Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) works in the old fashion Shangri-La casino in Las Vegas. His unusual skill is to spread his bad luck around. He is in debt to the casino and forced to work for the boss Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) but only for 7 more days. He's in love with cocktail waitress Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello) but he is a hopeless loser. Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston) wants to update the casino like the rest of Las Vegas but Shelly resists.
This is a Las Vegas fairy tale. Macy and Bello are standouts. They are sweet tender characters. Baldwin is the cool master beating back the upstart Livingston. The style is a whiff of the old time Vegas. It's decaying and dying in front of our eyes like the drug-addicted lounge singer Buddy Stafford. There is such a humanity in this faded world. These are all recognizable characters from other Vegas tales. They work so well.
This is a Las Vegas fairy tale. Macy and Bello are standouts. They are sweet tender characters. Baldwin is the cool master beating back the upstart Livingston. The style is a whiff of the old time Vegas. It's decaying and dying in front of our eyes like the drug-addicted lounge singer Buddy Stafford. There is such a humanity in this faded world. These are all recognizable characters from other Vegas tales. They work so well.