HotToastyRag This is a pretty bad movie, unless you happen to like blackjack movies. Even so, it's still a pretty lousy movie.An emotionally unstable acting student takes her pain-in-the-rear acting teacher on a spur-the-moment "I'm going to get rich playing blackjack!" adventure and gets picked up by a casino coaching Kevin Costner. The whole acting thing never gets brought up again, by the way. Without enough knowledge about the card game, it's hardly a gambling movie. And with the classic "I got a makeover but I'm still not really that pretty" scene, it's hardly a romance. Oh, and don't forget about the "let's laugh and throw snowballs at each other" scene, and the "let's dance like goofy kids in an 80s country dive bar" scene.Pretty much the only redeeming part of the film is getting to see Kevin Costner in a cowboy hat, smirking and saying, "Hot diggity!" That's it. Save yourself 90 minutes and just imagine it.

martincrothers this film is fine an OK b grader that isn't trying to win a academy award i am writing to mainly comment on another review which suggested the need for suspension of disbelief, which firstly doesn't make much sense, this is a movie, that is fictional , the whole premise of fiction is not about belief or disbelief its about fantasy, secondly the reviewer suggested this disbelief was needed because casino staff acted violently towards a winner using a system, where has this person been all there life, this is a fact of the American gambling experience, to suggest this is over the top and unbelievable makes me know that reviewer is both a hermit and a moron,as are most IMDb reviewers and users

Alec West This is an absolutely delightful tale of a gifted but shy young woman who, with the help of two mentors, transforms herself into a confident and unstoppable juggernaut in one particular Reno casino. When I first saw the film, I immediately had a crush on Andra Millian (plays Stacey). She pulled off this personality transformation beautifully and was certainly noticed here. She later was a regular in two TV series - "The Paper Chase" in the 70s and "thirtysomething" in the 90s. Andra still acts occasionally - most recently in the 2007 film "Teeth" - but is now a full-time licensed acupuncturist in Austin, Texas. And, Kevin Costner did a good job as Stacey's first mentor, Will. His performance in this film, not to mention "Testament" filmed the same year, undoubtedly contributed to his rise to prominence in Hollywood.But, suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy this film. You must be willing to believe that casino managers would do what they did to Will (no, won't tell) just because he coached Stacey. And, you must be willing to believe that Jean Dennison (played by Eve Lilith) could seduce Shecky Poole. But, if you can suspend this disbelief, you'll enjoy this film as a triumph of the ordinary person against the odds.P.S. I found it odd that the film was available in Canada on DVD but only on "used" VHS tapes in the U.S. Since I wanted this unique film in my collection, I ordered it from Amazon.ca.

irivlin SPOILER BELOW - DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT THE PLOT RUINED! The protagonist, Andra Millian, plays a girl (Stacy Lancaster) who has a natural talent for blackjack. She starts off as a reserved girl with no confidence. Kevin Costner (Who's 27 in this 1982 film and plays Will Bonner) takes a shine to her and infuses her with confidence in herself. He encourages her to take on the casinos. After a debacle at a casino, Costner gets beaten to death by some of the casino's heavies. Anda devises a plan to ruin the casino, with the aid of some guys that she hires to play blackjack, under her watchful eyes. There are large plot holes and the film starts off quite slow. It picks up a lot of momentum and towards the end, the film is quite gripping. In some ways it reminded me of a casino version of the original "Gone in 60 seconds". - Maybe because aspects of the film appeared a little amateurish and other parts of the film seemed "reportage". I'd never heard of Andra Millian before (or since). She does have some acting skills. It was interesting to see Costner in this early film. He easily shone out from all the others in terms of charisma and acting ability. Watch this film for 90 minutes of fairly good entertainment. It's not a great film but it's a good film. Ian Rivlin