Original subtitles

More than anyone else,

Neil Chain has changed Las Vegas from a gambling town to the seat of a five

billion dollar gaming industry.

He has brought to our hotel computerized efficiency and the world's great

sporting events.

Now Neil has been called a maverick, a loner,

and a couple of times something even raunchier.

But the word for Neil Chain is smart.

His vision, his perseverance have led us here tonight.

And now we step off into the future with him.

One week from tonight, ladies and gentlemen,

the desert inn opens its doors in Atlantic City.

Let us raise our help then to our chairman and founder, Neil Chain,

first in this industry and first in our affection.

Our second night, mark it down to Jack Madrid.

Saying Neil Chaine is the first in my affection.

He's the greatest!

Glorious!

I love you, man!

He's the man!

I guess everybody knows I'm Neil's banker.

I remember when he arrived here from Boston,

said he was going to buy the Desert Inn.

All his cowboys thought, if the good Lord smiled on him,

maybe he'd last about six months.

He did.

Six months and another six months.

Another six and a half years.

Here's to you, Neil.

We're proud to be your friends.

What can be missing in a life that has both Jack Madrid and Morgan Steinman in

it?

Mine doesn't like much.

It touches some of the world's richest people.

I don't know.

Some of the world's most beautiful women.

And a lot of the poor and the worried that the rest of us are.

But most of all, and best of all...

It touches my good friends who are here tonight.

Come on, right on.

Appreciate it.

How about you, too?

Now then, we are going to expand my life and yours.

From the time we open our doors in Atlantic City, we expect a bonanza.

We have the best location on the boardwalk, the best management,

and you can take it from a gambling man.

It can't be nothing.

But glorious, glorious.

Let's move the feet.

My house, everybody.

Comrade.

My speech.

Yours, too.

Great.

Right, Martin.

Can you take Ruth?

Honey, you go along with Grey.

I'll meet you at the park.

Sure, Neil.

How wonderful to have the pleasure of your poker, too, darling.

Two cigars.

The very, very best for this very fine evening.

That's $100.

Well, that's OK.

I'm a friend of Neil Change's.

Congratulations.

The cigars are $100.

Who decides who his friends are and who gets cigars free?

I guess Mr.

Change decides who his friends are.

I decide about the cigars.

You don't like them because I'm black, is that right?

I hadn't noticed.

You notice anything?

You need a brush.

OK, Kylo.

Ooh, I like this.

We don't lose if the owner's stealing.

A lot of applause in there.

Good news?

Yeah, good.

You bet.

These cards better be good news.

What's the good?

We're all set to open in Atlantic City.

Then what can be bad?

We almost didn't get license.

Why?

My association with you.

No.

They made a big thing about the allegations you're connected with the mob.

No, again?

Boy, how do you fight that?

That's better, Neil.

Now, don't forget how you did that.

When I first got to Chicago, I opened a bar.

Lulu's, named after my mother.

Right away, Lulu's was the place.

Some of my customers had, uh, reputations.

And because they came to my restaurant,

the papers started saying that I was connected to organized crime.

Neil, will you please deal the cards?

Honey, we're talking about my life here.

Do you mind?

There's no way to soften it, Jimmy.

There's no way to change it.

The Nevada Gaming Commission can tell me who I'm not allowed to associate with.

I understand, Neil.

I can't act like there's no pain in it.

I'll miss the good times, and I'll miss the good deals.

Everything's changed, Jimmy, in one way.

In another, nothing has.

You were a help to me when I started out.

I don't forget that.

Okay, hold on last hand.

How much you got there?

I've got 500 left.

Bought a marker for 10,000.

I haven't got 10,000 dollars.

Be a gambler.

You are one pitiful excuse for a dealer, you know that?

Double the bet?

I still don't trust you.

Blackjack.

Okay, Carlo, pay the lady.

She'll double it.

Good luck, Jimmy.

Thanks.

Jimmy, I never asked you a direct question.

Are you connected to the mine?

Of course not, Neil.

And Helen says thanks for the gift.

Do I get it, Mr.

Chair?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Thanks, Mr.

Ching.

Yip, we may not have a social secretary,

but the boys and I have to know that it's your birthday.

No.

Yip, Yip.

We didn't want this special day to go by without a special remembrance.

So turn around, Yip.

What do you think of that, Yip?

Oh, for me?

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Yip.

Happy birthday to you.

You got it.

You got it.

Neil.

I don't know what to say.

It's just...

Wow, this is great!

Oh!

Oh, thank you.

We just want you to know we love you.

Have a good rest.

Thank you.

How much does the Yip -tak lose at the casino?

Say, in a year.

Oh, two or three million.

He's a good customer.

So the $30,000

automobile you give him is in return for the $3 million gift he gives you?

We don't have to give him the car, you know.

He'll gamble the same amount whether we wish him happy birthday or not.

That car is to keep him in thrall to you so the Hilton or the MGM doesn't lure

him away.

This hotel is a shrine.

What Meckie is to muzzle is where we are to gamblers.

If you give him the gift of that car, it's a reward no one else can touch.

$3 million a year.

Hefty -do's at that shrine.

You know,

I didn't arrange this ride so that you and I could lament the emotional

immaturity of our customers.

No.

No.

Neil, how could I be so unfeeling?

Heidi, how is she?

Oh, perfect college sophomore.

He thinks her dad's life is one -sided, that he needs more recreation.

Well, maybe she's right.

Maybe we should take one small step for mankind on his ride to ride.

Neil, haven't you heard?

The Harvard Business School just announced that people working in the same

corporation should not have affairs.

It has a demoralizing effect on the other employees.

Shame on you, Mr.

Chee.

Why, Sarah, you look absolutely gorgeous this evening.

Thank you.

Now, the party is right around the corner.

And, Neil, I want to show you my new acquisition.

Oh, fine.

I've been looking forward to it.

Oh, yeah.

You know, this is smart gray, spending time with horses instead of humans.

Oh, this is not just a horse, Neil.

This is maybe, just maybe, the best investment I will ever make.

Yes, Sarah, you know, you're in the presence of a master.

He knows it, too.

Come on, Isla.

I'll show you his trophies.

Thanks for watching!

Margaret?

Oh, John?

What are you guys gonna do?

Look at stag films?

Was this supposed to be a meeting?

I think I called the meetings in this corporation.

We got word a couple hours ago the New Jersey Gaming Commission has denied our

license.

What?

Why?

And why wasn't I told before the big dinner tonight?

We didn't want to stain the testimonial to you, Neil.

Now we can decide calmly what to do.

I don't like decisions being made without my being a part of them.

We'll fight this battle just like we've fought the others.

Now, what in the hell is their reason?

The commission said that the desert inn will not receive a license,

so long as Neil Chaine is an officer of the corporation.

Their reason is that you led this company into not one but two business deals

with a person known to be associated with organized crime.

Wellstrom?

And what do they mean known to be associated with organized crime?

Neil, old son, let's not go through all that again.

Three different agencies warned you about it.

Do in business of Wellstrom and they feel you disregarded all of them all right

we just don't open Atlantic City we shut the doors fire all the people they

need us more than we need them we're out I don't think the board of directors

wants that without me there is no board of directors no hotel no you if the

company documents your resignation by tomorrow night we can open on schedule I

don't submit my resignation I think maybe you do the gaming Commission's exact

words are that you have been found unfit for licensing the board of directors

has noted this finding and has voted unanimously to remove you as chairman

Marvin, John, Barney, and I have formed a syndicate to buy you out.

You...

don't recall that I...

what we accomplished...

How did you make that speech tonight?

You were my...

And what do you mean?

Buy me out.

Thank you.

With loyalty, isn't there no shred of...

Neil, I'm sorry.

No, I don't think so.

I don't think any of you know the meaning of sorry.

Yet.

That's ahead of us.

I got it.

Atlas, yeah, Charles Atlas was the first strong man I ever heard of.

Yeah, I think I remember him.

You wrote that long, you're gonna look like him.

This body's the one thing in my life I have any certainty about,

so I tinker with it, keep me thinking.

You were dumped down by a lot of people you mistook as friends.

That has to make you sad, real sad.

It's taken me right to the edge of the abyss.

Anger floods into illness, real sickness.

Sickness.

Why didn't I see it coming?

Like a little boy, what do I do now?

Take care of the emotions first, Neil.

If it's time to cry, cry.

I have more than I wanted to.

You know, Maury,

you can never anticipate how fast a list of friends slims down when things go

bad.

Thank you for staying on that list.

Tropicana's for sale, were you looking around there?

Yeah, yeah, I looked, that's all.

It has possibilities, but the price they're asking for is insane.

A guy'd have to be a genius to bring that place back to life.

It's no easy job, that's sure.

So if you want it, sign the papers.

I'm your banker, Neil.

Oh.

This takes me back.

When death came to my grandmother, we were Orthodox Jews.

My grandfather closed all the curtains, left on a few dim lights, candles.

It is like a death in here.

He wanted us to concentrate on our last agony,

and the agony that life would be without her.

We were similar.

In Kilkerry, the Irish sealed their doors with black ribbon.

Body smells.

Closed in like that,

I became aware more than anything else of how each person smelled.

Well, there you are.

This pet house smells of Neil Chain.

It isn't anyone else.

It's him.

And he's not dead, Marvin.

There stands the risen God.

He's there, all right.

You can't even count on Neil to fail when he's supposed to.

He doesn't keep his agreements.

He was supposed to take his money and leave.

Instead, he buys that hotel so that he can destroy his former partners.

Oh, I don't think it's that strong, Grey.

Oh, it's that strong, boy.

You take my word.

Good morning, everybody.

We meet, gentlemen, in sight of the enemy's guns.

Whatever Chain brought to this hotel, he will bring to that one.

So, we have a threat.

And here is how we handle it.

We're going to sell the yacht in Florida.

We're going to sell the house in La Costa.

We're going to cut back on the junkets, the comps,

and no more Lincoln's as gifts.

We streamline everything.

Second, we're going to swamp Mr.

Chain in big events so that no one will ever remember he was in competition

with us.

Just thinking out loud, Grey, if we give up all those perks,

are we still the same hotel?

Are we still, uh...

I was still the home of the high rollers.

I mean,

people from all over the world are coming knowing about those perks for the big

shooters.

And that's why they want to gamble.

They think they're going to play craps next to Dolly Parton,

the Russian ambassador.

Why, Marvin, I do believe you sound like somebody who used to work here.

Of course, we'll be the same, only better.

I want everybody at maximum efficiency until this battle is over.

I want new customers coming in here.

And above all, I do not want to lose any to chain.

Clausewitz said that the purpose of war is to destroy the enemy's ability to

fight.

Well, let's do that, starting now.

You got the fight, if you can afford it.

Well, fair to make sure I can afford it, I thought of it.

It'll cost.

We are talking the heavyweight championship of the world.

The biggest fight in the history of organized boxing.

Take it easy, Jack, you're not on television.

How much?

For the livegate, I've got to have a guarantee of five million.

What do you mean five?

Why?

The champ wants a guarantee of seven million?

Jackson gets three?

Jack, let me say this out loud so everybody can hear it.

This is the event I have to have to get this hotel started.

Now, you go upstairs and work out the details for Josh Mallory.

Oh, Neil.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, you need a chain?

Yes.

You got a $25 minimum on that crab table over there.

Yes.

I want to know what the maximum is.

The, uh, maximum is $1,000.

But it's discretionary.

We can lift it.

Well, fine.

Why don't we do that?

But when we do raise the limit to, say, $25,000 or even $50,

it's customary for the player to wager the new limit.

I tell you what,

why don't you think it over for a couple of hours and if you want the limit

raised, I'm here.

Yeah, yeah, maybe I'll be back.

Meanwhile, why don't you two have dinner on me tonight?

Just give this card to the May -to -Day, he'll take care of everything.

Thanks, Mr.

Chain.

You got that guy dizzy, Neil.

He come knocking on the wrong door.

Now, Neil, don't make me talk to Mallory.

I can't get no one with Mallory.

Why not?

You don't like me because I'm black.

Don't start that again.

Jack, let me have a world Jack alone, you guys, huh?

I need a favor.

Me doing a favor for Neil Chain?

Hey, baby, man, I'm your houseboy.

Before I can give any guarantee, I've got to get re -licensed.

I want you to hold the deal for me till the licensing procedure is finished.

Neil, you're going to get licensed, ain't you?

They turned me down in New Jersey.

The Nevada Gaming Commission will worry about looking foolish,

like they're soft on crime, if they license me.

So they could waste you for good.

That hearing is the biggest obstacle I've gotten.

Get back to me after I see them over here.

Yeah, yeah, I'm going to talk to them right now.

Neil.

Neil.

So on this rock, you will build your church, huh?

On this rock, yeah, for the little help of my friends.

Glad to see you.

Oh, me too.

So good to be here.

Where the action is.

Where you are, Neil.

Yeah, part of the idea gets started, that the Chinese are inscrutable.

Why, the story is so plain on my face.

Pretty plain.

Let me see if I can guess the main parts.

First, you'd like to have a credit line here.

No, not first, Neil.

That's all I want.

But if we call the desert in, what do we find?

Your half -million -dollar credit is cancelled.

Neil, listen,

my family has owned 13 acres in the heart of San Francisco for over 50 years.

Apart from that, there is my import business.

A very successful one.

Neil, I lost everything.

The 13 acres, the business, two lousy weekends, they just were unbelievable.

My luck was so bad, Ryan only offered me $7,000 for the car.

That I tried to sell it back to the hotel.

Neil, for any Oriental person to lose face...

is the most painful thing.

I want that line of credit, Neil.

I was a good customer of yours for a long time.

Does that not mean anything?

Everything.

You're entitled to the best I can do.

So, no credit.

Anybody that gives you money to gamble is an enemy, not a friend.

I'll give you and your son Moon an apartment for six months...

and he usually sends something a lot more usable than a Lincoln.

I understand about it.

Losing face, yep.

It happened to me.

Do you know what a whale is, yep?

I roll it.

The real big whales come out of Hong Kong these days.

They're very respected, very successful businessmen.

I could use some of those whales, yep.

I think we can get 10 more.

Hey, Grayson, you wanted to see me?

Not that I remember.

Yeah!

They said to talk about the fight.

Who said?

One of your executives.

You got them trained to look out for the bigger Vince Gray,

so they always watches me like a hawk.

What fight?

You're right.

That's the wrong word.

Fight is too small to describe the most monster boxing event in the history of

the civilized world.

The undefeated heavyweight champion going against the undefeated number one

contender.

Ooh, that is huge, Gray.

The hugest.

Definite.

As did I am Black and you are white.

I already got Neil Chane's offer.

What's his offer?

Nicker than anything ever paid for a live gate.

You wait there.

I'll be right down.

What's his offer?

And with him holding up right nearby,

I thought we need you to defend your empire.

This is your last shot, Jack.

What is his offer?

Neil Chane has made a thumb off of five and a half million for the live gate.

But I was gentle.

All right, laddies, that is not the big time today.

Ain't that right, Gray?

Amy got to break the new ground for the most volatile showdown in the history

of boxing.

Dr.

Haldeman.

No, not Haldeman, Gray.

He's got something against me.

What?

I don't know.

I think it's racial.

You know, you better be sure before you say something like that.

Besides, I think you're wrong about Haldeman.

I'm the one that doesn't like it.

Good morning.

Dad is going to the city council at noon with the plans for building the fight

stadium, and he must talk to you first.

Get him.

You have a guest.

Buzz me when you're ready.

We'll be out on it.

We'll call him.

Somebody must have sent out reunion cards.

I just ran into your pack downstairs.

Your capistrano, Neil.

The swallows are returning.

We about to steal you from the enemy?

Oh, I don't think so.

Came to wish you well.

You're a good man, Neil, and we miss you.

I miss you.

I'm complimented.

Tell Mallory his lunch is set at 1.30.

And you're going to be a good man?

Everybody's wondering why you didn't just take the money and go.

Everybody?

Me.

I will.

Soon?

Without taking care of business, settle the score.

So not so soon.

It's important that I do it well.

Show that my earlier success wasn't just an accident.

Prove myself, I guess.

Are you sure you don't want to work here?

You make a lot of money.

I make a lot of money.

What's a lot?

$150,000 a year.

That qualifies.

Without, it should be noted, paying taxes.

Oh.

So, money is not an issue.

No.

Besides, I could double what I make.

Oh.

Widen my sphere of activities.

Spend the night with some of the hotel's wealthier guests.

You do that often?

No.

Ever?

What decides when you do it?

I don't know.

Dark of the moon.

The coyote is outside.

One night, about 11.30, I asked Jerry the pit boss,

what was the most a lady could do?

Could make in a night, about $2,000, he said.

He paused, asked if I wanted to try.

I don't know if I actually said yes, but I know I didn't say no.

Jerry talked to a man playing baccarat, youngish, surprisingly good looking,

from Kuwait.

He looked over at me, and I had this sense of sexual adventure.

Gentlemen,

I am estimating that this event will have a gross impact on Las Vegas of $200

million and be an entrenching tool to dig chains grave.

What is it?

Jack Madrid is selling the next heavyweight title fight.

That is good.

More than good.

We get our hands on this event and we avalanche chain.

Unless chain hears about it, he gets to Madrid first.

He's hurt.

He's already offered Madrid five and a half million.

I believe it.

This fight is exactly what Neil would want.

Of course he wants it.

Only we don't allow him to have it, do we?

Get out there and find Madrid.

I want this thing locked up now.

Right.

I'd rather pay a half million too much than allow chain any chance to get his

hands on this fight.

Don't you agree, Marv?

If you want to know if I agree, ask me before you give orders to do it.

Right.

Right, Marv.

I got to see him and he got to see me.

Neil, we got a crisis.

Somehow, Ryan and them found out about this fight.

And they are talking grande dineiro.

Forget five.

Forget five and a half.

Go to six million dollars, you hear me?

How do they find out about it?

I can't figure it out.

I get to the hotel, Ryan at the door.

Marv already gone.

That fight's coming here.

I'm giving you a six million dollar guarantee.

And I want the commitment now.

They got a spy somewhere.

We should pull both his arms out of their sockets.

Something?

But what could I do?

I am grief -stricking.

Okay.

If there's no sense prolonging it, I'll go six and a half million.

Neil.

This is hard cheese.

But no waiting till after the hearing.

The hearing starts today.

If I don't get my license, I'll lose six and a half million bucks.

Okay, Jack.

But this is the end.

We're locked.

That's six and a half.

Locked.

I'm going to San Francisco and see Markham and close it.

Markham?

Stan Markham.

Sweetwater's manager.

Oh, good.

My plane's at the airport.

Take it.

Ooh, deal.

I don't like them little planes.

I'll come on PSA.

Oh, it's only a 40 -minute flight.

You won't be scared.

There's somebody else hitching a ride.

I'll call you from there.

Hi.

I'm Neil.

Neil.

This is Stan Markham.

Appreciate you coming over on such a quick trip, Stan.

Sit down.

What's to appreciate?

Neil Chain asked to talk to me on a quiet...

I got to see what he wants.

Stan, do you or Sweetwater have a preference about where the fight's held?

No preference.

Guarantees the same both places.

I think you ought to have a preference.

Guarantees the same, but everything else isn't.

What else is there?

A couple of things.

First, I can promote this fight better than anybody else,

which means a bigger gate and a bigger purse for you and Sweetwater.

Second,

I'll give you 10 sweets and 20 rooms with unlimited food and beverages all the

time Sweetwater's training here.

There is no question about how Neil promotes a fight, Stan.

Look at the record.

And third,

I will give my personal attention to any and every matter that comes up.

Stan, I need this fight.

Neil, guys like me grub it out in the sweatshops.

And if we're lucky, one day we get a contender, a real contender.

Somebody were at the main event at your hotel.

I got one.

I've arrived.

Now it's time to pick up all the marbles.

What are you offering?

Nothing more than I've said.

That's all I have.

I'll do my best on this fight, Stan.

We'll be in it together.

After this, you want a commitment from me?

No Swiss bank account?

No holiday in Argentina?

A commitment that the fight will be here is what I need.

OK.

You got it.

Let me tell you something.

The rooms, the meals, OK.

But you offered something to me.

I don't even know if you know you offered.

When he said, when you said to me, we're in it together.

Being in it together with Neil Chain, that's a lump in the throat.

That's a fat little kid from Philadelphia making good.

We got a deal, Mr.

Chain.

Oh, hey, uh, Mallory, get Safeway on the phone.

You've never seen me eat.

Ha ha ha.

I knew I wouldn't like these mosquitoes and I don't.

Well, something must be important in San Francisco.

Business?

Yeah, big meeting.

You?

Big meeting?

No, just a lovely lunch with someone I care about.

Boyfriend?

Boyfriend could be, used to be.

He's a new doctor, star in pediatric research.

Stanford Hospital, all tied up with that.

I helped get him through medical school.

I must say, I thought I would.

Going to be his wife?

Who knows?

How come you were so hateful to me that night?

Now, why ruin a nice trip by bringing that up?

It bothers me that you don't like me.

I don't think you're bothered.

You're a flamboyant man.

You say and do things so the people will notice you.

Look at your hair.

My being black is a big part of why you got this attitude towards me.

Maybe, but it's sixth or seventh on the list.

Oh, yeah?

What's first?

First?

First is you're a liar.

And second, shall I go on?

Second is you're insincere.

You do the high fives and that sorghum talk, but there's no friendship in that.

Third, you're an egomaniac.

You want everybody around to cater to you.

Fourth is you're ruthless.

You'll walk over anybody or anything to feed your ego and fill your purse.

And then comes black.

Damn, you got a mouth on you?

How you get the nerve to say all that?

Ruthless egomaniac?

Liar, insincere.

Oh, boy.

Beat my ego, fill my purse.

On September 14, 1979, did the chief of corporate security at your hotel,

Kenneth Wagoner, show you a confidential FBI report on Jimmy Wellstrom?

Yes.

What did it say?

It said that he was unsavory or that he had a heart.

Had an unsavory reputation.

I'm not sure of the wording.

And what did that mean to you?

Very little.

I deal with unsavory people all the time.

You didn't get from the finding that perhaps you should end your business with

Mr.

Wellstrom.

On the contrary, I felt it important not to end my business with Mr.

Wellstrom.

You did not conclude that unsavory meant connected to organized crime.

I know I didn't.

That seems to me a dangerous conclusion.

Dangerous?

With all the cooperating opinions?

Well, yes, there were opinions on all sides, personal evaluations,

not due process of law.

I believed then and I believe now that if Jimmy Wellstrom was a member of

organized crime, he should be accused and tried.

And if he is found guilty,

he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law's reach.

But until then, he is innocent.

He's as innocent as you are.

Mr.

Chain, Jimmy Wellstrom has not been proven guilty of anything.

So you're not guilty of anything in having associated with him.

Is that what you're saying?

Yes.

You're in a high profile business.

Just because of this high profile,

doesn't your business deserve greater attention to its corporate morality?

No.

I don't think so.

I think all businessmen should have clear moral standards,

whether they be high profile or some backwater of business life.

And I believe regulatory agencies such as this one should operate by those same

standards.

Mr.

Chain, I do not want to joust with you about the philosophy of jurisprudence.

What I do want to do is to stress that words like taste, judgment, character,

amorphous as they may sound, have the greatest significance in this hearing.

Now, given the fact that you received this FBI report,

that you were warned not to do business with Mr.

Wellstrom, were you right to continue your relationship with him?

And would you do it again?

I have the worry that in this hearing you've not come to hear,

but to pursue what you believed in from the outset.

Every business deal I've ever had has been examined in the most exact detail by

this commission.

Out of a lifetime history, you have found one that you question,

and that single issue arises out of unsubstantiated allegation.

I question whether each of you would be found suitable for license under the

methods you are using to investigate me.

Now, I have terminated my activities with Mr.

Wellstrom.

All of them.

But I did it reluctantly,

because it was at the expense of his right to be treated fairly.

Next time you're in a small plane, someone starts calling your names.

Remember me.

Even when I'm on the ground and I probably remember you lots of times.

And these, the hands that guide the little children through their pain.

Thank you.

The license application of Mr.

Neil Chain is approved by this commission.

Great.

All right.

Congratulations, Mr.

Chain.

Quick.

Get Madrid and San Francisco.

Tell them it's good news and bad news.

We got the license, but I can't pay $6.5 million.

All right.

Mrs.

Nyger.

Mrs.

Nyger.

Yes, Mr.

Chain.

I, um, sense you aren't very happy with my being licensed.

It's not a matter of happy.

My hotel will be a model operation.

Good.

Getting your hotel financed and solvent won't be easy.

There may be the temptation to do something unorthodox.

The commission is going to be keeping a very close eye on your activities, Mr.

Chain.

We'll be as close to you as your conscience.

I'm telling you, he's hard to stop.

Yes.

But a redwood is about to fall across his path.

When we bought Chain out, it was agreed that he was going to pay for it.

That he would not compete against us for the period of one year and that if he

did find a place he wanted to buy he had to offer that deal to us first.

He did.

In writing.

Come on we laughed about that deal we said we wouldn't touch it.

That's right Marvin you're absolutely right.

But that was before he began to make a success out of it.

Now that hotel is worth some money.

Ray we've got to draw the line about what we're going to do to He did not make

the offer to us in writing.

It was done on the phone.

I told him myself we didn't want in writing to us and that's what the contract

calls for.

Now Mr.

Chain has decided to live by the sword and he's about to find out that that

sword has two edges and from his avaricious hands we are about to lift the

second best hotel in Las Vegas.

Congratulations, Neil, the fight is all wrapped up.

Excellent, Jack.

Now, will he tell you the problem?

He said nothing about no problem.

Said you couldn't pay the six and a half million.

In most circles, that would qualify as a problem.

No!

When Neil Chaim makes a deal, that's his word.

You can take it to the bank.

Six and a half is not right, four and a half is right, and we both know that.

I made a deal with Neil Chaim for six and a half million.

That makes it right.

It's right for you to be profitable, Jack.

It is not right for you to pocket a million and a half of my personal money.

There are rules of the road.

What's the talking rules of the road?

I want miracles to get that fight for you.

I'm your friend, Neil.

Jack,

you've been bouncing this fight back and forth between Ryan and me from the

first minute.

You'll twist every cent you can make out of this fight,

and you will lie and you will cheat to do it.

There's a clock ticking, Jack.

One or a few hours left before this hotel is just a good idea that didn't work

out.

So I do what I have to do to bring this fight here.

And I believe you are, my friend.

This is my big payday, Neil.

I've got to get it all and get it now.

I'm going across the street.

Hi, Jack.

I swear to God, Nail, this is a look of success.

You're gonna do it again.

Yeah, it's looking good.

Too many five -dollar betters and slot addicts.

We need whales to bring us into the black.

What do I see?

What do I see?

Creation has begun.

Hey, how about over here?

Give me one of those spotlights.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

From the sands of the desert in a stadium rise,

bringing bucks into the people and profits to the casino.

Settle down, Madrid.

We're pricing tickets on a fight we don't even have a contract on yet.

Then they deal them all requiring a guarantee of six and a half billion

scoodles appear, causing the pit bosses to dance and spin.

Madrid, listen to me.

You can't deliver Jackson.

Jackson is yours!

Did Markham agree to the fight being at this hotel?

Doesn't matter which hotel.

Chain is out of it!

Chain is not out of it!

He fixed Markham, somehow.

Markham will only agree to the fight being in Chain's hotel.

Get out.

Oh, Neil!

Neil, I have some great news for you.

Whales, Neil!

Whales!

Oh, that's fine, Neil.

I'll be out in a couple of minutes.

Oh, no, no.

This cannot wait.

Yep, it's 108 degrees in here and wet.

You'll ruin that suit.

Hang on outside.

I'll be out in two minutes.

But they are here.

In the building?

Here, right here, outside.

Come, look, come, look.

Hi.

Mr.

Lau?

Mr.

Wong?

We're very glad to have you.

Don't they want to go to their rooms?

Oh, we have a problem.

How am I going to explain 4,000 years of Chinese culture in a steam room?

The days and the number are the Chinese almanac.

Just as important to their life on Mr.

Wong as the Wall Street Journal is to you.

I understand.

I'm a gambler.

Read anything that makes you feel lucky.

The astrologer tell them that this morning is their lucky time.

They want to play baccarat right now.

Fine.

Mr.

Wong, he's going to lose face if we don't finish a business right now.

For God's sake, let's finish the business.

What is it?

They have brought with them a cashier's check for $10 million.

You get an extra fudge sickle after school, you tell Mr.

Wong that if they rents a ten million fifteen times, that is,

if they gamble a hundred and fifty, win or lose,

they get an extra million to play with.

Oh, Neo, they, they have already been made the same offer,

like two other hotels.

They want you to give them the million after twelve rinses instead of fifteen.

That's very dangerous.

I'll wiggle and get back from San Francisco before I decide.

Oh, Neo, now, now, please.

I'll agree to anything at this point.

It's okay.

It's okay!

It's okay!

No, in my opinion, it's not a good deal.

You've given the Chinese too much of an inch.

It gives me confidence you continue to be smart, Josh.

On the other hand, you seem to know when to break the rules.

All right, I'll be right back.

No rules.

I wish they were.

One good rule would help right now.

I'll have the best men work in the table and a counter behind each customer to

record all bets.

Let's keep the Chinese at the back table.

Hi, Greg.

All right, switch to Bakker on that one.

Tighten up with the dealer's hands.

I wish I weren't going to San Francisco.

This is one hell of a time to be leaving the hotel.

I'll watch everything here.

And a meeting's Sarah for lunch.

All right, thanks, Greg.

And I'll get Markham nailed down.

When we got this opportunity to buy the Tropicana,

or maybe steal it is the better word,

we knew that we should come back here where we're known.

You want us to be the lead bank in your purchase of the Tropicana.

Have I got it right?

Exactly, Morgan.

Our balance sheet is an open book here,

so we expect the very best possible financing.

Yeah, that balance sheet, that's something to look at.

You tack another 80 million under what you already borrowed in Atlantic City,

and you can hear the timbers start to groan.

But right away we've got...

Increased income.

The Tropicana will throw off $2 million a month.

Maybe.

No, maybe?

Chain's got it damn near there already.

Well, there's your maybe.

You don't have Chain.

Morgan, we've got the best management on the Strip.

Had?

When Chain was with you, but he's not with you anymore.

So no loan?

Not from this bank.

If you're out of it, that kills it everywhere.

I think you're right there, Gray.

Thank you.

If Chain were asking for this financing, would you approve it?

Yes, sir.

That stinks, Steinman!

It's putrid!

Well, let me tell you how it works.

Chain pulls this town forward.

He doesn't just put on an event.

He gives it a style that makes people want to be a part of it.

It isn't just his hotel that does well.

The whole town does well.

Bankers like that.

Then bankers are deaf and blind.

You have no idea of the insane schemes we saved him from.

And when some event did get on, we did the work.

Not him.

He was off playing tennis.

You got stars in your eyes about Neil Chain.

I was there the night you introduced Neil Chain.

You said he was first in the industry and first in the hearts of his

colleagues.

I agreed.

I applauded.

And you were right, Gray.

Neil is a stand -up guy.

And now I see your size, I can tell how really tall he is.

None so little said it yet.

Nobody I'd rather hear that from, Neil.

That's Latin.

It means not only, but also...

Not only is Jackson powerful, he's fast.

Unquestionably, in my opinion, the next champion.

This kid wasn't even born when I started waiting for him, Neil.

A lot of winters.

But now he's here.

And he is gonna be the next champ.

Right, Doc?

Yeah.

You're going to be OK.

Stan, my former colleagues may try to threaten you.

Haven't even seen their shadow yet.

But it's likely they will.

That's why I came to San Francisco.

To give you the opportunity to have second thoughts.

No, Neil.

No second thoughts.

I'm comfortable.

They'll fight like hell.

Threatened.

Let them talk.

We got a deal, Mr.

Chane.

And we're in it together.

I like that.

That's what I came to hear, Stan.

OK.

See you in Las Vegas.

And tell Sweetwater Jackson my money's on him, huh?

OK, we're going to wrap it up soon.

All right, Doc?

He's ready to wrap.

He's giving a rope now.

Atta boy.

Keep working, baby.

It's beautiful.

It's beautiful.

This is fast, huh?

And a whole other world.

What's going on?

Look at that guy skip rope, eh?

You your fighter?

Yeah, he's my fighter.

Jackson, is that Sweetwater?

Yeah, that's Sweetwater.

You know, I heard from people who are on the box, and he's going to win.

Is he going to win?

Yeah.

He's going to win.

When do you move to Vegas?

Don't you move to Vegas?

Yeah, yeah, we move to Vegas.

Where in Vegas?

Tropicana.

I heard it was the desert end.

You heard wrong.

It's the Tropicana.

I heard of the talk.

What of the talk?

The Jackson's manager, Stan Markham, he changed his mind,

said he wanted to fight and move to the desert end.

Really?

Why is that?

Well, they looked into his past, and they found parole violations,

interstate commerce violations, nothing big,

but enough to fend him away for a while.

You just forget about that,

and you tell whoever sent you to forget about that too.

Markham's not interested.

But there's more.

Also heard that one afternoon, a guy walked into Maryman's gym,

a real sharply dressed guy, about six foot one.

And while he was standing there watching Jackson, he threatened Markham's life,

said Markham's life was finished if the fight didn't go where it was supposed

to.

You didn't hear any of that?

Alcatraz was originally a fort.

The cells are five feet wide by nine feet long.

To discourage homosexual activity, each convict had his own cell.

Anybody care to enter and get the feeling of being an inmate at Alcatraz?

Right this way.

Had a little realism to your stay.

This small cell was home for the average prisoner,

15 hours a day for eight to ten years.

Attorney General Homer Cummings called Alcatraz...

The ultimate punishment that society could have...

A little place to play, I love seeing.

I figured you'd probably been everywhere else in San Francisco.

You come here often?

Just when the world is closing in and I feel I have to get away to some place

beautiful.

Well, freedom is yours once again.

All right, folks, we're gonna see the mess hall, where the convicts ate.

They called it the gas chamber, because in case of a riot,

the tear gas canister's in the ceiling.

There's a little something I'd like to show you.

How can we make this?

Yes, I ask myself.

A day we'll remember.

The answer you've held?

Lay an Alcatraz?

Go in, Neil.

That little tent of blue, which pre -men called the sky.

Neil Chaim, lover, poet.

No, no, it's not me.

It's us for the while.

It was locked away, because it was homosexual.

Sit on the bed, Neil.

They sent the players in, critical players.

You, you, they're not a president.

It's unnatural.

They fly 18 hours from Hong Kong to a 16 -hour time change.

Then they sit down and gamble another nine hours.

They yell and drink and smoke.

How come one of them don't die?

It's a night in purgatory, all right.

Where's that?

Jersey They want to raise the limit to $50,000 per deal each position.

That's half a million each hand Why the hell doesn't chain get back here?

All right,

tell him all right Say Jack I'll bet you didn't know that in Alcatraz I'll tell

you what I know.

I know you fixed Markham somehow Well, then if you know about Markham,

you know,

it's time to sign the contract I'll sign but I want 50% of everything you get

over four and a half million.

You're crazy You know, I'm taking all the risk.

You're right.

You know, I'm crazy I had a deal for six and a half million yesterday.

Now I'm fighting the whole that phone act You can't get no crazier than that

All right Jack 25% over four and a half million now,

that's fair just about where the deal should be You got this picture of fair

like it's some fixed point out there that everybody can see It ain't Neil.

It's white business man's mythology.

I don't even agree to that You know Jack is an old saying in the casino

business some days are good and some are even better But I don't know how any

could be any better than this What the hell are you doing?

Winning.

Big.

How big?

Huge.

Since right after your last call.

Did you know he was here?

No, I didn't see him.

Out, slime.

Now let's start by getting your hands off me.

I'll have you up for assault.

Neil, you don't understand.

I had to come.

Yeah, I thought victory had slipped away from me,

that maybe you were actually going to succeed.

And then one hauled him and told me that the Chinese had won four million

dollars from you.

Neil,

I was so filled with glee that my legs just propelled me over here without me

even knowing it.

And I thought maybe it was finally time for the funeral.

So you can see I had to come.

I'm going to stand across the street and watch, you think!

To survive!

Neil likes a good fight.

What's the actual count, Josh?

They've won four million, three hundred twenty -seven thousand so far.

My God, that's totally...

You got to get two million from the bank.

Neil, could we talk alone?

It's all right, Josh.

We're among friends.

Even if you don't know it, even so, Neil, you and I should talk alone.

It's all right, Josh.

Shoot.

Okay.

We're all tapped out.

We've used all our cash, all our reserves.

There isn't any more.

It's all over, Neil.

I can lend you the two million.

Got to keep you alive, man.

In Chinese, why not you got no money?

It liable to start a Tong war.

First thing a loan officer looks for, Jack, is the ability to repay.

I have none.

A moment like this doesn't come often in life,

when you can say in a single act...

What, what you mean by friendship?

My moment has arrived.

You're on the call, James.

I'll pay you right back.

I know you will.

And I'll go to the bank personally to sign for it.

See you.

I'll see how they're doing.

Thanks, man.

The lady has across the square side.

Aye, aye.

Never, never seen anybody win like this before.

This baccarat table is a miracle.

Like that place in France.

We should invite the whole thing to lame,

to come up and throw away that crutch.

You still hot?

Hotter?

Oh, God.

Unbelievable.

Sometimes it's got to start going the other way.

I used to think that, too.

But maybe not.

Maybe they'll keep winning.

They'll own this hotel, then Caesars, then all of Los Angeles, then the world.

We'll all be owned by these eight cackling Chinese.

Maybe we should kill them now before it happens.

Yeah, excuse me, but, um, that's all for tonight.

They're gonna wanna catch out their chicks.

Oh, they'll be back in the morning?

No, no, no.

They feel their only bad luck will follow tonight,

so they wanna go to the sands.

Okay, catch them up.

Uh, Josh.

When Madrid comes back, pay him off.

I'll meet you out front.

Thank you.

They scared me.

I didn't think I could be scared like that.

I told them okay.

The fight will be at their place.

Yeah, well, I think I'd probably do the same thing, Stan.

Not a chance.

You wouldn't play dead.

Everybody expects you to be dead.

They expect you to do something heroic.

I'm sorry, Mr.

Chain.

Take care of yourself, Stan.

We'll survive.

Mr.

Chain?

Yeah.

There's someone to see out by the pool.

Oh.

I'm not serious out there waiting Thank you Thank you.

You're not supposed to be within a mile in this place.

You noticed you haven't seen me around the pool, have you?

What's up?

You've got a problem.

How do you know?

The junket from Hong Kong has beaten you for a lot of money.

A lot of money you don't have, and that's no less a problem.

So?

I'm here to help.

Help?

Money?

What do you mean?

Any way you want it.

A loan, investment, you've got a couple of ideas.

We?

Friends.

Friends of mine, so they're friends of yours.

In a tumultuous world, you need friends, Neil.

So now I've got the answers.

All the answers to Jimmy Wahlstrom.

Do you know the story?

Ha, Jimmy.

The guy's on his knees.

Currier comes in with the good news.

He's got friends.

It makes me want to tear the arm off the guy who brought the news.

Neil, don't jump to any conclusions.

Don't you say anything, Jimmy,

because you're too close to the pool and I've got an itch to hold you under the

surface.

Yeah.

That's not your fault.

You never really masked who you are.

It makes me realize how far I am from heaven.

Get going, Jimmy.

Thank you.

Yip's group paid off.

We'll have about 350,000 left.

Get it for me, would you, Josh?

Is it for what I think it's for?

Neil.

Think it over for 24 hours, then there won't be any new options.

Gambling is the one thing, maybe the only thing I really know how to do.

Number one.

OK, Neil.

Sir.

In London, there's a law.

It says that you cannot gamble for 48 hours after registering at a club.

It's to stop impulse gambling.

Now, where in the hell did you hear a thing like that?

In any way, I agree with it.

I would never let anybody gamble heavily at a time like this.

But I need to tell the truth.

I want to talk to you about something else.

OK.

Jimmy Wellstrom just showed up, offered to help.

Money.

Did you accept?

No.

But it got me to thinking.

Jane, I said, you're doing something wrong.

This mess you're in is...

Jimmy Wellstrom, offering salvation.

Those things aren't accidents.

Those are wrought by a fine and forceful hand.

Your own.

Sound thinking.

I only have half thoughts that dart around like mice.

One of them is that...

you...

are important to me.

$373,000 in this one.

This one's empty, just in case.

Okay.

I'm down the road.

Wow, it's a full -on shock.

Evening, Mr.

Chain.

They're coming out, grab 11 or 7.

10, 0, big 10.

50,000.

50,000.

50,000.

50,000.

Coming out again now, seeing scooter, grab 11 or 7.

2, 3 at 12.

How much goes?

Travettes, man.

They're coming right out.

Anything going to line?

50,000 on the line.

50,000 on the line.

50,000?

It's over the limit, Mr.

Shane.

No can do.

Ryan will be here in a minute.

We can either wait for him or start the fire now.

Let's see what I can do.

It's Neil Chane.

That's about 50,000 on the pass line.

What shall we do?

Okay, let him roll.

50,000 on the line for Mr.

Chane is a bet.

Them ran out of place, bet the big six for eight.

How much on the two -four?

They don't lend them money.

They don't own their children.

They don't own it.

Hey, P .E .A.!

They didn't mark.

Hey, look out.

What are you saying now?

$48,000 on the inside.

$48,000 on the inside.

That's a bet.

$200.

$200.

$800.

$800.

Come on, P .E .A.!

How much on the hard eight, man?

It's in for one of five.

I'll get you $50.

All right, make it eight.

The money you're paying now, eight will win.

The main line of money.

Come on, baby.

Morning.

Nine.

Rest the night.

Nine.

Nine.

Eight.

Nine.

Nine.

Nine.

Nine.

Nine.

One, two, three, or 12.

Come on, baby.

Let's go.

Eight.

Yes!

Get the number seven and three.

Five against your 40.

$50,000 on Don't Pass.

Go ahead, Mike.

Come on again.

Come on off, please.

$61,000.

Great grab of the line of way.

Take that out.

Pay that out.

You're gone, Shane.

Out of here, feet first.

You're late, Ryan.

Thought you'd pick up my squirrel farm.

I won my first $50,000.

I got a proposal for you.

Has a lick of the drama.

Perhaps even melodrama, the kind of thing you Irish appreciate.

You transport that face someplace where I can't see it,

and I will either beat you out of a lot of money or you will beat me out of

everything I own.

It's called showdown, Ryan.

Ah, the thought of it.

You're losing everything.

I put a glow on the wall.

Yeah, we'll do it.

Tell them no limit.

Mr.

Chain will be shooting for whatever he wants tonight.

Cover him, whatever it is.

No limit.

Get a ten now, when they stop.

Number four.

If you don't get a line, you're coming again.

That's 11 or seven.

12.

Easy bet it.

Eight for one to five.

$500 on the line.

Oh, my God.

So, you watch a lot of TV?

Fights.

Hill Street Blues.

Cheers.

Nothing like that?

Fights mainly.

They've got a lot of these two -hour stories about a young mother whose child

needs a bone graft or a liver transplant.

No.

I don't watch nothing like that.

No.

I know you don't.

I'm just trying to keep my mind occupied.

I have $2,500.

And 62,000 here.

Betting all of it.

2,562,000 goes on the front line.

2,562,000 is a bet for Mr.

Chang.

And I'd like to see the casinos money in cash.

Alright, we want everyone in the bet who wants to.

Line up behind a player and pass your bets forward.

They'll be stacked according to your position.

Be the line bet's only, pass or don't pass, and the minimum bet is $25.

Gosh, he's got guts.

Winning two and a half million in 45 minutes and then betting it all.

All.

That's guts.

This is torture.

In five minutes we'll either be rid of Chang for good or I'll be flushed out of

here like waste.

I reckon that's right, Red.

Flushed like waste.

Keep your bets out early, please.

Hold your hands up and the dice come your way.

There's a lot of money being spent.

All right, they're coming up.

This is the ball game, sir.

Good luck.

Jane, you're nice.

Five.

Five, three, five, eight, nine, eight, five, five, a point.

Raise your mind, man.

You see the point of money.

Ten, ten, easy way of ten, ten, the line of money is five, your main point.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, eight, nine, eight, nine,

eight, nine, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and there you have it.

Thank you very much.

Give me a talk about the two million.

It's in here.

I know that, Neil.

I wanted to mention the 20% interest.

20% interest?

I could have gone to any bank for less.

Five.

Maybe.

Neil, look at the chance I took.

No bank is gonna get you $2 million at the middle of the night.

And don't go trying to settle for 15%.

Hey, Jack.

Hold this for me tonight, will you?