Runner Runner

Everyone gambles.

They may call it something else,

like the stock market, or real estate.

But make no mistake.

If you're risking something, you're gambling.

And if you're gambling...

Hey.

...then I'm the guy you want to see.

Do you ever follow up a mistake

with another wretched mistake?

I hate the expression "I hear you."

Because what it usually means is, "I'm ignoring you."

But, Professor Hornstein, I hear you.

It's just that I was planning

on taking my wife skiing in Vermont on break, and now...

And now, the online sports book has your money.

The poker site has some of it, too.

I was hoping, perhaps, you could get it back for me.

I can't get you back what I don't have.

I gave you a coupon for discounted play on the site.

You used it. Lost. That's it.

You got all the answers, don't you?

Of course you do.

Okay.

Professor, you ever heard of Rush Street Capital?

- Yeah. - I worked there.

One year away from becoming a Portfolio Manager and a seven-figure bonus

when the meltdown happened and the firm blew up.

But I learned two things from it.

Hard work alone doesn't protect your downside

and nobody plays for free.

What do college campuses have in common

with Las Vegas and Atlantic City?

Gambling is now so prevalent among college students,

it's creating serious problems with few easy answers.

Worldwide, online gambling

has reached epidemic proportions.

Four years ago, the big Nevada casinos

thought of online gaming as the competition.

Now, they're realizing that with their brand name recognition,

they can maybe get a big piece of the online action.

With access to high-stakes gambling

just a mouse click away,

teenagers are the latest group to fall into the gambling web.

With reports of revenue in excess

of thirty billion dollars a year.

Anyone with access to the internet

can gamble away their life savings

without stepping foot out of their home.

Department of Justice has indicted

the top 3 major offshore online poker sites.

Players are convinced that a cheater

can somehow see his opponent's hand.

Department of Justice officials announce

that Ivan Block has become a major target of federal investigation

and continues to operate outside

federal jurisdiction in Costa Rica.

With no legal recourse whatsoever.

At Princeton, you're either bred for it

or you bleed for it.

And I can't seem to stop bleeding.

My general concern, Mr. Furst,

is that you are promoting gambling on campus.

My more pressing concern,

the one expressed to me by Mr. Arnaud's father

is that you are encouraging Paul to gamble.

You told your dad that, Paul?

It's his credit card.

The point is, Mr. Furst,

Mr. Arnaud did not send his boy 3,500 miles from home

in order to start him on the road to perdition.

You are supposed to be earning your Masters of Finance

and serving as a graduate teaching assistant.

Instead, you are running some kind of virtual casino.

Gambling is forbidden on campus.

Bookmaking is forbidden on campus.

And if you don't change your tune,

you're going to be forbidden on campus as well.

Now, if you'll excuse us, I'll finish with Mr. Furst alone.

Paul. Thanks, man.

Looked at your transcripts. Spoke to your professors.

Even read some of your papers.

You have a real gift.

I want you to make this place proud.

But you've got your hands in your fellow students' pockets.

I've never stolen anything from anyone.

Dean, I'm not eligible for financial aid

because my past income is too high.

But that money is basically gone.

I owe $21,000 tuition, due next week.

Sixty-grand, total, before I get my degree. And that's if I don't eat.

Welcome to the real world.

It doesn't mean you can live by your own rules.

I'm not a bookie, okay?

My official title is "Affiliate for Online Gaming."

I steer traffic to the website, they pay me a commission.

Hands off. Arm's length.

I get a small fee for each player I sign up.

I'm not living some elaborate lifestyle, here.

It's how I'm paying my way through this university.

What we touch touches us, too, Mr. Furst.

Dean, I'm in marketing.

As am I.

And what I market is this university.

You will close up shop, effective immediately,

or you won't have a school to pay for.

The thing about this game is you can't win

unless you're ready to risk it all.

So, there it is.

Everything I have.

That is a lot of your bankroll in play.

All of it, Craigger.

What do you say, we shut it down real quick?

It must be really nice to have your education paid for,

but the rest of us still have to grind for our Masters.

Is your plan just to gamble for your tuition money?

Whoa, whoa, it's not like I'm shooting craps

or playing blackjack or something.

You're playing poker, Richie.

I'm playing poker against fish, Craig. It's a big difference.

And $17,000 means zero to me right now.

This is my shot, okay? And statistically, it's the right play.

Look, I've been three-tabling.

I find a guy on the fourth,

who's acting like it's his life's mission to give all his money away.

Hold up. Why did you just raise?

Non-weighted game theory.

Because it'll outperform the EV of flatting and he'll spaz in anyway.

Look. See his starting hands and betting patterns?

This guy is a weak player.

This is the type of sucker you find once a year, maybe.

Okay, what are we at?

- Fifty. - Fifty. Fantastic.

Hey, Richie, it's me, Craig. I'm a very good friend of yours.

You cracked 50? What do you say you just pull back some of that cake?

Fifty doesn't get me to graduation, Craig.

What did I tell you? This is the one you wait for.

No, no, no, you gotta be kidding me.

How did you know to fold?

We got the next one. Here we go, baby.

Richie, let's go. Stay in it.

Come on, don't bet at that. Fold!

Shit, how did you know to bet at that? How did they know eight-high was good?

If you're a poker player, a real poker player,

there is no such thing as luck.

Richie, you got to stop, man.

I can't let short-term variance slow me down. That's the sucker play.

This guy plays too bad for me to stop.

If you lose over the long term, there is a reason.

And this guy was too bad to be the reason.

He never showed his cards, he'd just raise or fold.

Raising when I was weak, folded when I was trapping.

That's not good, that's great.

And this guy wasn't great.

When you get beat straight-up, it hurts like hell.

When you get hustled,

it's a fucking dagger in the eye.

You were right. See this right here?

This is way outside the norm.

I knew it. That's why I brought it to you.

I compared it against thousands of players, right?

With at least 2,500 recorded hands.

Look how far outside the normal win rates the guys who beat you are.

What's that, like, over a million to one?

Dude, it's like winning Powerball four times in a row.

Richie? What the hell?

Christ, I haven't seen you in what? Four years?

I don't know, Dad. I stopped counting.

You stopped counting, I count.

You, uh, got a minute?

Oh, yeah. Come in, sit down.

What the hell are you doing here? Are you okay?

I'm fine.

What do you need?

Have you got any connections in Costa Rica?

Why? Are you going down to Costa Rica?

Are you gonna gamble? Are you a chip off the old block now?

No, I'm not.

I always thought you were an action guy.

I'm not looking to gamble.

Oh.

Well, what then?

I was hoping you knew somebody who could get me close to Ivan Block.

No. I don't know anybody like that.

That's out of my league. Way out.

He started that site, and he had a dozen competitors.

I know. You're sure?

There's nobody from all the years at the tables?

No, there's nobody.

All the chits are going the other way now, son.

Now, wait a minute. Where the hell are you going?

Come on. Stick around, play a little bit.

Here.

Richie. Richie, you're not even listening to me.

Richie, what about finals, huh?

I got extensions.

Okay, but where are you going?

- Costa Rica. - Costa Rica.

Did you get your shots?

Because there are monkeys there.