It has long been a nugget of trivia beloved of James Bond nerds that Sean Connery could boss a gaming table with the same nonchalant proficiency as the suave secret agent he portrayed.
Well, apparently, it’s all a lie.
According to a newly unearthed interview with the late Bond publicist Jerry Juroe, Connery’s famous hot streak at the Casino de la Vallee in Saint-Vincent in northeast Italy in 1963 was nothing more than a rigged marketing stunt.
Turns out they were just trying to get publicity for the first Bond movie, Dr No, and the then relatively unknown actor in the title role.
Rigged Wheel
The story goes that Connery, who died in October last year aged 90, seated himself at one of the casino’s European roulette tables, placing his stake on his lucky number, 17.
The first two spins yielded no joy. But the budding Bond stuck to his guns, and on the third spin the ball settled in the 17 pocket.
Being a Scottish badass, Connery decided to let his winnings ride, leaving them on 17. Again, the ball bounced into the 17 pocket. And then, again, a third time.
The odds of this occurring are about 50,000/1, the kind of odds Bond overcomes in every movie, otherwise he would be totally dead.
Connery “won” around $27,000, which is roughly $242,000 in today’s money.
Except that he didn’t. It was all faked, according to Juroe, in a previously unseen interview.
“The stunt was easy to accomplish because the wheel was rigged, the bets were rigged and for a brief period of time, Sean – as well as one or two other people who were part and parcel of the operation – was sitting there winning money until he literally broke the bank,” Juroe said.
“It was not that difficult but, I must tell you, as soon as it was handed over, the money was handed back. It was quite a few billion lire.”
Unseen Footage
The interview was uncovered by Paul Duncan, author of a new book, The Bond Archives, who was given exclusive access to archive footage by Bond production company Eon.
Of course, Bond’s game of choice was not roulette at all but baccarat, as established in the very first scene of Dr No.
Nevertheless, the marketing ploy was a hit. It made headlines around the world. And it probably helped Dr No become a box-office smash, setting the Bond franchise rolling.
Although the Vatican’s denouncement of the movie as “a dangerous mixture of violence, vulgarity, sadism and sex” was probably the clincher.
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