The Gambler

- Bet two. - Two thousand.

Is there an echo in here? Two thousand.

Card.

How much?

Same bet. Been playin' the same fuckin'bet all night.

Card.

Twenty-one.

- Twenty. - Drink!

Play two.

Three thousand.

You take it.

- What are you up at, six? - Send it all in.

- Axel, we got limits. - You tryin' to snap my rhythm?

- Two dime maximum. - I just played three.

You wasn't supposed to play no three! Two thousand. No more.

- It's for your own protection. - Fuck my protection!

Five hundred on come.

Here we go. Good roll.

Two aces, craps.

Two thousand, red.

No more bets.

Seventeen, black.

- Black's been comin' up all night. - Thank you.

- Bets please. - Twenty-four, black.

Red again.

No more bets.

Eight, black.

Hey, Axel, you need some cash?

Call the Monkey. I'll tell you where to go.

What could I tell ya, Axel?

It's the worst luck I've seen in 15 years.

Have you got any idea how much you owe?

Forty-four and change.

Forty-four dimes! That's six Eldoradoes.

$44.000! It ain't just numbers.

I want another thousand, Hips.

You're gonna beat us for 44.000 out of 1.000?

Axel, we shouldn't laugh. This is serious.

You're the last person I want anything bad to happen to.

You know that.

Come on, move it, will ya?

Let me see you make it from there.

Hey, man, you lookin' for somebody?

Which one out there is the best?

What's it to you?

I wanna play him a little one-on-one.

Twenty bucks.

Man, we don't got no twenty bucks.

What you got?

A dime.

All right, I'll play him 20 bucks to a dime. Go fix it up.

You wanna be the fool, rather you than me.

Take it to the hoop.

Eight up. Eight up.

That's a rookie!

Play him, play him. Handle him, man, get on him!

He's a rookie.

All right!

Nine-eight. It's nine-eight.

Here's the big one!

Anytime you want a replay, man, you just come on by.

I'll remember that.

Hey, white boy!

First time I ever seen you without a shave.

- It's a disguise. - What did you do? Rob a bank?

I took over the country. One-man coup.

Thank you.

I may even make you a sheriff down in Texas.

Thanks.

Okay, when Dostoyevsky tells us that he detests the fact

that two and two make four

and that he reserves his sacred right

to insist that two and two make five, he's saying what?

- That his life is based on... - Insanity.

- Frustration? - Look, look!

Any cretin can prove that two and two make four, right?

So the man that goes against that must be riding on sheer...

Will.

Will. He claims an idea is true because he wants it to be true

because he says it is true.

The issue isn't whether he's right

but whether he has the will to believe he's right

no matter how many proofs there are that say he's wrong.

How many fingers do you see sticking up here?

Right now I see four.

But tomorrow I might be absolutely sure that it's five.

It's precisely that possibility that makes tomorrow intriguing.

"Reason only satisfies man's rational requirements."

"Desire, on the other hand, encompasses everything."

"Desire is life."

Well, I don't know all about that

'cause I'm dealing in reality.

I'm dealing in things that I can see.

If you put half the concentration to reading Dostoyevsky

that you put into basketball, you'd understand what he was saying.

Look. What's your... What's your shooting range?

- About 20 feet. - Do you ever shoot beyond that?

- Sometimes. - Why?

Because sometimes I feel the ball is gonna go in.

- That's why. - Does it?

- No, not usually. - Right.

But for that one second before you shoot

you're certain it will.

All athletes and poets know that. It's their secret connection.

They know it's going in.

They know that two and two are five.

That's it. Bye-bye.

By the way, I got buried last night.

Anyone wanna lend me ten thousand till the end of the semester?

- Ten thousand what? - Ten thousand of anything would help me.

- What's in it for us? - An A+.

And a letter of recommendation to military school.

- You winning? - Tight, but I'm comin' on.

This is Ali.

Joe Frazier.

You couldn't deck your own shadow.

Gettin' pretty reckless for a little Rebel pussy, aren't ya?

Cut it out. Let me go!

Big Yankee freak, you wanna fight?

You got a class?

- Nope. Going hunting. - Huntin' what?

Cash.

- What is it this time, cock fights? - Bingo.

Did you lose a lot?

A thousand?

Two thousand?

44.000.

You did not.

$44.000? How are you gonna get it?

I'll get it.

- I shouldn't associate with you. - You love it.

I love what?

Strange smells.

Unfamiliar hands.

The possibility of blood.

You think so?

Yes, ma'am, I do.

Excuse me. Is my mother around?

- Yes, she's there in the next ward. - Good, thank you.

You're welcome.

Game.

I think I've had it for today.

Thank you.

I may need $10.000, mom.

You what?

I may need $10.000.

You gambled?

Is it that you've gambled and already lost

or you're waiting to gamble if I say I'll help you?

I probably won't even need it.

I just... want to know that I can count on you in case I do.

This is why you were trying to take my head off on the court just now?

I don't know.

I need an answer, mom.

I can't give you one just like that!

You better call me tomorrow.

Axel Freed? Carmine.

Monkey tells me you're a teacher.

I have a class.

That's the Monkey's laugh.

- You should do that on television. - Waiting for the right offer.

What kind of class you teach?

Uptown college.

No kiddin'? Then you're a professor?

I thought you were a high school instructor.

Listen, would you straighten me out on something?

Definitely.

- Why do I have to meet this guy? - Bernie?

You're correct. Generally speaking

Bernie don't go in for personal interviews with his customers.

But it's my understanding that you're requesting a sum of cash

somewhat larger than he's in the habit of loaning out.

I just don't wanna go through a whole number.

Don't worry. Bernie's a very personable human being.

I got a nephew that goes to college.

Hotel school.

Wish the fuck I had went to college.

- What for? - Are you kiddin'?

In a couple of years the kid could be runnin' the Fontainebleu Hotel.

- So what? Look what you've got. - What's that?

Fresh air.

Open road. Free afternoon.

Listen, I gotta see a customer for a minute.

Wanna come along?

Come on.

You'll like this guy. He's nice.

How long is this gonna take? I wanna meet this Bernie.

We're goin'. This'll just take a minute.

- Who is it? - It's Carmine. Open the door.

- He's not here. - Open the door. I won't bite ya.

- Where is he? - In Buffalo visiting his father.

He said he'd have everything for ya next Monday.

Next Monday?

Well, next Monday ain't soon enough.

This makes three times he jerked me off!

Would you stand over here, please?

What does this guy think I am? Some kind of a hypocrite?

Please! Get out of my...

Please! Please!

Please don't!