Previously on "Tilt"...
- Didn't get your name, though. - Eddie Towne.
Eddie. Don Everest.
What you need to do is satisfy your margin call.
$ 20,462.
I want Don Everest hanging in my basement
next to the six-point buck I bagged last winter.
I think you can help me make that happen.
I don't hunt.
What are you doing here? I scouted this game.
$5,000 buy-in with a bunch of stupid conventioneers
who take a drink after every hand they play. This is my game.
So, how'd you do?
It didn't go my way.
You forget my friend Phil runs that game. He said you cracked it for 20 grand.
What do you want? My pockets are empty.
Who do you work for? Or do you want to try for two?
No! Seymour Annisman! Seymour!
Did my name come up?
Oh, forget about it.
- What happens now? - You disappear.
I need to know where someone went.
How am I supposed to recognize this passenger?
He doesn't have a face you'd forget.
Just like you said.
I put a man on him. He's not going anywhere.
The best in the game will tell you
if you want to win at poker, don't play against the best.
There's no use being the eighth most skilled player in the world
if the other seven guys at the table are the ones that are better than you.
You pick the wrong opponent, you can't win.
That's why game selection's so important.
In a non-tournament situation, you gotta choose your competition
as carefully as the cards you play.
It can be the difference between losing your buy-in
and winning next year's mortgage.
- Yeah. - This is the heads-up.
- McEntyre's traveling. - Where's he going?
I recognize the driver. They're going to the Phaidon casino.
OK. I'll take care of you when I see you, like always.
Mr. Seiki, Mr. Tanaka, let me assure you that we'll set up a private gaming area
for you anytime your needs require.
The newsman just hit town, and he's not staying here.
Gentlemen, I need to have a moment with Mr. Everest here.
If you would, Nancy will show you right out. Thank you very much.
No, he always calls us before he comes. We send a plane for him.
- He can't possibly be in Vegas. - Yeah, but he is.
He loves to play Hold 'Em. And we love his bankroll, don't we?
- And he's staying across the street. - If he winds up across the street,
I'll consider every dollar they make a dollar we lose.
Oh, it's Mr. Malloy. Sorry. You found out too.
How much did he dump last time he was here, anyway?
I don't know. You boys took him for two million in cards,
then he tried to catch up at the craps table.
Dropped another nine million.
But, you know, maybe... maybe he's just tired of his odds here.
Maybe he thinks he can find a friendlier game with Eric Seidel or Johnny Chan.
There are poker champs all over this town.
The particulars don't matter.
What matters is one of the last of the great whales is in my city, but not in my casino.
One visit from this guy bumps up our fiscal quarter.
Whatever has to be done should be done. Get him in here.
Help me hook my keys up, man. You got my keys?
- Yeah. - All right.
Anytime.
- Checking in. - And you are?
- McEntyre. - Do you have your VIP card?
No.
- OK, do you have your rate card? - No, I don't. Girls?
- No. - No? I don't usually need one, you see.
OK. Regular check-in is just over that way. This is the VIP area.
This is for the big players only.
My line of credit here is over $10 million, OK?
Sure. I know all the plus-tens and I don't know you.
- So regular check-in is just over there. - I would like to talk to the manager now.
Fine. Danny?
- Yes, what can I do for you? - I'd like a room.
Presidential, Royale suite, whatever you call it here.
Sorry, sold out. With a capital S.
Do you know who I am?
Those are my six favorite words. If you have to ask, then obviously I don't.
Bart, I'm at the Phaidon. Pick me up, will you?
You are?
There he is.
Convenient that you happened to be here.
I rushed right over. Man like you can't be waiting out in the cold.
It's the desert, mate. It's not cold. Balmy.
At any rate, you'll be comfortable with us. We have your suite ready.
- Should we bring the fellas with us? - What fellas?
The guys inside at the check-in and VIP desk.
- They're gonna need a ride. - Ride?
They obviously work for you now. Might as well drive them over.
- If you knew, why are you coming? - Same reason everyone does in Vegas.
I like a good show.
You see? That's the thing.
You need to choose your opponents or, at the very least,
you force them to choose you.
Mac. Good to have you back at the Colorado.
Sure, Jimmy. So you got me to the cotillion.
Question is, can you get me to dance?
I guess you didn't like that Texas two-step I taught you last time you were here.
I remember. Haven't forgotten anything you used against me.
Maybe we should sit down together again and see if I've learned any new tricks.
I don't feel like playing right now.
Well, how about something a little more recreational?
- A game of chance - blackjack, baccarat? - I'll open a room for you.
Didn't you say something about a suite being ready?
Your bag's already been sent up.
What the hell's with this clown? He comes to Vegas, he doesn't want to play?
We're gonna play. He just wants to be the one
to show me the where and the when.
I've slipped out of my share of tangled sheets,
but I usually do it before the guy wakes up.
- Yeah, well, this time you didn't. - I wonder if that means anything.
- Let's not attach too much meaning to it. - Yeah.
Well, there are two ways we can play this, then -
pretend it didn't happen, or admit that it was fun and enjoy the ride.
Which is it gonna be?
You know, there's, um... not a lot of room for a relationship in my line of work.
Sorry, but you must have me confused with some girl you had to call the next morning.
- Ground rules. - Shoot.
No nicknames.
No threesomes.
Unless it's your birthday, and I know you only have one of those a year.
- No "Where is this going?" - No "Who's that guy I saw you talking to?"
- It gets too intense, we just drop it. - If it gets too distant, we drop it.
You... you never get to meet my mom, all right?
You never have to meet my mom, all right?
Deal?
- Deal? - Deal.
- Card players never sleep. - One sec!
Hey. Opportunity just flew in on a private jet.
- Yeah? - I need you to play.
- It's a high-altitude game. - How high?
300,000 buy-in, minimum.
It's a seasonal thing. Roy McEntyre just flew in from Australia.
I'll stake you, of course. And you can keep 50% of the winnings.
So, we're taking down number 72 of the Forbes 400, huh?
Well, kind of. Except for, for your average civilian,
- he's a pretty damn good card player. - I thought I heard your voice.
- Hi, Daddy. - Hi.
I certainly hope there's enough of him left over,
because I'm gonna need him later.
OK, promise.
Maybe we'll let him rest up and you can have breakfast with me.
OK. I left my bag in the bathroom. I'll be back.
OK.
You know, no man really likes to think
about the idea of his daughter getting pounded by some guy.
But if it's got to be somebody, I guess it might as well be you.
Uh...
Thanks. I guess.
Ready to go?
You should eat better.
I like Chinese.
You knew my brother. There's a golf tournament plaque somewhere proves it.
You can't win alone, not out here. It doesn't matter how good you are.
I won't stop. I don't care if the police here refuse to help me. I'll do it myself.
Yeah, that's how this town was built. Obsession over reason.
Your little protégé slipped away. I learned he traveled to Wyoming. I need specifics.
That's already more than I know. Besides, you got nothing.
all you're gonna do is put Everest on alert, and that'll make it hard on everybody.
So be it.
Look, you got accusations, you got circumstance, you got golf.
Only a schizophrenic would try to connect those dots.
Go home.
Trap some speeders. Find somebody's lost cow.
I'm not going anywhere till I take him down.
I wish I could help, you know, I really do, 'cause I appreciate your drive.
But whoever told you I could link the Matador to anything was flat wrong.
Frank Modeste, Kalispell, Montana? What's his number? We're calling him.
No phone. Doesn't trust them. But he'll be able to tell you everything.
Dress warm.
What's up? Why are you here?
Condo's closing in on me.
A man has to breathe. How'd you do?
Checked out that home game in Summerlin you told me about.
Wealthy crowd, but the way they play made me wonder how they got like that.
- 40? - 42. Kept ten back for play.
- You got any plans? - Beyond pizza and a beer?
No. Not now. I mean, after we've done this thing.
- No, I hadn't really thought about it. - Think about it.
Think about going somewhere - somewhere nice.
- Like a vacation? - Longer.
You want me to stop playing?
Maybe there's a different life for you. The regular kind.
Oh.
Watching Ellen and shuttling the kids to and fro from school and soccer?
I'd end up sucking on the exhaust pipe of the minivan.
- There is a middle ground. - Yeah? Yeah? You think so?
I do.
That 15-30 pot limit was as soft as you said.
I can't believe you're here for the $ 2 parlay. What's up?
Wayne Nickel's brother's in town. He's gunning for Everest.
Blood is blood. I don't begrudge him his effort,
but he's gonna wake up Everest if he hasn't already.
- And we are coming to the hard part. - Well, I can make it easier.
- What can you make easier? - Whatever you want.
I'm sitting in the big game and he's bankrolling me, and I keep half my take.
You could wind up winning more than you lost in the first place,
- so where's that leave us? - Twisting in the damn wind.
I'm not gonna leave anybody hanging.
- I don't buy it. - No?
- Why should I? What do we mean to you? - Nothing. I'm not in this for any of you.
Don't worry. I'm gonna contribute more than both of you anyway.
This time tomorrow, I'll be holding 50, 75 large for our cause, OK?
What? You should be happy.
They don't trust you. And why should they?
Miami, she was a little kid. Everest destroyed her life.
- Ditto me. And Clark... - Yeah, what about him?
He's got his own personal demons. This life has cost him plenty.
Can't expect them to understand you. They don't know why you're here.
Well, I'm here because of you. You dragged me into this thing.
If you didn't tell me I was cheated, I'd have been stuck playing five-ten
in East Coast clubs the rest of my life. Just another small-time loser like my father.
And I was actually making peace with that.
But when you told me that I didn't lose, that I was taken... well, things made sense.
Clark and Miami don't get me. Join the club.
The only place I know who the hell I am is at the card table,
and Everest stripped me of that.
I don't need to explain myself to them or anybody else.
As well as you read people, if you can't figure out who your friends are,
or worse, you can't find any,
then the distance between you and the guy who stole your money is pretty thin.
Yeah, the money's waiting in the cage.
That's right. All ten million.
And there's a line of credit for another ten that's still active.
So, can you give us an indication of when you want to play?
Of course, Mac.
No, we're ready when you're ready. We serve at your pleasure.
Nothing, huh?
The guy's propped up in a $ 20,000-a-night suite,
and he can't be bothered to give us a play.
I was hoping I could count on you for some lumber.
Going into a game like that with less than a million dollars
- is like shooting elephants with a pop gun. - Aw, gee, Don, right now?
You don't have to take it out of your own pocket.
We could slip it out of the account room like usual, write it off as a short-term loss.
I'll have it back in there before accounting finds out.
No, I don't think so. See, they got me pinned to a wax tray,
looking at me through a microscope.
This place isn't our personal cookie jar anymore.
Since when?
- Clark. - What's going on?
Long time. How are you?
Not as good as you, Dean, that's for damn sure. Whoo!
Look at this place, man.
So?
What's up?
Well, I'll get right to it. I need some capital.
- Yeah! I win. - Win what?
I talked to Shurgin. I told him you were coming.
Your over-under on how long till you ask for money was five minutes,
and I won in a walk, Clark.
A walk?
- I'm gonna need you to vouch, OK? - Yeah, sure.
Look, I need 100, cash, for a venture I'm getting into.
A hundred? Come on, man.
OK, 75, then. I did come up with the market algorithm that got you all this, right?
Tell you what. I'll write you a check for 20 grand -
ten for your initial investment, ten because you did come up with the algorithm.
But Clark, we built this company without you.
Shurgin and I and the other guys were trading by day and dealmaking all night
while you were playing Internet poker, looking for quick scores.
20 is crap, man.
When you took company funds to play that Matador guy, you forfeited the rest.
We haven't sued only 'cause we were friends once.
Look, I was better than him, OK? And I should have won. I was cheated.
Sure you were. And you shouldn't have been tossed out of school
and your dad could have bailed you out, but he didn't.
You know what, you didn't really take company funds - you kinda borrowed 'em.
Sign here for the check, here for Shurgin.
See you around, Dean.
- You are very tense, Seymour. - Nothing you can't handle, Iko.
This a private session.
Believe me, I'm not here for the rub and tug.
I just want to have a little chat with my friend. It won't take more than a minute.
Wow. It's great to see you, Seymour.
You're looking good.
Did you ever reconcile everything with Evelyn?
Oh, guess not.
She was a good woman, though.
They keep us grounded.
God knows, I owe everything I got to my two girls.
Why didn't you look me up?
I hope you're not hanging on to all that stuff in the past.
This is the wrong town for your charitable instincts.
You're through. Stay out of town.
I guess from your point of view, I kinda forced your hand.
But we were young then. I'm getting way too old to hold a grudge.
Besides, it was all business, Seymour.
Trouble is, you and I always took business very seriously, didn't we?
Whatever happened to that kid that was working with you?
You know, the one with the nose and all the funny twitches.
If there's anything you wanna tell me, you should tell me now.
Maybe like, why you're here.
I'm just, uh...
I'm just here for the dry desert air.
I see.
Well, that's fine. Um...
I just wanted to welcome you back.
Anytime you wanna stop by the casino, just come on in.
OK?
Heel. Heel! Heel.
- You Frank Modeste? - What do you want?
Seymour Annisman sent me.
Did he ever get to the top of that rope?
I guess he's had his ups and downs like most of us.
But he said you could tell me more. What can you tell me about Wayne Nickel?
- Is he related to you? - He was my brother, and he was killed.
Killed...
Now, what can you tell me about Wayne Nickel?
Nothing.
Well, then, what can you tell me about Don Everest?
Sounds familiar.
That actor?
How exactly do you know Seymour?
I was his grade-school gym teacher.
He never could climb that rope.
When you're playing against a billionaire, even a rich man needs some reserves.
That way, I can keep him playing long enough to win.
I don't need a lecture in gaming, Don.
I don't like it when this sort of thing comes back to me.
Well, speaking of a comeback, guess who's back in town.
Our old pal Seymour.
Son of a bitch.
After all these years.
This is why you don't let a guy off of the canvas once you've got him down.
- What does he want? - He was a little reticent on that count.
This is bad news.
I can't even remember half the things we did to get us here, but believe me, he can.
I don't think he wants to remember anything.
- You know what all fire-eaters die of? - No.
- A bellyful of gasoline. - What does that mean?
Meaning the danger you don't see is what takes you out.
Are you suggesting I do something?
A little friendly counsel.
All right.
How much you need to play McEntyre?
- Can I help you? - Hi. Is Marty... Martin Shea here?
No, Martin's not home right now.
- Uh, I'm Miami. I just... - I know who you are. You can come in.
I just brought something for him, but I can give it to you.
No. No, he'll want to see you. It won't be long. He's always home for dinner.
Miami.
- Hi. - Hi.
Um...
I brought you something.
There's six there - five that I owe you
and another thousand because it took me so long.
You didn't have to pay me back.
And I definitely never said anything about interest.
I believe... all I said was, "stay. "
- You look good. - Thanks.
So do you. Your kids are really cute, and your wife seems really nice.
Yeah.
So... you still playing?
Every day. Doing well.
I've had the money to pay you back for a long time. I don't know why I haven't.
- You? - Ah...
Monthly game with friends, you know.
But being in the courtroom every day is kind of like playing poker.
Kinda.
You used to be the last one at the table with me.
- Now look at all this. - Yeah. It's funny, huh?
Mm.
- What's it like? - It's a lot of work.
A lot of responsibility. But it's great.
Do you miss anything? Like the nights and stuff?
Sometimes.
When you find someone who has the same goals and interests as you do,
everything kind of falls into place.
You know, it was tough at first. When you left.
- I never promised I'd stay, Marty. - No, you didn't.
In fact, you were the one who said, "It's only for now. "
I didn't wanna believe it. Even when I gave you the check.
Even when you drove off. I thought we could have had all this together.
I'm...
I'm really happy for you.
Will you stay for dinner?
Um, no, I've... I gotta get going.
Yeah.
You gotta keep moving, right?
- Rabbit is out of his hole. - Playing a hundred bucks a hand,
we'll be in the ground before we take him at this rate.
- Gotta lube him up. - It's already in the works.
- Never seen her get the brush before. - Well, I hope you have a plan B.
Hey.
- What's up? - I was warned.
- You were warned. - By Everest himself.
- Did he hurt you? - No, not this time.
But it's over.
It was a bad plan hatched by a man who was past it.
I never should have brought you kids into this.
I definitely should not have come back here. I was lucky to get away the first time.
I considered what you said about middle ground.
I don't think there is any. You are one thing, or you're the other.
That bastard stole from us.
More than money, he took the best of us, and you gave us a chance to get that back.
It's not gonna happen. So go round up the others.
Why? Matador hasn't clocked us.
Let us take it from here. You leave town, we'll call you,
we'll tell you how it goes when it's done.
We were getting somewhere, you said yourself. We can handle ourselves.
You taught us well. I'll go get the guys, we'll regroup...
and I'll see you soon.
OK?
That's the one I was waiting for.
Yeah? Mac?
Sounds good.
OK.
Finally ready.
There's 300 large for you.
The game's at ten. Go to the bar and wait.
And don't drink.
Buy you another drink, lady?
I've got more money in my pocket right now than I've handled in my whole life.
- What's it feel like? - It's heavy.
You could walk out that door and vanish.
And he wouldn't know where you went. Neither would we.
Well, I don't want to do it that way, to any of you.
- Noble. - No. I just want to win.
Yeah.
You think there's such thing as really winning in this life we chose?
- You mean, besides the size of our stack? - Right.
Yes, I do. You know, let me tell you something.
When you're the best, when you can beat the best and you have beaten them,
that's excellence on the highest level.
A kind of understanding that only a handful of people in any given field ever achieve.
And to me, that's... that's winning.
It doesn't really count if there's cheating involved, does it?
I'm not really sure that it is cheating.
Oh, God. Here's how it starts.
You know, I wanted to believe it.
I thought it was, but he's handed me a lot of money
and he has never said the word "cheat" to me.
So far he's just staked me the way it happens all the time all over the place.
- What are you doing here? - Looking for you.
Yeah?
Seymour got raced by your benefactor this afternoon. I told him to leave town.
Seymour's leaving? What are you talking about?
What did Everest say? Does he know about me?
I don't know. I don't know.
Guess who.
Hey. Um... remember what I told you about home field?
Daddy doesn't seem to mind. I just heard you were playing with him.
- I just came to wish you good luck. - Yeah? Why don't you walk me over?
OK.
- Who's she? - Ah, nobody.
Hey. I gotta talk to Eddie for a minute. You wanna go find something to do?
OK, sure.
- There you go. - Thanks.
Good luck.
Listen, once we get inside, I'll be sitting already, but you won't.
If everything works out like I figured, you'll be there before long.
- Great. - Here's a pop quiz for you.
What are these?
- Your fingers. - Right.
Spades, diamonds, clubs, hearts.
Now, here's how you check your cards.
Ace, king. Queen, jack. Ten. So on and so on and so on.
If I clear my throat before I raise, then you reraise.
If I don't, then you fold.
- Understand? - Yeah, I understand everything now.
Eddie, we'll go in separate.
You shouldn't ambush a guy in the latrine. He might get the wrong impression.
If I was ambushing you, you wouldn't know until it was too late.
I'm here to put you on notice.
- About what? - About who you're hooked up with.
You seem young enough that you might not be wired all wrong yet.
Not so young that I'm gonna talk to strangers in the men's room.
I'm not a stranger to you for long. We're gonna be real close.
- You're a long way from home. - And I hate being away from home.
I got a wife, kids, all that wonderful stuff.
- But I used to have a brother. - I can't help you, buddy.
I saw Everest give you hand signs like a third-base coach.
I saw you with his daughter. But I also have firsthand information
about what happens to guys like you when he gets tired of 'em - this.
That's him. That's my brother, Wayne.
A body bloats up like that about 48 hours after it's dead.
Think about that and watch your back.
Next time I approach you, there may not be any mirrors telling you I'm coming.
You're late.
Well, apparently, I'm not late enough, because Mac's not even here yet.
- Do you think he's gonna bail on us? - No. I think he's already playing.
- Where? - Right up here.
He'll show, but make yourself comfortable
because I don't think he's gonna be here for a while. I'm gonna sit down.
- What a sorry-looking lot. - Oh, now, come on.
It's just a group of people who are anxious to meet an important man
and an impressive player.
Roy, welcome. Have a seat. Meet the boys.
Yeah, look. I know that you're a man who likes the company of his friends,
but, uh... I got a different idea this time. See, I've been working on my game.
And, uh... I'd like a scientific measure of it with as few variables as possible.
These guests have been greatly anticipating a game with Mr. Everest.
No, let the man speak his mind. It's all right.
Hmm... Uh...
Sammy, Frank and Dino I recognize from our last sit-down.
Well, the man doesn't want variables, so we'll lose the variables.
Variables, another place, another time.
So, let's go to the board for another one, eh?
I don't know. Not much of a list for a game at these stakes. Just ET.
- Who's that? - Yeah.
That would be me.
And, uh... how did you acquire the funds for this, young man?
Stole a Salvation Army kettle last Christmas.
Hm.
Well, that's how I got my career started. Take a seat.
Let's rock 'n' roll.
Seymour?
Huh.
- All his stuff's gone. I guess he left. - Maybe I should make the same play.
- What are you talking about? - Uh...
Look at you two. You know, you were born to it, Eddie was born for it.
I'm just wondering what the hell I'm doing here.
Yeah. I wondered the same thing about you.
With your mind, you could do anything. Then I saw you play. Let's go.
Call.
I can see you're playing real well.
I don't know where you find the time to learn,
between the acquisitions and the liquidations.
How do you know which one to buy and which one to sell?
Well, if I think a company will burnish my mantle, then I buy it.
If they develop a little bit of a rust on them, I unload 'em.
Is there more to that story?
Got myself completely addicted to Internet poker.
Stay up so late every night, I, uh... haven't had sex with my wife for months.
Yeah. I used to dream of women every night
and wake up hard as the mizzenmast every morning. Now I just dream of cards.
That's quite a tale.
I don't know anything about your wife, but whatever it is you're doing,
it's really helping your play.
That's 25,000.
I'll reraise.
50.
- It's turned into a bit of scrum, hasn't it? - Yeah, kind of. It usually does.
At least we're not bored.
20.
All right. I call.
I call.
- Check. - Well...
I'm gonna add 140 to the pot, just to keep you honest.
I gotta tell you there's nothing but heartbreak down at the end of that road.
Plenty of young ladies out there that will attest to that.
So here's 140.
And another 140.
I fold.
I think that you're trying to chase me out. Won't work. I call.
Wait a second. Before you bet... Mac, let me ask you a question.
With all you got, why do you got to play me so hard?
- Oh, I like the action. - Oh, come on.
Come on.
You're the only man who's ever consistently beaten me at anything, ever.
And that can't stand.
I'm all in.
Well, I guess I'll just have to call, then.
Eights and nines, full.
Kind of takes the shine off that flush, don't it?
I don't even want to tell you the odds of catching that seven of clubs
for a straight flush on the river.
You had to look at that twice, didn't you?
You know, Mac, great card players aren't trying to prove anything.
They're just trying to take each other's money.
Greatly improved, though. Good game.
I need a breather.
I guess we'll call it, then.
At the highest level, courage, bankroll, desire
and talent are at play in every hand.
A player who can combine these things has in him what the Texans call "gamble. "
The thing is, you can have plenty of gamble and win most of the time.
But if you run across an opponent who's got more, you're going home gutted.