Las Vegas casino drama starring William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin and Maria Bello. Bernie (Macy) is a "cooler", a casino employee beset by infectious bad luck, which he takes to the table whenever someone is getting too lucky. His very presence breaks their winning streak. He's indebted to an old friend and casino owner Shelly (Baldwin), who once smashed up Bernie's knee, giving him a permanent limp. He runs his casino the old-fashioned way and refuses to modernize, despite the advice of Larry (Ron Livingston), who wants to rebuild the place to ensure it's not left behind by its rivals.
Bernie is a week away from retirement but Shelly doesn't want to see him go, so he pays Natalie to seduce him to give him a reason to stay in Las Vegas. The plan doesn't quite work out for Shelly as Bernie's luck begins to change.
Nugget: interesting complement to Casino (1995), Leaving Las Vegas (1995) and Ocean's Eleven (2001), but not quite up to their standard of entertainment. Good performances by the three principals, nevertheless. They do their best with the material they are given.
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