Directed by: Henry Hathaway
Produced by: Joseph H. Hazen
Written by: Marguerite Roberts
Starring: Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens
Music by: D.H. Doane, Maurice Jarre, F.C. Van Al Styne
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp, Editing by Warren Low
Release date: July 31, 1968
Running time: 103 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English

5 Card Stud is a 1968 Western, released by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Henry Hathaway, the script, based on a novel by Ray Gaulden, was written by Marguerite Roberts, who also wrote the screenplay of True Grit for Hathaway the following year. The film features Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum.

Plot

In the 1880 town of Rincon, Colorado, a gambler is caught cheating at a five-card stud poker game. One of the players, Van Morgan, tries to prevent the others from administering frontier justice, but is unable to stop the man’s lynching. Morgan leaves town, but later returns when he hears that a couple of the other players from that ill-fated game have been murdered.

The town has a new resident, a stern preacher named Reverend Rudd. As more members of the lynch mob are killed off one by one, it becomes clear that someone is taking revenge and it is up to Morgan to solve the mystery. Finally, only he is left. He discovers the identity of the killer just in time.

Cast

Dean Martin as Van Morgan
Robert Mitchum as The Rev. Jonathan Rudd
Inger Stevens as Lily Langford
Roddy McDowall as Nick Evers
Katherine Justice as Nora Evers
John Anderson as U.S. Marshal Al Dana
Ruth Springford as Mama Malone
Yaphet Kotto as Little George
Denver Pyle as Sig Evers
Bill Fletcher as Joe Hurley
Whit Bissell as Dr. Cooper
Ted de Corsia as Eldon Bates
Don Collier as Rowan
Roy Jenson as Mace Jones

Links

• 5 Card Stud at the Internet Movie Database

DVD reviews

• DVD Savant review by Glenn Erickson
• DVD Verdict review by Eric Profancik
• digitallyOBSESSED! review by Mark Zimmer

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by: Robert Luketic
Produced by: Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, Dana Brunetti, Michael DeLuca
Written by: Ben Mezrich, Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb, Chris Kalyvas
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Liza Lapira, Aaron Yoo, Josh Gad, Jacob Pitts, Kieu Chinh
Music by: David Sardy
Cinematography: Russell Carpenter
Editing by: Elliot Graham
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release date: March 28, 2008 (2008-03-28)
Running time: 123 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $35 million
Gross revenue: $157,927,340

21 is a 2008 drama film from Columbia Pictures. It is directed by Australian director Robert Luketic and stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Aaron Yoo. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich.

The film received accusations of ‘whitewashing’ due to the fact that the real MIT Blackjack Team was predominantly composed of Asian Americans, while the film portrayal was a predominantly white cast. Organizations such as the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) spoke out against the film and its producers’ alleged mixed messages about casting decisions. Despite its largely negative reviews, 21 was a box office success and was the number one film during its first and second weekends of release.

Links

• Official website
• 21 at the Internet Movie Database
• 21 at Rotten Tomatoes
• 21 at Metacritic
• 21 at Box Office Mojo
• 21 at Allmovie
• MIT Alumnus and Busting Vegas Author Describe Experience of Beating the House
• Photos of the filming of 21 near the campus of MIT: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
• Official world wide release dates with links to different national sites

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Caravaggio, The Cardsharps, c. 1594.

Gambling has had many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. Currently, in western society, it generally has an economic definition and meaning and typically refers to “wagering money or something of material value on something with an uncertain outcome in hope of winning additional money or material goods”. Furthermore:

• the outcome of the wager is typically evident within a short period of time
• the primary intent of the bet is to win additional money or material goods

This definition of gambling usually excludes:

• emotional or physical risk-taking where what is being risked is not money or material goods (e.g., skydiving, running for office, asking someone for a date, etc.)
• buying insurance, as the primary intent of the purchase is to protect against loss, rather than to collect or win
• all forms of long-term ‘investment’ (stock market, real estate) with positive expected returns and economic utility
• starting a new business, as time and effort are also being wagered and the outcome is not determined in a short period of time
• situations where the possibility of winning additional money or material goods is a secondary or incidental reason for the wager/purchase (e.g., buying a raffle ticket to support a worthy cause)

Gambling varies on four dimensions:

• 1. What is being wagered (money or material goods).
• 2. How much is being wagered.
• 3. The predictability of the event. For some things such as lotteries, slot machines and bingo, the results are random and unpredictable. No skill or system will give you any advantage. For other things such as sports betting and horse racing there is some predictability to the outcome. In this situation greater knowledge and skill gives a person an advantage over other bettors.
• 4. The ‘expected value’, the positive or negative mathematical expectation.

Bibliography

• Brisman, Andrew. American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways (Stirling, 1999) ISBN 080694837X
• Ortiz, Darwin. Gambling Scams: How They Work, How to Detect Them, How to Protect Yourself (Carol, 1990) ISBN 0396083668 (Hardcover) ISBN 0818405295 (Paperback)
• Reith, Gerda. Age of Chance: Gambling in Western Culture ISBN 0415179971 (Hardcover) ISBN 0415263093 (Paperback)
• Steinmetz, Andrew. The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Gutenberg text
• Thorp, Edward O. Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One (Vintage, 1966) ISBN 0394703103

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

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