Now streaming on:
Bernie Lootz s sad eyes scan the casino floor, and he shuffles into action. A high roller is having a winning streak at a craps table. Bernie walks near him, maybe just only brushes his sleeve, and the guy s luck sours. For Bernie there is no joy in this, only the confirmation of something he has known for a long time: People get next to me their luck turns. It s been like that my whole life. How does he do it? I do it by being myself.
Bernie, played by William H. Macy as another of his gloomy everymen, is a professional loser: A cooler is what his boss Shelly (Alec Baldwin) calls him. He is employed by the Shangri-La casino to wander the floor, bringing an end to winning streaks. But now modern Las Vegas is catching up with Bernie and Shelly. A group of investors have brought in a hotshot from business school to update the Shangri-La, which is the last of the old-style casinos. Shelley hates this idea; taking a dig at Steve Wynn s vision for the new Vegas