1
I'm in.
All right, ladies, $20.
Hey, fruity cocktail,
you in or not?
I'm out.
JESSE: Let me guess, raise?
Well, I wasn't going to,
but now that you put the idea
in my head, sure, why not?
I've seen that look before.
I'm out.
ALEX: Sure you wanna do that?
I think you're bluffing.
WALLY: Throwing out the line.
ALEX: Could be.
Could also be that
the cards in my hand
plus the cards that are showing
give me an 86%
chance of winning.
But you know what? Go ahead, go all in.
You got a 14% window.
JESSIE: You are so full of shit.
Am I? JESSIE: Yeah.
This is so much fun,
gentlemen. I fold.
Coming out.
Shit, I didn't even
need that one.
Oh. Damn it!
JESSE: Unbelievable.
JESSE: What's that?
Every damn time, man.
KEVIN: Shit. God.
One more round? JESSIE: I don't
wanna play with you anymore.
Dude, this sucks.
What sucks?
This.
College, man, it's over.
No more fun.
(PHONE RINGING)
Alex's room.
I'm not here, I'm not here.
No, this is Ben. Who's this?
Yeah, just a second.
Dude, it's Melissa.
What? Yeah.
She said she's calling you back
from, like, two weeks ago.
Remember when you
drunk-dialed her?
(STAMMERS) Well, tell her I'm not here...
Are you kidding me?
You've had the biggest crush on
this girl for the past six months.
You gotta talk to her now.
Melissa? Hi.
Hey, you know, I'm...
I'm in the middle of something right now.
Could I call you back?
Great.
Who are you?
I know.
JESSE: What happens if he wins?
BEN: Alex plays in a Poker
Stars tournament on TV.
JESSE: No way! Sick. WALLY: Beats
making photocopies in a law firm.
Guys, please.
I've been up all night.
What do you have, anyways?
A pair of ladies.
Nice.
(BEEPING)
Yeah!
(ALL CHEERING)
Yeah.
ALEX: Hey, guys.
MRS. STILLMAN: We are
so proud of you, honey.
MR. STILLMAN: Yes, we are.
Thank you.
MR. STILLMAN: Magna
cum laude, not bad.
But summa could've gotten you a
full scholarship to law school.
Alan.
Hey, guys, Mr. and Mrs. S.
Hey, Ben. Hey.
What's up, my man? Hey.
How are you?
Where are those Girls
Gone Wild chicks at?
Open your eyes, kid.
Hey, you didn't say
anything, did you?
No, no, I swear, I didn't say a word...
Didn't say a word about what?
I just... Alex?
I kind of got into a tournament.
Sweet!
I got it.
It's only for a couple of days.
You promised this
was just a hobby.
It won't get out of hand.
It won't get out of hand.
Come... Come on.
I beat out hundreds of people.
I stuck my neck out
to get you that job.
And I'll still be there.
This is a big deal.
Thanks for being here with us
at the Poker Stars.com
$10 million challenge.
I'm Greg "Fossilman" Raymer
and working with me...
Joseph Hachem.
So, Greg,
what have you got there?
Well, Joe, in case any of our
players don't show up today,
I'm ready to jump in
any time they want.
JOE: Okay,
let's meet our players.
Antonio "The
Magician" Esfandiari,
"The Unabomber" Phil Laak.
Tex Button,
and of course, the crowd
favorite, Karen "Razor" Jones.
HELEN: Want another drink, hon?
Nope, no, I'm fine.
JOE: We'll get a look at our new
young gun in just a minute.
(SWITCHING CHANNELS)
ANNOUNCER: One out.
Do you wanna give
me a hand in here?
Guy's on third.
I'll be right in.
ANNOUNCER:
Up next is Phil Cabaratta.
The first time, he walked
and moved around there,
and the next time, he banged
himself out a triple.
JOE: Each player is first
dealt two down cards.
A round of betting then occurs.
Then comes the community
cards with the flop,
the turn and the river.
In the end, the best
five-card combination
wins the hand and takes the pot.
Let's take a closer look at
one of our newest young guns.
I guess you could say I've
always been good with numbers.
GREG: Young Alex Stillman,
just 21 years old,
born and raised in Los Angeles,
learned to play poker
in just the last three years.
And when this whiz kid went
off to college in the East,
he realized that there might be
a little bit more
to this poker thing.
Dealer card.
Thank you.
KAREN: Four thousand.
Right off the bat, huh, Karen?
Yeah. Whee.
PHIL: No rest for the wicked.
JOE: Alex, who came to the final
table today as our chip leader,
has lost a lot of his stack
since the start of play.
Okay, let's take a look.
All right, you guys have fun.
Looks like I scared
everyone out.
ALEX: Ten thousand.
This young kid
might get into trouble
in this hand if
he's not careful.
GREG: Oh, exactly. I mean,
if you don't look at Razor,
if you don't see
what a strong hand she's got,
I mean,
you think top pair's good.
Likes his hand.
All right, I call.
All right,
kids, it's all up to you.
PHIL: The ten of clubs.
Interesting. I'm all in.
JOE: Wow. Look at that.
(GREG CHUCKLING)
GREG: He's gonna wish he was
paying more attention.
All right, kid,
let's rock and roll.
Obviously,
Razor has called him all in.
Let's see what the river brings.
JOE: And Alex is going to be
very disappointed here, I think.
PHIL: That's what zero
percent feels like, huh?
Yeah. River didn't help.
You were beat on the turn.
You played what you could.
See you around.
Go back to school.
He obviously got
a little bit lucky
to make it to our
final table today,
but hopefully he'll
take something home
from this and he'll
be back next time.
(TV TURNING OFF)
Alex, when you get a moment,
I need you to give Mr. Wallace
the briefs from the Longhorn case.
Okay.
By the way, today is payday,
but they'll hold
your first check
until the end of
the next pay period.
Do you think you can make it
for two more weeks?
I think I can manage.
Okay, good.
Okay.
Oh, and Alex, be careful.
That sorter is
almost at capacity.
(SOFT ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)
Did you find anything, baby?
Hmm.
There's one cruise left
that leaves in July.
Mmm-hmm.
We can afford a third-class
cabin, but that's about it,
though we do get
lobster for one night.
Ooh, boy, lobster.
Yeah.
Why don't we go first-class?
(CHUCKLING) Oh, Tommy.
Honey,
this money has to last us
the rest of our lives.
ANNOUNCER: At the wire, it's
Amanda's Pride, Lucky Day and...
CHARLIE: Am I hot! That's $400.
I think I'll go hit
a casino for a bit.
If you're gonna go gamble,
then I'm gonna go with you.
Oh, now, wait a minute.
I'm not gonna gamble.
I'm just gonna watch.
What about Helen?
I just told you, I'm just gonna watch.
Yeah, I know.
You'd probably hock your watch.
I'm not gonna hock my watch.
I'm gonna watch. You can't
get into trouble doing that.
If you put down a nickel,
I'm getting up and going.
Because I ain't taking
the rap for this one.
Like taking candy from a baby.
Don't you mean
a baby taking candy?
I get it, because I'm young.
That's really funny.
Too bad there's no minimum
age to spend your money.
ALEX: Well, guys, it's been fun.
But I better get home now
before I'm too late for curfew.
Lunch money for the next month.
BEN: Tip from me, thanks.
(WHISTLING)
You really should be doing
this for a living, man.
You think so?
Nice playing in there.
Hey, thanks, man,
I appreciate it.
What do you think, Tommy?
I think he could've
done a lot better.
Talking about me?
Well, if I saw you bluffing,
then everybody at your
table saw you bluffing.
What are you talking about?
I flopped a set.
You missed your flush.
Maybe you should
get your eyes checked.
Maybe I should.
Listen, you know, you got a
hell of a lot of potential,
so if you ever want to sit down
and talk about cards sometime...
Hey, hey... All right,
look, I think he's okay.
You could do a whole lot worse.
Hey, all right, all right.
Tommy Vinson.
What's that dude
talking about, man?
I don't know, maybe he's
drunk or something.
Did you really flop a set?
No, I missed my flush.
Oh, I had a feeling
you'd show up.
What? No, no.
I'm just here to
play cards, man.
No, just give me five minutes.
See the guy over there
with the red hat?
What about him?
What kind of hand do
you think he's got?
Good? Bad?
Good.
Wrong. Okay.
He's got a bad hand.
You know how I know?
How do you know?
When he has a bad hand, he lightly
scratches his face, like this.
He's done it every time.
It's a tell. Watch.
Well, didn't it rain
my children
Like that.
Didn't it didn't it didn't it
Oh, lucky guess.
Okay.
Pick someone,
anybody at the table.
How about this guy right here?
Didn't it rain
I say he's got a good hand.
Ace, king, maybe?
No. Ace, queen.
Damn. You should
be playing these guys.
I don't play anymore.
Hey, can you give me
that napkin, please?
It's a nice accent.
What is that, German?
No, it's Russian.
Oh.
You must drink a lot of vodka.
(WOMAN SCOFFING)
Boy, I hope you're better with
cards than you are with women.
Believe me, I am.
You know, I won $22,000 in
the Poker Stars Tournament.
Razor.
She just... Oh, man.
Cut you to ribbons.
You saw that?
Yeah.
Come on, man, I had bad cards.
It's not the cards.
You don't play the cards.
You play the player.
What do you have in mind?
Million-dollar payouts.
I'll cover the buy-ins and we'll
split 50-50, right down the middle.
What's the catch?
No catch. You just gotta win.
And you gotta listen to me.
Every word.
Why should I do that?
Because by the time you're
25, you'll be set for life.
Are you set for life?
I could've been if I'd had
someone to listen to.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Hey. ALEX: Hey.
You found it, huh? Yeah.
Nice place. Right.
(CHUCKLING NERVOUSLY)
Would you like
something cold to drink?
You want a Coke,
soft drink, a beer?
Beer, yeah, I'll take a beer.
Okay.
(CHUCKLING)
Is this you?
Yeah, can you believe it?
'79 Reno Poker Final.
What's this?
(CHUCKLING) Oh...
My wife set that up there.
That's the hand I had
when I beat Doyle Brunson.
ALEX: Oh, my God.
You beat Doyle Brunson
in the World Championships?
Well, they didn't call it World
Championships then, but...
Shit!
Yeah, it was just
called the game.
Now it's, you know,
multi-million dollar pots
and diamond bracelets.
So you never won
a championship, then?
I...
I was in the top ten.
I was doing great.
For five years,
I was kicking ass.
And then I...
I lost my confidence, you know,
and losing a lot of games...
I started borrowing
a lot of money
from my friends, family.
Kept on playing.
Then I hit the wall.
I mean, I hit...
I lost everything.
I almost lost my wife.
She told me if I quit,
she'd stay.
So...
I quit. I haven't...
I haven't played a game
of cards in 20 years.
Twenty years? You haven't
played poker in 20 years?
Not even a home game.
Oh, my God.
Do you miss it?
Not as much as I'd miss her.
Look, man, if I... You know,
if we're gonna do this
thing, I don't know...
Should we sign something or...
What do you say
we just trust each other?
All right.
All right.
ANNOUNCER:
Second hand underway...
ALEX: Are you sure your wife's
not gonna come home and kill us?
TOMMY: Don't worry, she won't
be home until tomorrow night.
Focus. Gus Hansen,
what's he doing?
I don't know.
He's betting too quick?
He keeps checking his cards.
He knows what he's holding.
Believe me, these guys know
exactly what they got.
It's a false tell.
All right. I think I got it.
Let's go try it out. We've
been doing this for days.
Come on, we've been
through 100 tapes.
You think you're ready?
Tommy, please.
Come on, you want
me to be the student,
let me learn the way I do best.
Commerce Casino's
just 20 minutes away.
If we're gonna do this,
let's do it right.
(MONEY HONEY PLAYING)
BARRY: Are you calling that?
Oh, man.
BARRY: Well, look who it is.
Gosh. Hey, long time.
How you doing, Barry?
Is that your kid?
That's my kid.
BARRY: Well, have a seat.
All right.
Yo, son, you sure
you can handle this?
We'll see.
DIAMOND: The raise.
PLAYER 1: Call.
DIAMOND: Five hundred.
PLAYER 2: Nah. I'm folding.
PLAYER 1: Up five. ALEX: Fold.
DIAMOND: I'm good.
PLAYER 1: All right, I call.
BARRY: There we go.
He's up 38?
PLAYER 1: All in.
I'm all in.
DIAMOND: I fold.
A little different than playing
on the Internet, huh, son?
DIAMOND: I'll take you down, yo.
What do you say we
take a little break?
Look, I just got bad cards.
I'll be fine.
Come on, Tommy, let ATM stay.
BARRY: Yeah.
Come on.
DEALER: All right, bet's to you.
BARRY: Yeah, all right.
You're biting your lower lip.
What? What are you
talking about?
Every time you get a bad hand,
you bite your lower lip.
No, I don't.
Oh, shit, let's get out of here.
Wait.
Come on, give me one more second.
Look, if I see it,
everybody at the table sees it.
Look, you brought me here to learn.
Just give me one more chance.
Here you come draggin' in
Three a.m. again
Grinnin' that silly grin
Smellin' just like sin
Holdin' up that alibi
I'm all in.
Diggin' down deeper and deeper
In that hole you're already in
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better
Hey, ATM, what do you think
I ought to buy next?
A BMW?
Or a Benzo?
I like Beemers, myself.
BARRY: Look,
the kid made a straight,
(CHUCKLING)
I did pretty good, right?
Yeah, you did good.
Then I did good?
You didn't like the lip?
These guys got long memories.
Next time you play them, you're gonna
have to change it up a little bit.
When was the last time
you got laid?
What? When was your last time?
I'm doing fine in that
department, thank you.
Oh, okay.
Why do you care, anyway?
Well, young guy, testosterone
popping out of every pore.
It seems like you would be
taking a run at everything.
I want you to be happy,
you know.
I don't know, I just...
For whatever reason, I'm
kind of awkward with girls.
I just wish they'd come up to me.
It'd be a whole lot easier.
You know, some of these skills
you're learning at the table,
you know, people skills,
watching, observing, listening,
it'll come in handy for you if you
just apply them in other areas.
Like that tall drink
of water over there.
Just go over and say hello.
(SIGHING)
Everything will be fine.
Trust me.
I will do this.
(ALEX CLEARING HIS THROAT)
Hi, I'm...
I'm sorry, I don't
normally do this, but...
I'm a Virgo. And before you ask,
no, I don't come here often.
No, really, I've never done this.
I'm...
Look, the reason I'm here...
Do you see the old
guy behind me?
He thinks I'm
terrible with girls,
which, obviously,
you can tell I am.
Maybe you could giggle
a little bit or something.
I don't giggle.
All right, come on, what's it gonna
take for you to help me out here?
Tell me why you're so
terrible with women.
I don't know, I don't know...
Probability?
Wasn't expecting that one.
What I mean is, you know,
asking a girl out
is, very simply,
a 50-50 proposition.
She either says
yes or she says no.
I don't like to do anything where you
only have a 50% chance of succeeding.
Well, if 50-50 odds
aren't good enough for you,
then you, my friend,
are in the wrong town.
But no, that is not true.
You take poker, for example.
Poker, you know, you can have bad
cards, but it doesn't matter,
because you always have
the option of bluffing.
And you don't think
that applies to women, too?
What?
(WOMEN CHUCKLING)
Good luck, buddy.
I don't...
Okay, let's start over.
Ask me out.
I'm sorry, I don't
even know your name.
Michelle.
Hi, I'm Alex.
Would you like to go out
with me sometime?
I don't know, Alex.
What do you do?
I just graduated college and I'm
working part-time as a law clerk.
MICHELLE: Mmm.
Yeah.
No, thanks.
No, wait, wait, I'm sorry.
I meant...
I meant, I am a CEO
for a Fortune 500 company
which specializes
in software development.
And I travel all over the
world to exotic countries,
which maybe you'd love
to go with me sometime.
Really?
Sure, I would love
to go out with you.
(BOTH YELLING)
Seven-two.
Maybe you could
spot me a couple?
Oh, never. It's all or
nothing with me, baby.
Of course it is.
(YELLING)
God!
Well, I hope you're better at
cards than you are at air hockey.
You know what? This time
I'm going to bring it.
Let's go.
(EXCLAIMS)
Oh, my God, are you okay?
Yeah, I...
What if I'm not?
What? It bounced...
It hit the thing, I didn't
mean for it to actually...
(BREATHE PLAYING)
I'm fine.
It bounced. It bounced.
Good trip, huh?
Sure was.
Did you like that gal?
I mean, did you have
a good time last night?
And this morning.
(CHUCKLING)
You're a machine.
I wouldn't say that.
(CHUCKLING)
Well, you got to concentrate, man.
We got to focus from now on.
I'm focused. This is it for me, man.
I wanna take it all the way.
All the way. Love to hear it.
Friday night, you know, we got
a tournament in New Orleans.
This Friday?
Yeah. Problem with it?
No, no, not a problem.
ALEX: Hey, Dad.
Hey, Ben invited me
to go to Santa Barbara.
I was wondering if
I could take a sick day.
I know, I know,
last time, I swear.
All right, thanks. Bye-bye.
TOMMY: Bad news, baby.
I gotta go to Cleveland.
I should be back by Monday.
I'll call you later
to say good night.
Money honey
gotta get some quick
'Cause this little pile
I got won't do the trick
Money honey
money's what she wants
If I don't get some quick
I might find her gone
Now haulin' these bundle of
shingles 'bout to break my back
And that jingle in my pocket
ain't nothin' but roofin' tacks
I gotta find me a line of
work where I can use my mind
Good job today.
Get a little rest.
Big day tomorrow.
Rest? Come on.
I'm the chip leader. Let's
grab me a drink or something.
Okay.
So far, so good.
That's all you have to say?
Mmm-hmm.
All right, you know what? You
just calm down, Mr. Excitement.
Maybe you'll perk up tomorrow
when I win us $600,000.
(PHONE RINGING)
(GROANING)
(MURMURING)
Jesus Christ.
I forgot to tell you.
Do not answer the phone.
Who do they want? Because...
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Ignore it all.
The players
you're facing tomorrow,
they're trying to keep you up.
Maybe it's important.
Do not answer the door.
I'm telling you
for your own good.
Well, they're not gonna stop.
Hi, I'm Chaniqua.
This is my friend, Dolly.
(EXCLAIMING)
I told you.
You can beat anybody at this
table, with or without any sleep.
All right.
I'm gonna scratch my hand
I've got the night before me
I'm going to get high
Till it hurt no more
Feed the demon
something every day
You know I'm going to
drown on the river anyway
If you want to be a dead man
Track it in your left hand
Raise it with your right
And bring me to my knees
Hauling down the money
A little bit of
faith and glory
Then you drown in the river
Just like me
God damn it.
Awful cards.
Bullshit. You know it's not
the cards, and so do I.
Come on, I did
everything I could do.
You're tired.
You're right back
to your old bad habits.
You didn't even
make it to the money.
All right, well, you can't
win every one, all right?
No, you can't.
All right, then why
don't you go and play?
Because I promised
somebody I wouldn't.
You call lying to
your wife a promise?
You better go home.
What's going on, baby?
What?
Where were you, anyway? Vegas?
Well, I went to New Orleans.
New Orleans?
Yeah, for a tournament.
I knew it.
I'm not playing any cards at all.
I'm just teaching.
I had this kid I found...
How much did you lose?
$10,000.
$10,000? Yeah.
Tommy. But in Vegas...
When were you in Vegas?
(SIGHING)
Now, what you don't understand
is when we were in Vegas...
I'm going to my sister's.
Hey, Michelle, it's me again.
Give me a call
when you get this.
Okay, bye-bye.
God. Three messages and she still
hasn't called me back yet.
Will you stop
worrying about her?
Just think about winning.
What's first place pay, anyway?
$500,000.
HOST: Welcome to the Fifth Annual
Desert Bloom Poker Classic.
Dealers, shuffle up and deal.
Guess who?
How many guesses do I get?
One. Think you can
deal with those odds?
Oh, my God, you're here!
How's it going so far?
Really good, but it just
got a whole lot better.
It's good to see you again.
Yeah, you, too.
You want some? No, I'm okay.
What?
Nothing.
There's just
something about you.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
You're a good guy, Alex.
Thank you.
(SIGHS)
Is something wrong?
I just wish... What?
I wish that we had met
under different circumstances.
How do you mean?
You know...
You live in L.A.,
I live in Vegas.
So? It's 300 miles away.
Four and a half hours by car.
An hour by plane.
Where are you going?
My father's in town.
I thought I told you.
No.
I gotta go home
and get some rest.
You can sleep here.
I'll call you later, okay?
What?
Good luck tomorrow.
Susan. Hi.
Is she there?
Yeah, I'll get her.
Hi.
Hi. How are you?
Where are you?
I'm in...
I'm in Vegas with the kid.
You know, Alex.
What?
The World Poker Tour Championship,
it starts in about two weeks.
I'm gonna whip the kid in shape
and then I'm out of here.
Tommy.
Listen, this is it.
After this is over,
that's all for me.
I never thought we'd be having
this conversation again.
Listen, we're gonna win back all
the money, plus a little interest.
It's not the point.
What do you mean it's not the point?
It is the point.
Goodbye, Tommy.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)
Sorry about those
last few hands.
No, you did fine.
And we made a little money.
A little money? Come on.
Sixty grand each.
Well, minus expenses.
To Bellagio. Bellagio.
(PURRING)
Hold on one second.
Michelle. Michelle.
Yeah? Hey.
Hi.
Is this is your dad?
Yeah, I'm her daddy,
at least for tonight.
Wait, what?
Go find your own girl.
Did you feel bad
for me or something?
Look. You don't understand. This
isn't what it seemed to you...
Did someone pay you?
God. But...
Fuck you.
It's Tommy.
I'm sorry about the girl.
It was a really dumb idea.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Here you go, sir.
(SLOW MUSIC PLAYING)
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Hello? TOMMY: Alex,
what are you doing?
Listen to me. I know this seems
like a hell of a lot of money.
It is a lot of money,
but it's nothing.
Nothing compared
to what we can do.
Just don't walk away
over some girl.
Don't you mean a hooker?
Just trying to help. What,
by fucking with my feelings?
Alex, listen...
No, no, I'm done listening, okay?
I'm done.
We're through. It's over.
Maybe you can't read people
as well as you thought.
Yeah. Maybe you're right.
ALEX: Hey. I'm home.
Jordie, honey, give us a minute.
Just one more sec.
Jordan.
(SIGHING)
Hey.
I wanna hear everything.
(SCOFFING)
Where were you this weekend?
I told you. I was with Ben.
All right, I was in Vegas.
You guys, I came in third.
Alex, I didn't spend the last 20
years of my life working my ass off
so you could play
cards for a living.
Whatever. I got
a partial scholarship.
And who do you think
paid the other half?
Okay, fine.
Here! Here's the other half!
You won that?
$62,000.
And in two weeks is the big one.
Top prize, $8 million!
Alex, listen to me.
You have a job.
Not anymore. I'm quitting.
Oh, Alex, now... Alex.
ANSWERING MACHINE:
Hi, you've reached Helen.
Please leave a message, and I'll
get back to you as soon as I can.
ANNOUNCER: In Las Vegas,
get ready to watch history,
as poker's elite battle for
the game's ultimate title.
It's the $15 million WPT Championship,
here on the World Poker Tour.
Hi, everyone. Welcome to the
biggest week of the poker year,
the WPT World Championship.
I'm Mike Sexton
along with Vince Van Patten,
and Vince, this is going to
be an amazing week of poker.
VINCE: Oh, Mike, we got five
exciting days of poker ahead of us.
Each player has to
put up $25,000 each,
and the winner is gonna
take home over $8 million.
And what is really
exciting about this
is that everyone's
gonna play this event.
All the superstars in the
game are playing this match.
Oh, you're right, Vince,
all the greats are here.
Razor Jones, Doyle Brunson, Gus
Hansen, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu,
Mike "Double Diamond" Jackson,
Tex Button,
and a rookie who's
been making big noises
since he played
in his first WPT event
earlier this season,
Alex Stillman.
Well, Alex is a great player.
He is a young rookie.
They're all talking about him.
You know, he finished
10th in a tournament
in New Orleans
a couple of weeks ago.
So everyone's buzzing about him.
But there is another great
story and that is because
there's a fantastic
player that is back.
A big comeback for the
phenomenal Tommy Vinson.
Well, what an amazing
moment this must be.
Tommy supposedly taught one of our
younger entries, Alex Stillman,
a thing or two about the game.
Now, Tommy hasn't played a hand
of poker in over 20 years.
MIKE: Well, I can tell you
that's a long time to be away
from poker at this level, Vin.
VINCE: Well, I'll tell you
something, with Doyle and with Tommy
there's a lot of history
to this tournament,
and it's gonna be a lot of fun.
I'm an anaconda
I slither as I slide
Fools like us
could live like kings
I'm ready I'm ready
Get steady get steady
You know that I wanna
I smoke your marijuana
I lose it down the alley way
And there's nothing
left to say now
I don't need no cheap success
I'm ready I'm ready
Get steady get steady
Fools like us
could live like kings
I'm ready I'm ready
Get steady get steady
I'm ready I'm ready
Get steady get steady
It's about time now
Y'all sure y'all
wanna ride in this rodeo?
Might be in a rough one, now.
That's what I thought. Some
of y'all need to just go home
and take up the game of bridge.
You won't lose your ass.
That puts you all in, pal.
You didn't want any of these
chips, anyway, did you, old-timer?
Ace! Yes! You're all going down.
But lord knows I won't fake it
I don't need no cheap success
I'm ready I'm ready
Get steady get steady
It's about time now
HELEN: Thanks for coming.
CHARLIE:
No, don't even mention it.
I can't believe he's
playing again, Charlie.
I know.
But why now? Is it me?
No, no, no.
What could he possibly
need with cards now?
Dignity, respect.
He just wants to
hit that home run
before he walks off
into the sunset with you.
He wants the title he never got.
Something that no one can
ever take away from him.
I'm all in.
I'm all in, too.
Damn it. Nice hand, Tommy.
Take care of yourself, Ann.
Thanks.
Wow. That's amazing.
(CHUCKLING)
Hey, what's up?
MAN 1: Oh, there's Alex.
I'll go say hi.
Okay.
Hey, Alex, how you doing, man?
MAN 2: Great job today.
What's going on, guys?
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Okay, Chaniqua.
Wow.
Hi.
Can I come in?
How did you find me?
I've got my ways.
Helen, listen to me...
No, you listen.
I love you.
And I know you needed to do this
more than I needed you not to.
So I ask only one thing.
When you make it to the
final table, win it.
Win it all.
One hundred thousand.
Raise to 100.
Five hundred thousand.
I'm all in.
I'm all in.
I'm all in.
MIKE: Well, it's crunch time.
Only nine people remain...
Four hundred thousand... but only
six make it to the final table.
The pressure is mounting as we
move toward that big money.
Two million.
Fold.
Two million, Tommy?
Haven't we done
this before, kid?
What'd you have? Ace high?
I'm all in.
That I should
think realistically
I have nothing left to lose
Except for what's inside of me
If at first I don't succeed
I call.
(GROANING)
Don't tell me to go to school
I'm not the guy.
The world is out there
waiting for me
Nice hand, Tommy.
And they call me a magician.
MIKE: There you have it. Tommy Vinson
has knocked out the Unabomber.
Five hundred.
All right.
Make it 1.5.
I'm all in.
Call.
VINCE: All right, now, if Razor
gets a jack, an ace or a spade,
she'll cripple Alex and put
him on the morphine drip.
Here we go to the river.
It's a three.
Yes!
Fuck.
Read me like a book.
MIKE: Seven players left.
We're down to the TV bubble.
Who's going home and who
will fulfill their dreams?
(EXCLAIMING)
Two hundred thousand.
You got something?
All right, dealer,
I would like to raise him.
Make it 700,000.
All in.
MIKE: Tommy goes all in.
The Magician really has a tough
decision to make now, Vince.
VINCE: Yes, he does.
ANTONIO: Sure about that?
Oh, yeah.
Wow, I can't imagine folding.
All right, I call.
MIKE: Antonio calls
with the pocket jacks.
Well, it's almost 50-50.
MIKE: Here comes the flop.
ANTONIO:
Keep them small, dealer.
Small.
No ace, no king, please.
One time.
MIKE: Oh, he gets it, Vince! He's
caught the ace on the river!
Nice hand, Tommy.
Good luck, guys.
Take care of my chips.
I'll do my best.
VINCE: Just like that, the Magician
Antonio has disappeared. Abracadabra.
MIKE: That's it,
we are down to six.
We'll see you tomorrow
at the final table.
Pretty amazing, huh?
God, look, guys. Alex!
Hey.
Oh, my God, what's up?
What are you guys doing here?
Ben told us what was going on.
Oh, this is great.
We wanted to come.
ALEX: Let's get you guys a room.
I'll check us in.
All right, just give me two seconds, okay?
I just gotta do this thing.
But tell them you're my parents.
They'll hook you up.
You want some more?
No.
MAITRE D':
Excuse me, Mr. Vinson.
There's a phone call for you
up at the front.
All right.
Hello?
Looks like you're doing pretty
good in the tournament.
Looks like I could
say the same for you.
Final table.
Life's full of surprises.
Yeah, it is.
Hey, I just wanted to wish
you good luck tomorrow.
Good luck to you, too, pal.
Second place finish wouldn't
be bad for a guy your age.
It wouldn't be bad
for a guy your age, either.
Look, my wife's here...
Yeah, yeah, I just
want to say one thing.
Yeah?
I know your tell.
I'll see you tomorrow.
MIKE: Hi, everyone.
We are coming to you
live from Bellagio in Las Vegas,
where the largest
prize pool in the history
of the World Poker
Tour will be given out.
We had a record number of players
enter this year's event,
but only six still have dreams
of capturing this coveted title
and taking home over $8 million.
VINCE: Well, Mike,
this is gonna be great.
Big money here this week,
and let me tell you something.
All the big names in the game were
here, all the superstar players,
but they are gone.
They are dead men walking.
They are rail birds, 'cause
we are down to our final six.
MIKE: What a final table
line-up we've got for you.
VINCE: You know what? There
is a cowboy in the house.
That is right.
Yee-haw! Saddle up.
Get the tumble weed out of your
hair, 'cause Tex Button is here.
And next is the only lady
at this final table.
She's a former WP Ladies' Champion.
From Montreal, Canada,
Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier.
VINCE: That's right. Oui. Oui.
Moving over to the youngest
player at the table.
That's right,
he's only 21 years old.
I mean, he looks like he just
ran in from a Barney concert.
He is the very talented and
rising star, Alex Stillman.
And next up is a guy who's
won many titles in his day,
but none for any amount
anything like this tonight.
I'm talking about
the man, the myth,
the "Double Diamond,"
Mike Jackson.
Next is a top
professional player
who's made many
final tables in his day.
From Los Angeles, California,
Scott "Laser" Lazar.
VINCE: What a player he is.
Okay, now,
rounding out the field.
A very captivating story.
We have an old-school
poker player who...
First time ever on the World
Poker Tour final table.
In fact, this man has not picked
up a card in over 20 years.
He's very talented.
Tommy Vinson.
MIKE: Well, we've
got it all tonight.
Men versus women,
old-school versus new-school.
This is gonna be good, Vince.
VINCE: It's gonna be great,
the cards are ready to fly.
Millionaires in the midst.
Let's go down to the felt.
MIKE: Coming in
to today's final,
Tex Button is our chip leader
with about 12 million in chips.
And Vince, in second place
is the youngster,
the new kid on the block,
Alex Stillman.
He's got about
10 million in chips.
And in third place,
Mike "Double Diamond" Jackson
with about 9.3 million.
TEX: Six hundred thousand.
DIAMOND: I'm out.
Call.
Check.
TEX: Another 600,000.
VINCE: Tex, with
just the pair of nines,
he's coming out with
another bet, 600,000.
Call.
MIKE: Tommy makes
a flush draw now...
Check.
Check.
MIKE: Tommy's made a flush, but
Tex has made three of a kind.
VINCE: Oh, wow, this could be a
complete debacle here for Tex.
Two million.
All right, I call.
MIKE: And Tex has
called him, Vince.
VINCE: Oh, oh.
What a train wreck.
Flush.
Look at Tex. He looks like the
chuck wagon just ran over him.
Nice hand, Tommy.
MIKE: Tommy Vinson takes down a
monster pot, well over five million.
Freedom
Check it out
Get on the move Freedom
Get in the groove Freedom
Heart! Heart! Heart!
(CHEERING)
Thank you, Jesus!
Come on, baby.
Give me the queen of diamonds.
Oh, sweet Jesus,
give me something.
DIAMOND: Yes!
Yes!
Aces up.
I'm all in.
Call.
Yes!
MIKE:
There's our first casualty.
Tex Button, who came
to this final table
as our chip leader,
out in sixth place.
MIKE: But Tommy Vinson
has flopped three fours.
VINCE: Oh, man.
MIKE: The dream flop.
VINCE: Oh, look at this,
Isabelle needed to spike a ten.
She did not get it. She is gone.
MIKE: Out in fifth place.
But she's gonna take home 585,000
for her efforts this week.
Now, Tommy's a poker legend, and to
see him come back after 20 years
and play in his first tournament and
make the final table, it's phenomenal.
And you know,
he's playing so well,
I think he's gonna have a good
chance to take this down.
All right. Well, let's cross our fingers
for Tommy and get back to the action.
Call.
(LOOSE IN LAS VEGAS PLAYING)
MIKE: So, Mike "Double Diamond"
Jackson, out in fourth place tonight,
but he'll be taking home
$878,000 with him.
Well, we're gonna take a short break.
We are down to three.
Stay tuned. We'll be right back
with more on the World Poker Tour.
You're doing great.
And we go to a really nice dinner.
You wanna go?
WOMAN: So what are you gonna
do with all that money?
ALEX: I don't know.
I gotta go.
MIKE: Well, Vince, it is crunch
time, and it's come down to this.
The third-place finisher
will take home $2.2 million.
The runner-up tonight will take
home a measly $4.1 million.
And our champion tonight will
capture a WPT championship title,
as well as take home
just over $8 million.
Scott looks at his cards.
Look at this, Vince, he finds
a pair of queens in the hole.
SCOTT: 1.2 million more.
VINCE: Right, and Alex and Tommy
both have the identical hand, jack, king.
This should be good.
Call.
Call.
MIKE: Here comes the flop.
Oh, look at this, Vince!
A nine, ten, queen!
Alex and Tommy
have flopped the nuts,
a king-high straight, but
"Laser" Lazar has a top set!
Check. MIKE: We're gonna
see fireworks here.
VINCE: Potential disaster
for either one of these guys.
Three million. VINCE: Look at this.
Lazar is gonna bet it.
A significant bet. Let's see
how Alex is gonna play this.
I'm all in. MIKE: Well,
he's going all in, Vince.
He's come over the top.
All in. VINCE: There goes Tommy.
He's gone all in as well.
I call.
VINCE: It's a showdown. They're
gonna turn up the cards.
MIKE: And incredibly, Alex and
Tommy are gonna split this pot,
unless Lazar pairs
the board on the river.
VINCE: Otherwise,
he will be out.
He will be our
third-place finisher.
Here comes the turn card.
MIKE: Well, the five of
clubs comes on the turn.
VINCE: It's irrelevant.
MIKE: No help to anybody.
VINCE: No.
MIKE: Well, it's a three!
So that's gonna do
it for Scotty Lazar.
He is out in third place.
And incredibly, Vince, the
youngster and the elder statesman
are gonna play heads-up for this
title and the eight million bucks.
VINCE: This is truly amazing. But
what a great effort by Scotty Lazar.
Hit the set, but he is out.
For his efforts, he's gonna
pick up $2.2 million.
As is a tradition on
the World Poker Tour,
when we get down
to heads-up play,
we bring the trophy and the
cash out to the table.
I'll tell you something, this
is going to be a great story.
I mean, we have the youngest
player at the table,
21 years old, Alex Stillman.
What's amazing about this,
he was mentored
by the old-school player,
Tommy Vinson.
And now, they are gonna
go up against each other
and battle each other for
the WPT World Championship.
MIKE: Absolutely incredible, Vince.
The teacher versus the pupil.
Who's gonna take down the title
and the eight million bucks?
Well, the price of
poker is going up now.
We're now playing
with a $50,000 ante.
Blinds are at
$250,000 and $500,000.
VINCE: Inflation at Bellagio.
Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen.
Raise.
MIKE: So here we go. Look at this, Vince.
On hand number one,
Alex has the worst starting hand possible.
Two million.
MIKE: Yet he's raising the pot,
trying to steal the first hand.
VINCE: This is beautiful.
He's gonna try to pull off a
Winona with absolute zip and pip.
Now, look at Tommy's cards. He's
got nothing. He's got a junk hand.
You gotta think
he's gonna fold here, Mike.
Fold.
MIKE: Well, you're right, Vince.
In fact, Tommy does fold.
So Alex takes down pot number
one with a little thievery.
Raise to two million.
VINCE: Oh, look at this.
That's a $2 million bet
and the kid is betting with a
junk hand, just six, four.
He must feel like
Tommy has a weak hand.
MIKE: Vince,
I think you're right.
It looks like Alex has
got him all figured out.
And unless Tommy changes
things around quickly,
his championship hopes
could dwindle, Vince.
VINCE: Yeah, you're right.
One million.
MIKE: Look at this, Vince.
VINCE: No. No!
MIKE: Tommy has bet a million dollars
without looking at his cards.
I've never seen
anything like this!
VINCE: (LAUGHING) This is a
first on the World Poker Tour.
I mean, he's
pushing it in blind!
Is it gonna work? MIKE: Wow!
Call.
MIKE: Well, here comes the flop.
Check.
All in.
(VINCE LAUGHING)
MIKE: Vince, can you believe this?
$8 million on the line,
and Tommy Vinson has gone all in
without even looking at his cards.
Fold.
VINCE: Look at this, he's gonna lay his
hand down. He's laying the hand down.
MIKE: Well, Alex does fold. So
the play works for Tommy Vinson.
You gotta be kidding me.
(SIGHING)
Make it a million.
Call.
MIKE: Here we go again.
Blind man bluff.
Check.
Make it another million.
Call.
All in.
VINCE: Amazing,
absolutely amazing.
MIKE: Well,
the question is, Vince,
how long can they continue
playing power poker in the dark?
You can only slide so far
on barbed wire, you know.
VINCE: All right, now he's finally
gonna look at his cards there.
MIKE: Yeah, Vince, look at this.
He's peeked at his hand,
he's got two jacks.
Let's see what he's gonna do now.
Is he gonna push harder?
TOMMY: Check.
2.5 million.
MIKE: You know, Vince,
I couldn't quite see
Alex's cards when
he bet the 2.5 million.
VINCE: I know.
Tommy has gotta love his hand.
Now, will he get aggressive
and go over the top?
MIKE: Well, we shall see.
Call. MIKE: And look at this.
He's just calling, Vince.
Slow playing him.
VINCE: Okay, we're gonna see the flop.
Here it is.
That's a dangerous
flop right there.
Of course, we don't know
what Alex has at this point.
Check.
Check.
VINCE: Okay,
here comes the turn card.
Check.
VINCE: Look at the
stare-down between them.
Check. MIKE: Alex checks again.
VINCE: Yes, he does.
Okay, down to the river, Mike.
MIKE: So there's two pair on the
board, fours and threes, and an ace.
VINCE: Very interesting,
but danger everywhere.
All in.
VINCE: This is it. Tommy
Vinson has gone all in.
Now, if Alex should
call and he's wrong,
Tommy Vinson would
become our new champion.
Call. MIKE: And he's called!
So Alex is gonna
need a three, a four,
a pair of queens, a pair of
kings, or an ace to win this pot.
Tommy shows his jacks.
Nice hand, Tommy.
Well, that's it. Yeah.
Tommy Vinson,
after a 20-year hiatus,
has come back and captured the World
Poker Tour Championship title,
as well as $8.2 million.
Vince, what a story this is. The
teacher takes the pupil to school.
(VINCE LAUGHING)
That is gonna do it. Let's go down
and talk to our new champion.
Dude. Buddy, you kicked ass out there.
Congratulations.
Thanks. You did great.
Second place finish
isn't that bad, right?
Are you kidding me? $4 million.
I know. MR. STILLMAN: Yeah.
That should easily
pay for three years
of law school,
if you decide to go.
Good job.
Thank you.
And here's to the new WP World Champion, Tommy Vinson!
I'm Mike Sexton saying thanks for
watching, and until next season,
may all your cards be live
and your pots be monster!
TOMMY: Yeah? Gorgeous.
ALEX: So, Dad, after,
you can go fish
and then have
a couple of martinis.
Hey, just give me
one second. Okay?
Give me a minute, will you?
Yeah.
Great playing.
Me? Come on, what about you?
I got lucky with the cards.
Well, I guess
I should thank you.
For what? You're a natural.
No, not about the cards.
You see me with
that girl in there?
Oh.
I'm sorry you didn't win.
I will, someday.
Damn right, you will.
Well, gotta go.
Hey, so I'm gonna see you
at Foxwood's next month?
Not a chance. Going to Hawaii.
First-class.
(CHUCKLING)
Oh, man, this is really it for you?
You're done?
I might come out
of retirement...
25, 30 years.
You were holding in your
hand a pair, right?
Like nines? Tens?
Tens.
Tens. I knew it.
All right, see you, Tommy.
(FREEDOM PLAYING)