the final segment – and I’m looking for a few interested parties in helping me crank this baby off into a pilot. First – figure out the major thing that’s wrong with it, leave me a comment.

CUT TO:

INT. BELLAGIO – CASINO

Daylight spills in from Via Del Nord and Frank Sinatra’s voice drifts across the casino.

DAVE

Fuck! What the fuck am I going to do? I’m busted.

(kicks a machine)

$22,000…just gave it away. Fuck!

Dave digs through his pockets and pulls out coins. He drops them into a machine and pulls the handle. The machine spins without any matches. Dave kicks the machine.

DAVE

Nothing has a heart in this fucking, godforsaken city.

CUT TO:

INT. PALMS – POKER ROOM

Diamond and Solitaire each carry five racks to the Cashier.

DIAMOND

Damn it! I’m good.

Solitaire laughs.

SOLITAIRE

I promise I won’t ask you how to practice law if you’ll let me teach you how to play poker.

DIAMOND

Teach me how to play? But you raised with five-seven…

SOLITAIRE

Yes, and you raised with everything. There’s just a little more to it than that.

CUT TO:

INT. BELLAGIO – CASINO

KENNY enters through Via Del Nord.

DAVE

Hey Kenny, how’s it going?

Do any good in the tournament last night?

KENNY

Yes, I did. How about you?

You look a little rough…play all night?

DAVE

Yeah, I got stuck.

Kenny’s pace picks up. Dave catches up.

KENNY

Sorry to hear that.

DAVE

I was wondering if you…

KENNY

If it’s a loan, don’t ask. I don’t borrow and I don’t loan.

DAVE

Just like that, huh?

KENNY

Yes. Just like that.

DAVE

Thanks for nothing.

Dave stops. Kenny shrugs and heads for the Poker Room. Dave runs after Kenny and grabs his arm.

DAVE

I got nowhere to go. I’m broke. Just a couple of hundred for a week…

KENNY

Las Vegas is full of broke people.

I didn’t put them there.

Dave’s grip tightens.

DAVE

Jesus Christ! Have a heart. I’m begging.

KENNY

I can’t give you anything. It’s non-negotiable.

Kenny jerks away from Dave and walks.

DAVE

FUCK YOU! You’re a pompous prick that just got lucky to be where you are. You’re a no playing asshole.

Kenny spins around.

KENNY

Go back to your job at Crazy Horse II. Learn to play before you jump in over your head next time.

(voice shakes)

You’re the no playing asshole.

SECURITY GUARD2 appears.

SECURITY GUARD2

Any problem?

(eyes both of them)

Everything alright?

KENNY

Everything’s just fine. Thanks for asking.

Dave shrinks.

SECURITY GUARD2

You alright?

DAVE

Yeah, I don’t think you can do anything for me.

EXT. LAS VEGAS BOULEVARD – A FEW MINUTES LATER

Dave walks the Strip. He slinks in and out of casinos as the sun goes down and comes up again. He checks the slot machines for coins and tries to sleep in the Sports Books before Security rousts him. He mumbles continuously to himself.

DAVE

Fucking idiot! No playing asshole? I’ll show them.

(cries)

I AM a no playing asshole. Fuck!

INT. BELLAGIO POKER ROOM – DAY

Diamond and Solitaire enter the room and put their names
on the $4-8 Holdem list. As they wait, they spot Helen
and Hazel in a game. Gary Ballinger stands behind them.

DIAMOND

Come on! That’s the two women I told
you about and Gary’s here too. Damn!

That’s Exciting.

Solitaire tugs at Diamond’s arm as they move to the table.

SOLITAIRE

But I know that guy.

DIAMOND

Sure, you saw him the night you
came in to the Oxford and left
with Dave.

They reach the table and Gary turns to Solitaire, arms out.

DIAMOND

No…not from there. He was at the hospital,
outside Mom’s room all the time.

Gary scoops Solitaire up in a hug.

DIAMOND

You were at the hospital, weren’t you?

Gary turns to Diamond.

GARY

Yes. I was there all the time your
mother was alive.

Both Solitaire and Diamond question Gary at the same time.

DIAMOND

Why? What did you have to do
with her?

SOLITAIRE

You didn’t even know her. Why?

Gary puts up his hands and takes a step back.

GARY

We’d better talk.

Gary motions to a quiet corner of the poker room with
empty tables. They take a seat.

GARY

I knew she’d never tell you
about me. She didn’t right?

Diamond and Solitaire both shake their head.

GARY

I met your mother when she
was 18, I was 28. I traveled
a circuit playing poker in back
rooms and home games. I was hooked.

DIAMOND

Where did you meet her?

GARY

At the grocery store, of course.
I was in town to play for a week
or so in the game in the basement
of the Oxford. It was a private
game and there was a lot of money
on the tables late night for that
day and age.

SOLITAIRE

Wow! A grocery store romance.

GARY

Not quite but close. I followed
her out of the store and asked
her to have a soda with me. It
took a little talking but she did.

DIAMOND

So…you never married? What
happened?

GARY

We spent the whole afternoon talking.
I’ve never drank so many sodas in
my life.

(laughs)

I told her what I did. She
couldn’t believe it. Especially
when I told her how much money I
had on me and how easy it was.

SOLITAIRE

So…then what. Come on…

GARY

I had her dress up as a man
and I took her to the basement
game that night. I told the guys
that she was my cousin, just in
town for the night, and they let
her in. She sat through the whole
night with me, watching and
listening. We left before daylight
and I’d won about $800. And she
was hooked.

DIAMOND

Our mother? Miss Stay at Home
Never go Anywhere or do Anything
was hooked?

GARY

She was ready to run, she hated
her life and the thought of
never experiencing anything. And
she liked me a lot too. That
was the key, she liked me.

SOLITAIRE

But she wouldn’t just take off with you.
She was much more level headed than
that.

GARY

She was facing a dead end and I
gave her an escape hatch filled
with excitement. We left town
together two days later.

DIAMOND

Oh my God! That’s absolutely too
weird for even me to digest. Our
Mom?

GARY

Didn’t you ever wonder where she
got her money from? How she paid
for everything without having a
job?

DIAMOND

I did after I got older, but she
never seemed to need anything, I
did ask her a few times.

GARY

We were in love and made many a
score on the road. She took very
good care of her money and invested
in a lot of things.

SOLITAIRE

what happened then? Why didn’t
you stay together?

GARY

After a few years, she wanted
children. I didn’t. I wanted to
do what I did and had done
for years, that was travel
and play poker. She wanted a
home and was ready to settle
down.

DIAMOND

That was it? She just walked away?

GARY

Not quite. We’d been out on a
trip and she’d won every time
we played. She had around $10,000
stuffed in various parts of the car
and in her suitcase. She liked to
roll $100 and $20 bills up in her
socks and keep them in the suitcase.

Gary clears his throat and looks at the far wall for a moment.

DIAMOND

Come on…

GARY

Even after all these years,
this is still painful and
humiliating.

Gary puts his head in his hands. Solitaire and Diamond wait.

GARY

I went broke in Oklahoma one night.
She won around $2,000 and we
almost didn’t get out of the town.

I always carried a gun to those
games. If I hadn’t had one that
night, we might not have gotten out.
She cashed, I waited by the door
for her.

Gary sits up straight and orders from COCKTAIL WAITRESS2.

Solitaire and Diamond are called to their open seats.

They both wave at BRUSH PERSON.

SOLITAIRE

I’m not taking my seat until I hear
the rest of this.

DIAMOND

Me neither.

GARY

The guys in the game were grumbling.
even though I’d lost, they were
not happy that she’d won as much as
she did. We got to our car because
I pulled the gun. We drove down to
a hotel we’d checked into earlier…about
10 miles from there. Remember that she
always played dressed as a man. Women
didn’t play poker in those days.

SOLITAIRE

It’s a damn good thing the world
came out of the dark ages, right Sis?

Diamond agrees.

GARY

When we got to the hotel, I begged
her for money so I could go back and
play. I’d been running bad and she
had all the money because she’d won.

We had an agreement when we first
started out, if we felt the other
person wasn’t playing well, we wouldn’t
help them play worse by giving them
money to play on until they were calm
and able to play well again.

Cocktail Waitress2 arrives with Gary’s drink and

Brush Person calls Diamond and Solitaire for their seats.

They wave and turn to Gary.

Solitaire

I think you must have been crazy
at that point. I know there are
times when I’m getting my brains
beat in by the deck that I want to
choke something out. It’s tough.

GARY

It is. Plus you have to think
about a man’s ego in those days.
I was begging, she was cold, and
I knew I could get my money back
if I could get back in the game.

DIAMOND

So…what you’re going to tell us is?

GARY

She stomped into the bathroom and
slammed the door, running water
for a bath. While she was soaking,

I opened her suitcase and rummaged
to the bottom socks. I took $1,000
and after she went to sleep, I drove
back to the game. I got about a
$100 of my money back and the game
broke.

Gary sips his drink.

SOLITAIRE

Sounds like Dave.

GARY

When I got back to the room, she
was up and dressed, everything
packed and ready to go. She knew
what had happened and where I’d
gone. We had a horrible fight.

SOLITAIRE

I can understand that. First you
broke your agreement, then you stole
from her, and then you put you and
her both in jeopardy by going back
to that game.

GARY

You are your mother’s daughter.
That’s exactly what she said. She
left me that night. She took the
car and told me to keep the money
and she hoped it was worth it for
what it cost me. I was sick. She
wouldn’t listen to anything and I
knew I was wrong.

DIAMOND

That’s really sad. Did she love
you?

GARY

She did and I know it broke her
heart. And I loved her but she
never relented. I traveled for a
few more years and then made
Missoula my home because she was
there. We ran into each other now
and then but she wouldn’t let me
back in. I tried more than once.
She said she could never trust me
again.

SOLITAIRE

That’s one of the saddest stories I’ve
heard in a long time. And it’s even
worse because I’ve known you for such
a long time. And knowing you, I know
it’s true.

GARY

Then she adopted you, DIAMOND.
Didn’t either of you ever think
about your names? Kind of unusual,
huh?

DIAMOND

Did you talk to her at the hospital?

GARY

Yes, at times when you took a break,
I sat beside her bed and talked. She
even broke down and talked to me too.
Gary’s eyes fill with tears and he looks away.

DIAMOND

That’s incredible. Our mom was a
shiftless gambler, traveling the
highways, and leading the life of
a rounder. DAMN! It’s exciting
when you get down to it!

SOLITAIRE

I’m so happy you told us. It’s nice
to have some history that we would
never have found out about otherwise.

GARY

I’ve had all the emotional soul
baring I can stand for awhile.
Let’s play some poker. We can talk
again.

INT. SOLITAIRE’S APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM – DAY.

Door bell rings. Solitaire opens the door to Dave.

SOLITAIRE

Jesus Christ!

(plugs nose)

I thought your feet were bad. That’s horrible. Where did you sleep? In a dumpster?

DAVE

Can I talk to you?

SOLITAIRE

Start with an apology.

DAVE

I really am a jackass. I should have given you a lot more credit than I did.

SOLITAIRE

Now we are getting nowhere.

(fake yawn)

What do you really want?

DAVE

I’m broke.

SOLITAIRE

What do you mean you’re broke?

DAVE

I’m locked out of my apartment. Tapped out…nowhere to go.

SOLITAIRE

But…but…you were just bragging about your win.

Dave

I mean I’m busted, b-r-o-k-e.

SOLITAIRE

Your car?

DAVE

I took a title loan on it a month ago. It’s gone.

SOLITAIRE

I’m sorry, Dave, but you can’t stay here.

Solitaire closes the door; Dave puts his foot in the way.

DAVE

Can you help me with anything? I’m begging…please…

SOLITAIRE

You don’t get it…why should I help you…or even listen to you for that matter.

DAVE

Because you’re not like me.

The door is open again.

SoLITAIRE

Anything you want to tell me about the night you took a “walk”?

DAVE

When? Oh that…that’s another lifetime ago. Nothing to tell.

SOLITAIRE

Oh. But you bragged to a table full of guys at Bellagio that you could give them “the stats of the sisters”!

Dave slaps his head.

DAVE

God! All I wanted to do is ask you to teach me how to deal.

Dave drops to his knees.

DAVE

I’ll do anything…please.

A minute passes as Solitaire watches Dave.

SOLITAIRE

There’s a condition.

Dave tries to rise and Solitaire puts a foot on his shoulder.

DAVE

Name it. Anything.

SOLITAIRE

I have a friend that wants to learn to play poker but doesn’t want to learn in a casino.

(pauses)

You can deal to us heads up for a few sessions…you might even learn how to play.

DAVE

Anything…anything, just name it. I promise.

SOLITAIRE

First I have to check with my friend.

Solitaire removes her foot and Dave bows his head.

DAVE

I’ll do anything…I promise.

SOLITAIRE

Hey Sis, come on out here.

Diamond saunters into the room. Dave falls to the floor.

DAVE

Oh God! It’s a never ending nightmare. When am I going to wake up?

Diamond and Solitaire look at each other and bust out laughing.

DIAMOND

It ain’t no fun when the Rabbit’s got the gun.