forget it. hi, natalie. bernie. if i see shelly, i'll let him know. that you're looking for him. nah, it's okay. uh. let's do the chivas regal. have that. natalie bring it over. the one working nickel slots next to the paradise. i spoke to shelly earlier, he wants her at the tables. thanks. don't mention it. hey, buddy, is this your drink? yeah, yeah, i'm comin'. i was just heading over to -- i told you, i'm not gonna be around after sunday. seven days, shelly. seven days and i'm out from under. things are getting hot on fourteen. i gotta go. it's all right. happens. s'okay. you might want to stick around. dollar hard eight. no. i just know what the outcome's going to be. the outcome won't change with me. it'll be all bad. you had your chart done. do you know what i do at the shangri- la? and do you know how i do that? i do it by being myself. people get next to me and their luck turns. it's always been that way. i don't know about you, but i'm real tired. i only got six more days. well, almost five really. then i'll be leaving town. i, uh. if this is. i don't know. i don't know if i can afford. oh god. i'm so sorry. i didn't mean. you see -- that's exactly what i'm talking about. i've gone and "cooled" the damn table. i'm not here that much. drink? sorry, all i got's gin. this is not my first -- sorry. -- i did six months at rikers for running numbers. it was shelly's thing, but i took the rap for it. after i get out, i call up shelly and he tells me to come out here. i figure he's going to set me up good at the shangri-la. but he tells me they got all these rules about casinos employing felons. so he gets me this gig doing telemarketing for one of their fronts -- trying to scam pensioners out of their retirement money. i lasted two weeks. already, i was getting in deep. finally it got so bad, i had to beg shelly to take on my markers around town. that just bought me more time to keep losing. i put shelly in an awkward position. i understand why he did what he did. baseball bat. i got off easy. i was out of control. let me tell you something. i'm grateful for what he did. no kidding. every time i get an urge to play off the clock -- to so much as drop a quarter in a slot -- i reach down and squeeze what's left of my cartilage. it's one helluva reminder. anyway, shelly and i worked out a payment plan. two years off the books at the shangri-la, cooling tables. five more days and i walk. mikey? mikey? is that? you're not the. this you? how's your mom doing? so, you're in town? if you want, stop by the lucky star motel. give us a chance to catch up. i'm on three to eleven shift at the shangri-la. i work the floor. don't mention it. just wanna play one hand. feeling lucky tonight. i got this voice in my head, says this is the table. hey, heard the one about the fella walks into a bar and says, "hey, who owns that big great dane outside?" a man at the end of the bar raises his hand. "i do." the fella says, "yeah? well, my dog just killed it." "whaddya mean your dog just killed my great dane? what kinda dog you have?" the fella just shrugs and says, "a chihuahua." "you tellin' me your chihuahua just killed my great dane? how?" "i dunno," the fella says, "i think he got stuck in his throat." keep going. nothing. nothing. you're just an easy mark, is all. yeah. easy mark. you never heard that term? when we were kids, shelly and me, we used to work coney island during the summer. when a guy would walk up and seemed eager to open his wallet, we would always mark him with chalk. we'd pat him on the back or arm with the chalk. like, 'hey buddy, good job!' meanwhile, he had no clue the other guys saw him coming a mile away. easy mark. you ok? little joe. you know, you don't have to tell me this. so, you wanna go try your hand at the dime pitch? it's early still. mikey. yeah. i figured you'd call ahead. we were out at breakfast. there's about three grand there. that's all i got. i don't think. i don't want anything to hap. i don't know. i think so. mikey. you're not going to try anything stupid while you're in town? you mess up and they'll cut you no slack. that's all i'm saying. you got a kid to think about. this town. you know, natalie, all i want to do is go some place where i can tell day from night. where they got clocks on the wall. i can't breathe around here no more. four days and i'm gone. i'm not even sure i can hold out that long. a week ago, i didn't remember what it was like to have a woman's hands on me. i'm still pinching myself, expecting to wake-up from. come with me, natalie. i want you to come with me. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to spring that on you. so, what's the problem? natalie. i can't. not another year. not another week. i think. we probably shouldn't see each other anymore. because if i spend one more night in your arms, i'm not going anywhere. natalie, don't. i think you better bring me the bottle. please. eighteen thousand since i stepped up. i'm sorry, shelly, i guess i've been hit and miss lately. shelly, stop them! don't do this! it's got everything to do with me. he's my son. i said, he's my -- shelly, don't you fucking do it! no! god, no! i didn't know nothing about it. shelly, they didn't get away with the money. you didn't lose anything. oh jesus. yes! all right. it's on me. 150 g's. shelly, please help her. that's my grandson. jesus nooooo!!! it's on me. what are you doing?! i thought we had -- i did this to myself. i planted the seed. when angela took off with mikey, i didn't. i never made an effort to get back in his life. i figured, the kid don't need a loser for a father. now it's all come full circle. i give him the money, i open the door to all this. i musta had it coming. payback. it won't make any difference, natalie. whatever you come clean about, i'm not gonna feel any different about you. i'd say the words, but with my luck. i love you, natalie. trixie? trix. you came back. got any cre -- duty calls. i don't know. guess i'm having an off day. nothing's wrong. fact is, i've never felt better. she loves me, shelly. she told me last night. natalie. hi. any of you seen natalie around? i'm supposed to give her a ride home. natalie? you in there? natalie. i want you to tell me the truth, shelly. did you say something to natalie? did you muscle her -- this guy's all flash. no soul. i miss buddy. place isn't the same without him. you gave him an easy out? what are you talkin' about? i thought he. jesus. you. how can you sit here and justify it? like you were dr. kevorkian or something? yeah. i can't do that. i've got an obligation to shelly. there's no -- i can't do that, natalie. they'd come after me. and because you were with me. i wouldn't want that on me. natalie. did you take something? i got some aspirin in the -- ouch! natalie, what happened? the mirror. natalie. oh jesus. natalie, who did this to you? we need to call the police. what are you saying? shelly? shelly. we gotta get you to the hospital. we'll talk about this later. ssshh. everything's gonna be fine. this is our time. this is you and me and we're going for it. you look in the mirror, you don't like what you see, don't believe it. you look in my eyes. that's the only mirror you gonna need. look in my eyes, natalie. i love you. marry me? yeah, i do. i have to tell him right to his face. i will not look over my shoulder for the rest of my life -- our lives. don't you see, that was before you opened your heart to me. everything's different now. i got lady luck on my side. ain't nothing gonna happen to me. i don't think -- whatever happens, i -- you lay another finger on her, i swear to god i'll kill you. you hear me? i'll fuckin' kill you! why? why, shelly? he ain't never comin' back. i'm through with this joint, shelly. natalie and me, we just got married. we're outta here. i'll get a job out there in the world. send you half my paycheck every month. make good on my obligations. i don't think so. you whack me, then bernie lootz ain't the world's biggest loser no more. that honor's gonna fall upon you, shelly. and maybe you had it all along. what you got? what do you got in your life besides this joint? you got nothin', shelly. this place -- your legacy -- it's a mirage. you turn your back and it don't even exist. there's no day, there's no night, it's all just one big fuckin' blur and it don't count for nothin'! i feel real sorry for you. yeah, you got this fear of germs thing. but it goes deeper than that. you can't get close to no one. on an emotional level. you're the worst kind of gambler there ever was: too scared to put his chips on the table. too scared to open his heart. to extend any real kinda friendship. always afraid it's gonna end out in the desert. well, sweet fuckin' dreams, pal, 'cause i'm out and if that's where it ends, that's where it ends. change only. you could say that. natalie. this is you. for the boys. wait! color me up a hundred fifty thousand. and give it to him. that's what i owe you, shelly. there it is. we're square. let it be known, bernie lootz lives up to his obligations. fifty thousand dollars! come on sixty-six! i think i'm gonna. bahamas, here we come, baby. what's the problem, officer? if my driving. if i was going a little fast -- i was just over excited, officer. see, we just had a big win at the shangri-la -- he was drunk. it was just freak luck. lady luck, natalie. i'm calling it. lady luck. and we got it as long as we're together. they can't touch us now.