

Question of the Day - 05 June 2026

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