Ocean’s Thirteen follows the movies Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve. It involves the team seeking revenge for their friend against the hotel tycoon Willie Bank.
They all gather around a hospital bed where Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) lays after suffering a myocardial infarction.
A flashback to four weeks before that appears, showing Reuben meeting with Willie Bank (Al Pacino) in an unfinished hotel. Reuben is told by Bank that he is no longer a partner in the hotel and persuades Reuben to sign over his percentage of the hotel to him, even though Bank is only giving a small cash amount to him.
The gang does not wish to make any money, only to take revenge on Bank. All of his hotels have won the prestigious Five Diamond Award, giving him a necklace with five large diamonds for each award, received after a reviewer from the company stayed there and deemed it worthy.
They come to the conclusion that they have to ruin Bank. They begin to find ways to rig the various games at the casino, with help by Roman Nagel (Eddie Izzard) who supplies them with information on Bank. The only problem they face is the security system called Greco. The only way to bypass the system is by a huge natural disaster or a magnatron. If the system senses any trouble, it will automatically lock down and will take about three minutes to reboot. They buy a large tunnel boring machine that will be able to create an artificial earthquake underneath the hotel. Meanwhile, the team is inside a room spreading various chemicals.
In the lobby, Saul is in line to check in. He then pretends to cough and drops a folder that has the Five Diamonds insignia on it, doing this deliberately so Bank’s aid Abigail would see it. As she takes him out of line to get him checked in right away, a man complains that he gets to check in before him. As the man reaches the front desk, a woman that Danny had paid recognizes him in a photo, giving him the contaminated room. He goes through many bad experiences, all planned by the team. The man (David Paymer) is revealed to be the reviewer from the company, marking everything from to be terrible.
The drill used to create the quake broke down. They decide the only way to get money to buy another is to make a deal with Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Benedict requests that they double his investment and that they steal the diamonds that Bank had won over the years, housed in a glass case, worth $250 million each.
Linus places small detonating devices around the base of the diamond case. The FBI comes into the casino and arrests Livingston, who is working on one of the shuffling machines, saying that they have been watching. An agent (Bob Einstein) tells Bank that a new set of machines will be coming in shortly. Roman then brings in the rigged machines, replacing them with the real machines which Bank thought were rigged. Prints on the machine are matched with Livingston’s, and the FBI comes up with a list of known associates. The list is being sent to Bank in his office. Basher, dressed up as a stunt man who was supposed to do a show at the hotel that night, comes into Bank’s officer, distracting him from the computer while Virgil and Turk modify the team’s faces so that they look nothing like the real men.
Dice are given to the tables as well as roulette balls, all loaded with the chemical substance. When the team activates their equipment, disguised as lighters, the dice will flip and stop, as well as the roulette ball, allowing for many wins by anyone.
The drill is turned on. Bank rushes to the Greco system and his phone rings. It is a trap, and Bank realizes that his tampered-with phone was really a magnatron itself. The system shuts down, and the rigged games can now be played. The FBI agent finds Linus. He says that Linus was using her to steal the real diamonds and replace them with fake ones. It is revealed that the agent is really his father. They reach the helipad where Basher is about to land the helicoptor which will pick them up. Suddenly, Francois Toulour (the antagonist from Ocean’s Twelve) reveals himself, pointing a gun at Linus. They are forced to give Francois the diamonds, and Toulour jumps from the roof, activating his parachute. Basher lands the helicopter and they attach cables to four metal plates that had been installed by the team earlier. The explosives are detonated, freeing the diamond case from the floor, and the helicopter takes off, carrying the case of diamonds under it. The “real” diamonds that were given to Francois were actually the fake ones.
Reuben is then given the deed to 4.6 acres of land where the hotel sits. Danny pays a final visit to Benedict, giving him his doubled investment.
Before leaving Las Vegas, Rusty sits down to play a game of slots. Rusty gives the man, now shown to be the reviewer from the Five Diamonds, his place at the machine and a coin. Rusty smiles as he walks away, hearing the man scream that he had won the $11 million jackpot as everyone crowds around him and cheers.