The Winner

Hey, Frankie.

Here it comes.

Here comes what?

The bus. Here it is.

I can see the bus, Paulie.

Thank you.

Let's go! Sometime today.

What...

Joey!

He ain't here.

What do you mean,

"he ain't here"?

Joey!

Welcome to Vegas.

You look good.

You look good.

Hey, Joey.

How ya doin'?

Get the bags.

Joey, look, uh,

you gotta believe me.

This guy has been winning

for five straight weeks.

It's like he's

the luckiest man in the

history of north America.

It all started in a casino

called the pair-a-dice.

He came from nothin'.

He looked like

any bum on the street.

When he got near that

roulette wheel, he was like

he was blessed with something.

He's been on a winning streak

for five weeks, Joey.

He's been playing every Sunday,

and he hasn't lost once.

You've never seen

anything like it.

Here's a coffee

with cream.

Do you mind?

I'm in the middle

of somethin'.

I'm sorry.

Okay, so, look, all we gotta do

is get Paulie to pretend

he's sick or somethin'.

Like he's chokin' on

a chicken bone. Like that.

Philip will take pity

on him right away and

give him money for a doctor,

because that's

the kind of guy he is.

Every Sunday when he wins,

he gives almost

all his money away.

I'm telling you,

Joey, there's a real

opportunity here.

I'm not doubting you.

Don't get me wrong.

Crazy things happen every day.

But what we're talkin'

about here is a guy...

With the name Philip.

Philip.

All right, Philip.

I mean...

what's wrong with Philip?

Philip.

Yeah, Philip.

Come on!

What?

You don't like his name?

All I'm sayin'

is it would be nice...

If his name was,

say... Jesus.

Yeah, sure...

yeah, but...

the problem is, see,

I need a sign.

If his name was, say,

Jesus or, say, Moses...

Or even, say...

Joshua,

I would have that sign.

Take me to Philip.

Stupid son of a b*tch!

Get outta here!

Goddamn you!

Here! Take this goddamn...

thanks... for the ride!

Well, I gotta run, baby.

So, run.

I just want to finish my

cigarette before I go home.

It's kind of cold out here.

You cold?

Cold feels good

when you know

you're gonna be rich.

I feel good, Jack.

I don't see us gettin' rich

off this guy.

Maybe he won you a car,

and he might buy you

a goddamn necklace,

but the guy doesn't

care enough about money

to make anybody rich.

He doesn't bet enough,

and then he gives it all away.

Your eyes must be goin'

in your old age.

You're gonna have to sell

this car, Louise.

Don't nag me about the car.

It's not like I'm asking you

to take out the garbage

or cut the grass.

I'm just reminding you,

you need to come up with cash,

like yesterday.

Can't keep the sharks

away forever.

I'm not asking for forever.

I never do.

I'm asking for a week.

Just 'til Sunday.

You know what

they're talkin' about

when it comes to you?

They're ready to beat on

your pretty face.

I've seen Kingman kill people

for much less, honey.

Kill me for

a lousy 50 grand?

Come on.

Worse comes to worse,

I sell the car, okay?

I met somebody

just the other day willing

to give me $20,000 cash.

Next week, on the spot,

a French guy.

Runs a, uh, bank in France.

International finance stuff.

You know how those guys are.

Yeah. I know 'em

like you know 'em.

Well, it's not gonna

come to that anyway.

Look, Jack, you gotta

back me up on this one.

I'm gettin' tired.

I'd be lyin' to you

if I didn't tell you

how tired I'm gettin'...

Of livin' the way that we do.

I'm gonna pay Kingman back,

but I want more than that.

Don't you, Jack?

Now is our time.

We are gonna be rich.

We are gonna be so rich

that we already are.

That it's spilling over

into the past.

We're gonna be

so f***ing goddamn rich.

Oh, yeah?

How's that?

All we have to do is wait

for those magic words.

What are those magic words,

baby?

I... love... you.

'Cause if a person loves you,

really loves you,

they'll do anything for you.

You ever notice that?

I gotta run.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Frank Kingman's

pair-a-dice...

Presents Louise.

baby

I'm gonna give you

the lights of Las Vegas

baby

I'm gonna give you the sky

baby

I'm gonna promise you

a better life

keep you dreaming

even after you die

'cause here the lights

burn into the night

here love is the same

as a lie

All right, no more bets. No

more bets. Six is the number.

Here they're gonna take

everything from you

six! Winner is six.

But you feel hopeful

for a while

a while

baby

I'm gonna give you

the lights of Las Vegas

Baby, baby have mercy on me

'cause we're all believers

trusting believers

even the desert

can feel like the sea

Thank you.

The old man's gone, Kingman.

Well, uh, everything

went really well.

Smooth as water, you might say.

That's good to hear.

You talk about water a lot.

You like water?

Well, not particularly.

I was just saying,

everything went smooth

as water, you know.

You've made me

very happy, Jack.

You talk to me about water,

and you tell me

things worked out.

When you do these things,

it makes me feel connected.

You know that feeling?

Feeling connected?

Yeah, sure.

'Cause I'll tell you something.

After a while,

it all just gets to you.

The chaos.

The randomness of the world.

Violence, beauty, disease.

After a while,

it all gets to you.

Can you see

how that might happen?

Jack, you can't

just go and kill a winner.

Where's the sport in that?

Sometimes it does a man good

to face a challenge,

to fight a battle.

That brings out the best in you,

brings out the best in him.

Otherwise, certain feelings

of hostility build up,

certain feelings

of... unpleasantness.

Come here.

Losers take care of themselves.

They lose.

Yeah, they lose.

But a winner, Jack,

you have to destroy.

A winner you have to

bring to their knees!

This is for you.

Thank you, sir.

You get something

for your wife too.

Thank you very much, sir.

I love you, man.

Buddy. I love this guy.

My pleasure.

Did you see what he did?

We should go.

He just kissed them,

and I won. You are the best.

Sit down.

Yeah!

Hello. You are entering

the liberace museum.

This was once the home

of liberace,

ta-da.

The highest paid and

best loved pianist in the world.

I think of you, Louise.

I think of you

as heaven on earth.

It always seemed to me that when

you have something beautiful,

it's a shame not to share it.

So, please, enjoy

the beautiful home of

America's greatest entertainer.

Don't forget to

celebrate Liberace day...

I was Liberace's

favourite piano.

My rhinestones were laid

individually by hand.

It was on me that Liberace

first played Chopin's

"minute waltz" in 42 seconds.

Oh, baby!

As Mr. showmanship

himself said once...

A fortune teller told me

once never to get married...

That my wife would die

a tragic death.

Is that funny to you?

No.

Did she lean in close?

Did she whisper in your ear...?

"Please let me save you.

"Let me break the spell!

"I don't want you

to be alone forever.

"No one should

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