Plot: Based on the true story of a Toronto Bank Manager, Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is addicted to gambling. Horses and sports are only a few of his interests. Eventually, he creates dummy accounts at his bank and uses that money to fly to Atlantic City to gamble. He seems to get little joy from winning, and his addiction is such that he is unable to stop in any event. Even if he wins huge amounts, which he does, he simply continues to play until he has lost it all. It's a frighteningly lonely experience that cannot include friends or anyone else around him. In the end, his hours and hours at the tables give him nothing, and as his embezzlement catches up to him, he is arrested and sent to jail.
Alternative Plot: Toronto bank employee Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) seems like an honest man to his coworkers and loving girlfriend, Belinda (Minnie Driver). None of them realize that he is actually a compulsive gambler who steals from the bank's accounts to pay off his bookie, Frank (Maury Chaykin), and fund regular trips to casinos. Sleazy casino boss Victor (John Hurt) encourages Dan to amass more and more debt, until the missing money becomes hard to hide, and Dan's life spirals out of control.
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