All language subtitles for Mollys.Game.2017.720p.BluRay.x264-.YTS.AM

(WIND WHOOSHING)

- (CROWD CHEERING)
- (SKIER APPROACHING)

MOLLY: A survey was taken
a few years ago

that asked 300 professionals
one question,

"What's the worst thing
that can happen in sports?"

(CHEERING CONTINUES)

Some people answered
losing a Game 7.

COMMENTATOR: He scores!
Bruins win in seven games!

MOLLY: And other people said
getting swept in four.

Some people said
it was missing the World Cup.

Guatemala is eliminated!

And some Brazilians said
it was losing to Argentina.

Not just in the World Cup.
Anytime. Ever. In any contest.

But one person answered

that the worst thing
that can happen in sports

is fourth place at the Olympics.

This is a true story, but,
except for my own,

I've changed all the names

and I've done my best
to obscure identities

for reasons
that'll become clear.

I'm Molly Bloom,

and right now I'm ranked third

in North America
in Woman's Moguls.

I grew up in Love/and, Colorado,

about two hours north of Denver.

I have a BA in Political Science

from the University of Colorado

where I graduated
summa cum laude

with a 3.9 GPA.

The median LSAT score
at Harvard Law School is 169.

My score is 173.

Number 87 up! 56 on deck!

I've spent 16 years
chasing winter

and being coached
by the best in the world.

Sundays were for working out
with my father.

Somethings really wrong.

When I was 12 years old,

for no particular reason,
my back exploded.

Tough it out.

- Good advice.
- And lose the attitude.

MOLLY: Less than ten minutes later,

I was in the back
of an ambulance.

(SIREN WAILING)

I had what's called
rapid-onset scoliosis.

My spine was curved
at 63 degrees,

and I'd need a seven-hour
surgical procedure

that involved
straightening my spine,

extracting bone from my hip,
fusing 11 vertebrae together,

and fastening steel rods
to the fused segments.

- She's going to be fine.
- (GASPS)

I wouldn't let her ski anymore.

Definitely not moguls.

And obviously
skiing competitively

is out of the question.

MRS. BLOOM: Fine.
Oh, God, thank you.

MOLLY: I was on skis again in a year,

running moguls in 18 months,

and by my 20th birthday
I made the U.S. Ski Team.

It's the last round
of qualifying

for the Salt Lake City Olympics.

This is the champion run
at Deer Valley.

The altitude is 8,100 feet
and the pitch is 52 degrees,

which is the same as the sides
of the Great Pyramids.

The wind's 20 to 25
miles an hour,

blowing left to right.

It's three below zero
at the top of the slope.

And with 17 skiers
in front of me,

it's going to be like
trying to stick a landing

on a frozen infinity pool.

Kiki blew out of her line.

Shannon was off-balance
on her second landing.

MOLLY: He's talking about Kiki
Bandy and Shannon Keebler,

my two toughest competitors,
who had significant

point deductions
on their final runs.

I can make the Olympic team,
right now.

Go get it.

And if I have three
perfect runs in Salt Lake,

the best runs of my life,

I can beat
the Austrians and the Swiss

and have a realistic shot
at the podium.

Then law school,
and then a startup.

A foundation that seeds
entrepreneurial women.

My father's at the bottom
of the slope,

telepathically telling me
to check my line.

Check your line.

I check my line.

OFFICIAL: (OVER PA)
Competitor ready?

(BEEPING)

Good snow contact,
calm upper body,

legs together, good shape,
no line deviation.

Set up for the D-spin and

stick the landing.

Now two things you need to
know before the second trick,

which will be a 720.

The first is that
when visibility is bad

the way it is now,

race officials toss pine
boughs on the course

so the skiers have some

foreground depth reference.

The second is that
the tightness of your bindings

is determined by
what is called a DIN setting.

If you're a beginner,

your DIN setting
is probably a two or three.

If you're an experienced
weekend skier,

it's probably seven or eight.

Mine's 15.

My boots are basically
welded to my skis.

Right?
So how does this happen?

It happened because
I hit a pine bough

that had become
frozen in the snow.

And I hit it so precisely

that it simply snapped
the release of my bindings.

Right in that moment,
I didn't have time

to calculate the odds
of that happening

because I was about
to land pretty hard

on my digitally re-mastered
spinal cord,

which was being held together

by spare parts
from an Erector Set.

(CROWD GASPING)

- MAN 1: Back up, back up!
- MAN 2: Move!

- MAN 1: Give her room! Get out of the way!
- MAN 2: Move!

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

MOLLY: None of this has
anything to do with poker.

I'm only mentioning it
because I wanted to

say to whoever answered
that the worst thing

that could happen in sports
was fourth place

at the Olympics...

Seriously? Fuck you.

(RADIO STATIC)

(PHONE RINGING)

- Hello?
- TOMASINO: Molly Bloom?

- Is this Molly Bloom?
- Yes.

This is Special Agent
Tomasino of the FBI.

We have a warrant
for your arrest.

- I'm sorry?
- We're outside your door.

We want you
to come out here, okay?

Listen to me now. Make sure
we can see your hands.

Who is this?

This is Special Agent Tomasino
of the FBI, Miss Bloom.

You've got 30 seconds
to open your door,

or we're breaking it down.

Do you understand
what I just said?

(GUNS COCKING)

TOMASINO: Hands in the air!

Put your hands in the air!

There's been a mistake.
Are you Molly Bloom?

MOLLY: Yes, but there's...

TOMASINO: I want you to walk
towards me very slowly.

Okay? Go ahead.

Slower. Slower. Slow down.

Come on. Come on.

MOLLY: I'm having
a hard time seeing.

- The flashlight's in my eye.
- TOMASINO: Walk slower.

MOLLY: Yes, sir.

FEMALE AGENT: Hands on the wall.

Spread your arms and legs.

TOMASINO: ls there anyone
in your apartment right now?

MOLLY: Uh, no, sir.

Are there any firearms
in your apartment right now?

- No, sir.
- TOMASINO: Go.

You're under arrest for running

an illegal gambling operation.

- Do you understand?
- (GROANS) Uh...

- Yes.
- Say you understand.

I understand.

There's been a mistake

because I haven't
run a game in two years.

TOMASINO:
I want you to take a look

at this piece of paper
right here.

Can you see
what it says at the top?

Yes.

Read to me
what it says at the top.

The United States of America
vs. Molly Bloom.

I bet heavy on the favorite.

LARRY: What do you think
about the following concepts?

Just going to run them by you.

Marriage?

It is a trap.

LARRY: Society?

It is a joke.

People?

I think there's good and bad.

But I don't trust them.

I don't trust people.

MOLLY:
Every year on our birthdays,

my father would interview
my younger brothers and me.

LARRY: Who are the heroes
or heroines in your life?

Who do you really respect?

I don't have any heroes.

You don't have any heroes?

MOLLY: How's this for hubris?

I don't.

Because if I reach the goals
I set out for myself,

then the person I become,
that'll be my hero.

Even by teenage girl standards,

I would appear to be
irrationally angry

at nothing in particular.

It would be another 22 years
before I'd find out why.

After my colossal
wipeout at Deer Valley,

I decided to take a year off
before law school.

I needed to go away,
sever myself from reality,

and come up with a new plan.

So, I chose Los Angeles.

A friend of mine
from the ski team

had agreed to let me crash
on a couch for a while.

My father had disapproved
of postponing law school,

and so declined to help out.

But I had $1, 700 I'd saved
from babysitting money,

and that would support me

until I found a waitressing job.

I'd already had a career
and retired from it.

I wanted to be young
for a while in warm weather.

I think that's what
I wanted at first.

It's hard to remember.

I got a job working bottle
service at a club in Hollywood

called Nacional nightclub.

(DANCE MUSIC PLAYING)

It was Cuban-themed,
so my uniform

was camouflage short-shorts
and a wife-beater.

The promoter would go over

which record producer
was sitting where,

which hot designers,
which Lakers,

and Borislava
the Bulgarian billionaire,

who didn't drink,
but he ran a $100,000 bar tab.

My job was to get people

to spend more money
than they needed to.

Can we get a bottle of Skyy?

You guys look like
you deserve Grey Goose.

What do guys who deserve
Grey Goose look like?

To begin with,
they've got a bottle

of Grey Goose in front of them.

You're quick. Very clever.

All right, yeah.
Grey Goose.

They just spent
an additional $300,

bringing their total to $900,

for $8.50 worth of vodka.

But the club doesn't need you
to buy a bottle.

They need you
to buy five bottles.

So these girls over here,

they let you buy them
shots for a living.

It would be like
waiting in a long line

to get into the Gap,

so you can pay a 1,000% markup

to buy all the employees
a pair of pants.

I only had one shift a week.

I didn't want to tell my parents

I was a cocktail waitress.

And back then,
I never turned down

an opportunity
to make more money.

So I found a second job
as an office assistant,

and that's how I ended up
working for Dean Keith.

Dean was a partner
in Black Hues Investments.

He was a regular at the club,
and one night he said...

People seem to take to you.

How would you like to get paid
to go to grad school

and get an MBA
in how life works?

What makes you think
you know and I don't?

I'm a regular here,
and you're a waitress here.

Look at the fuckin' scoreboard.

MOLLY: Dean explained
what my job was by saying...

Me.

I'm your job.

MOLLY: I answered the phone,
made coffee runs,

set appointments,
made spreadsheets.

What is that?

MOLLY: And showed Dean
what a spreadsheet was.

Spreadsheet.

But I made $450 a week
on top of the $300

- I was making at the club.
- (PHONE RINGING)

Which would be enough
to get off my friend's couch.

I remember the day started
by being about bagels.

- This is Molly...
- DEAN: Get to the office.

Pick up bagels.

Do you mean now?

Dean was a Hollywood staple.

Over-leveraged. Going broke.

Trying to prove he wasn't broke

and making a true effort
to be as vulgar as possible.

Honestly making an effort.

I hadn't told anyone
I was a skier,

and it was hard not to laugh
when Dean said...

Anyone ever teach you
how to fuckin' hurry?

No.

- What are those?
- Bagels.

- Are these from Bluebell?
- Yeah. It's on the way

- from my house.
- Seriously'?

You might as well have stopped
at a fucking homeless shelter.

You might as well have walked

into a motherfucking
homeless shelter

and said,
"I'd like a dozen bagels

"from this homeless
shelter, please!"

I do not eat bagels from
Blue-fucking-bell, Molly,

because these
are poor people bagels!

From where would you like
me to get your bagels?

Forget about the fuckin' bagels.

- Done.
- Except smarten up.

- Got it.
- Hang on.

MOLLY: Like I said, the day
started by being about bagels,

but that would abruptly change.

My weekly poker game is
moving to the Cobra Lounge.

Tomorrow night, and then
every Tuesday night.

You'll help run it.

Take these names and numbers

and tell them to bring
ten grand in cash

for the first buy-in.

The blinds are $50/$100.

- And, Molly...
- Yeah'?

Don't fucking tell anybody.

MOLLY: I'd regarded Dean

as a nitwit
when I regarded him at all,

but on that pad were nine names,

along with phone numbers,
of some of the wealthiest

and most famous people
in the world.

I put the numbers in my phone
and composed a simple message.

There'd be a game tomorrow night

at the Cobra Lounge,

there was a $10,000 buy-in.

(PHONE CHIMES)

All nine players confirmed
that they'd be there.

All within 90 seconds
of my sending the text.

The Cobra Lounge
sits on the edge

of the Sunset Strip,

and in its heyday was famous

for introducing unknown bands

like The Doors
and The Beach Boys.

All I knew
was schoolwork and skiing.

I'd always figured
sophistication

would be easy to learn
if I ever needed it.

My cheese platter
had a sticker that read

"Cheese from the Great State
of Michigan."

Diego, a professional dealer,

was setting up the table
when I got there.

I googled, "What type of music

”do poker players
like to listen to?"

And then tried to figure out
how to make a playlist

out of one Kenny Rogers song.

I set up the bar,

put out my cheese platter,

and positioned myself
at the door

where I'd been instructed

to only let in the names
on the list.

I was wearing my best dress,

which I bought two years earlier

at JCPenney for $88.

The players started to arrive.

I introduced myself as Molly,
Dean's assistant...

MAN: For you.

...asked if I could
get them a drink,

and took from each of them
$10,000 in cash.

- Hi.
- Hi.

I'm...

I know.

- Your boss... (WHISPERING)
- Everybody here?

- Yeah.
- Hey, buddy.

Fuck off,
I'm going to own your shit.

Ugly dress. Ugly shoes.

Let's play!

MOLLY: Diego fanned nine cards
out on the table,

and the players chose for seats.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

(just finished counting
out $90, O00 in cash.

I was in a room
with movie stars,

directors...

HOST: And the award goes to...

MOLLY: ...rappers,

boxers,

and business titans.

They were going all in,
all the time,

burning through their
buy-ins over and over.

- Here you go. Good luck.
- Thank you so much.

I don't know...

I googled every word I heard
that I didn't know.

Flop. River.

- Fourth Street.
- Fourth Street. Tilt. Cooler.

- Boat. Nuts.
- MAN: He's pot-committed.

MOLLY: Playing the rush.

You keeping track
of the buy-ins?

- Yeah.
- Where? Where's the paper?

Spreadsheet.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

All in.

MOLLY: The game ended at 3:30,

and when it did, that's
when Dean shouted out...

Hey! Tip Molly if you want to
get invited back next week.

MOLLY: "Tip Molly."

Deep down, I didn't
like the sound of that.

Thank you so much.

Deep down, I knew that
when your boss says...

- And, Molly...
- Yeah'?

Don't fucking tell anybody.

That's usually not the beginning

of a promising law career.

See you next week.

MOLLY: But that was deep down.

I just made $3,000.

What are you reading?

The Crucible.

For school?

My father assigned it.

Do you know how many witches
were burned in Salem?

- How many?
- None.

They didn't burn witches.
It's a myth. They hanged them.

Or drowned them,

or crushed them
with heavy rocks.

Wait. Aren't...
You're Molly Bloom, right?

Yeah.

You don't look the same
as in your photos.

- None of us do.
- (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

- Molly?
- Yes.

Charlie Jaffey.

Thank you again
for seeing me so early.

- This is my daughter Stella.
- We met.

Isabel will be here in 45
minutes to take you to school.

- You finish your math?
- Yeah.

- Civ?
- Yeah.

Do you know it?

Could you teach it
in class today?

If I asked you to
teach me Roman law,

could you do it?

Yes.

Okay.

So, first things first.

When was the last time
you slept? Today's Friday.

Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m.
I was arrested by the FBI.

I spent Tuesday
in L.A. County Jail.

I was assessed to be a
minimal flight risk

and bail was set at $100,000.

My mother signed over her house.

I was released on Wednesday

and ordered to appear
in federal court

in New York's Southern
District 10:00 a.m. today.

In here.

Close that, will you?

Flew here Wednesday and met
with five attorneys yesterday.

Have a seat.

You didn't hire any of them?

Three of them had
already been taken.

Yeah, 31 people were named
in your indictment.

It's Black Friday
for criminal lawyers.

What about the other two?

One told me money was

his second favorite form
of payment.

I know him.
The fifth was also taken,

but he recommended I call you.

- Why?
- I told him I wanted someone

who'd worked in
the prosecutor's office

and wasn't even
a little bit shady.

Do you know about me?

I've been briefed a little
by my daughter,

who knows a lot about your story

because her mother's a moron.

Her mother reads the tabloids?

Yeah. And I read them too.

I read your indictment after
I got your call last night,

and I bought your book.

I'm only on page 112,
but, Molly,

did you commit a felony, and
then write a book about it?

I haven't run a game
in over two years.

Not to spoil the ending,
but that's when

the government raided my game
and took all of my money,

assuming all of it was made
illegally, which it wasn't.

I've been living
in my mother's house

in Telluride,

and I wrote the book

so I could start
paying off debts.

I just finished the press
tour for the book,

and I moved back to Los Angeles

so I could start over.

Hmm.

You ran games in L.A.
for roughly eight years?

- Yeah.
- Without taking a rake?

Right.

Then you ran games in New York
for roughly two?

I took a rake
the last six months.

In the first 112 pages
you name a bunch of names.

Sorry?

You named the names
of some movie stars

that played in your game.

Yeah.

That not against
some sort of poker code?

Am I supposed to be sitting
all the way over here?

- Can you hear me from there?
- Yeah.

Are you taking me
on as a client?

My retainer is $250,000.

Do you have $250,000?

No. I don't have anything.

What about the sales
from your book?

The book isn't jumping off
the shelves.

But I will find a way
to pay you, Charlie.

Ask around about me.

(CHUCKLES)

Unfortunately,
the people I'd ask

are going away for a while.

What happened on Tuesday morning

was called a GPS takedown.

Thirty-one people were
arrested in the same instant.

Something in excess 600 agents
were dispatched to locations

in New York and L.A.
in coordinated strikes

with automatic weapons,

and you're trying to tell
me you're in my office

because you raked a game
of Texas Hold 'Em?

- Yes.
- Have you seen

the other names
in your indictment?

"Nicholas Kozlowski.
Peter Druzhinsky.

"Peter Antonovich.
The Gershen Brothers."

I mean, come on, Molly,

just how deep into
the Russian mob were you?

Because your book doesn't say.

(EXHALES)

Why are you making your
daughter read The Crucible?

So she can see
what happens to a group

of bored teenage girls
when they gossip.

I've never read the play.

Many consider it to be the
best play of the 20th century.

Is that what many
consider it to be?

I don't defend
violent criminals.

I've never hurt anyone
in my life.

Your friends have.
I've never heard

of 90% of the names
on the indictment.

And the other 10%?
I didn't know they were

connected. I had no idea
who they really were.

Let me ask a question.

The character in the book
you call "Dean Keith,"

he didn't say
"poor people bagels," did he?

I think I know who he is.

I think I know
a real estate lawyer

that worked with him and quit.

He said "nigger bagels," right?

I'm not telling you
his real name.

He's not involved in this.

But you were willing to
name some names.

Why is the FBI arresting me

two years after
I stopped running games?

Were you paid extra
in your book deal

to name the movie stars?

I'm not your guy, Molly.

I wish you good luck, but
this just isn't for me.

I didn't know
who the Russians were.

I can get you the $250,000.

I left 10 times that
on the street.

It'll just take some time.

We regularly lend out
our best litigators

like me to the ACLU,

Southern Poverty Law Center,
veterans groups,

but I don't think
I can convince my partners

to take a flyer
on the Poker Princess.

I didn't name myself
the Poker Princess.

"Molly Bloom,

"the self-proclaimed
Poker Princess..."

Is that Us Weekly?

I would agree
it would be unusual for them

to print something
that wasn't true,

but it's not true.

And if you think a princess
can do what I did,

you're incorrect.

I'm getting you don't
think much of me,

but what if every one
of your ill-informed,

unsophisticated opinions
about me were wrong?

I'd be amazed.

Yeah, you know what, bud,
you would.

You don't need me,
you need a publicist.

No, I need a fucking lawyer!

You didn't answer my question.

(SNIFFLES)

When was the last time
you slept?

It was a while ago.

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

All right.

I'm going to walk you through
the arraignment this morning

'cause you shouldn't
do that alone.

I'm going to put
some bodies on you

and walk you through
the side door

because I don't know what
you've got on the Russians,

but neither do they,

and the Russians
take care of shit.

Do you understand
what I'm saying?

Yes.

Almost. You got to
keep your eyes up,

always got to look ahead.

If you look down, that's
where you're gonna go.

If you look down,
that's where you'll go.

- Ready?
- Yeah.

All right.

Let's go.

MOLLY: My father is a therapist

and a psychology professor
at Colorado State.

No! No!

The second rule of his house
was that academic excellence

and athletic excellence
weren't optional.

You can't be
afraid of it. All right?

Don't play defense.

And the first rule was that
he made all the rules.

Again.

Dad! I'm pretty tired.

Hon, she's tired.

We've been out here since 6:00.

Her lips are blue.

- You're tired?
- Yeah.

What's another word for "tired"?

Name a synonym for tired,
and we'll get in the car.

Weak.

That's right.

Let's go home.

Again.

MOLLY: I decided to postpone
law school another year.

After six weeks of tips,
I went to Barneys

and asked for a dress

that made me look nothing
like myself.

I'd overheard stories
about games

that folded after one bad night,

and I needed
this one to keep going,

and I needed to
bring value to it.

Good night, Molly.
Thanks very much.

I knew if I wanted to
cement my place,

there was one guy
I needed to team up with.

- $10,000.
- MAN: Fold.

MOLLY: And that was this man.

The game had regulars,
and the game had guests.

And four of the regulars
were famous actors.

And I'm going to call one
of them Player X.

PLAYER X: I'm all in.

Player X subscribed
to the belief

that money won was twice
as good as money earned.

He lived to beat people
and take their money.

Here's Player X
talking one of the guests

into folding the winning hand.

I swear... Look at me.

I swear on my mother's
life, I have you.

MOLLY: Player X was
the best player at the table.

And tonight,
this guy was the worst.

(CHUCKLES)

He's staring at his cards.

Even a reasonably
good amateur would know

it was mathematically
the best hand,

which in poker is called
"the nuts."

There was $47,000 in the pot,

and the guest was holding
the nuts.

But he was starting
to get confused

because a movie star
was talking to him.

My mother's life, man.
I'm not messing with you.

Why would you be telling me?

Either I am messing with you,
or you're new to the game,

you've had bad cards all night,

you should've folded
after the flop,

and I don't want to win more
of your money this way.

I've got queens under here.

Take your time.

Fold.

- Fuck you.
- No!

(ALL EXCLAIMING)

MOLLY: A fish is a
particular kind of player.

A fish has money.

A fish plays loose
and doesn't fold a lot.

A fish is good,
but not too good.

There's an ATM in the hall, bro.

The Cobra Lounge may have
belonged to Dean Keith,

but the game belonged
to Player X.

People wanted to say
they played with him.

The same way they wanted to say

they rode on Air Force One.

My job security
was gonna depend on

bringing him his fish.

But where would I find people
with a lot of money

who didn't know how to spend it

and liked to be
around celebrities?

If they say
they're interested in poker,

you give them my number.

I vet them.

If they end up playing
in a game,

I'll give you $1,000
the first time they play,

$500 every time after that.

Be sure to mention

that these guys are
all regulars.

Is this true?
These guys play?

MOLLY: The Commerce Casino is
off the 5 freeway in East L.A.,

and no one's ever going to
confuse it with Monte Carlo.

I'd watch the tables for a while

before I approached
a friendly-looking pit boss.

Third chair at Table 8
can't lose.

Unless there are players
at his table who can win.

You know about the game
at the Cobra Lounge, right?

Sure.

$1,000 for every player
you send me.

You get a piece
of what they lose.

No pros.

I'm Molly.

Poker was my Trojan horse
into the highest level

of finance, technology,
politics, entertainment, art.

All I had to do was listen.

The art world is controlled
by a few major dealers.

China's telecom companies want

to partner with other providers.

The owners don't mind
spending $30 million

on an outfielder hits .320
with 110 RBI.

They alone control the market.

They choose the artists
they want to be important.

They mind spending $10 million

on a pitcher
who is 8-14 this season.

It's going to be Gephardt.

They set the prices.
They mark 'em up, 70, 80, 90%.

MAN: They're all very excited

about a company called Twitter.

Unregulated money. Usually all cash.
Unreported.

- His days are numbered.
- His days are numbered.

I don't know how much longer
she's going to be in that job.

- She's done.
- She's gone.

All in.

MOLLY: People have asked me

what my goal was at that point.

What was my endgame?

Back then I would have laughed
at that question.

I was raised to be a champion.
My goal was to win.

At what and against whom?
Those were just details.

I'm all in.

I had my own apartment now...

I'll take it.

...a new car,
and $17,000 in a shoebox.

Law school could wait
one more year.

GUARD: Next, please.
Come on through.

Step on up, please.
Thank you.

Come on through.

So, here's all that's
gonna happen today.

Judge is going to
ask each defendant

if they've read the indictment,

or if they'd like the
court to read it to them.

Then the judge is going
to ask how you plead.

You're going to answer,
"Not guilty."

I'll make it clear
for the record

that I'm not your counsel,

but I'm appearing on your
behalf at the arraignment.

In propria persona.

In propria persona means
"on your behalf."

Yeah.

No, I'm saying it means
"on your behalf."

lam appearing on your behalf.

In propria persona means that

you're appearing on your
behalf, not my behalf.

I'll check that out,

but the point is,
I'm not your lawyer,

and I'll make that clear
for the record.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

(BANGS GAVEL)

That's us over there.

You sit there, and you
sit on the other side.

You've got a good judge.
He's a good guy.

JUDGE FOXMAN: Counsel, please...

MOLLY: How about the prosecutor?

HARRISON:
Good morning, Your Honor.

Harrison Wellstone,
Assistant U.S. Attorney

for the Southern District,
joined at counsel table

by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Eric Brennan

and FBI Special Agent
Deborah D'Angelo.

Thank you.

Are there any oral
motions at this time?

Switch with me.

Just in case your lawyer
doesn't mention it...

Next time you appear
in front of the judge,

you might wanna
rethink your clothes, okay?

You look like the Cinemax
version of yourself.

I sold my clothes

when the government seized all
of my money two years ago,

which incidentally was
the last time I ran a game,

but I think
I already mentioned that.

JUDGE FOXMAN: How do you plead?

- Okay.
- DEFENDANT: Not guilty.

JUDGE FOXMAN: Thank you.
You may be seated.

Hey. Switch back.

Defendant number two,
Nicholas Segel.

JUDGE FOXMAN: Has the defendant

seen a copy of the indictment?

NICHOLAS: Yes, Your Honor.

Have you discussed it
with your lawyer?

NICHOLAS: Yes.

JUDGE FOXMAN: Do you waive
its public reading?

- Switch back.
- NICHOLAS: Yes.

JUDGE FOXMAN:
And how do you plead?

NICHOLAS: Not guilty.

Thank you, you may have a seat.

Your old boss,

the one in the book
you call Dean Keith,

he was terrible to you.

Why cover up for him

by changing it
to "poor people bagels"?

I promise you,
it couldn't matter less.

JUDGE FOXMAN: Has the defendant

seen a copy of the indictment?

Just making conversation.

Hey, switch back.

- DEFENDANT: Not guilty.
- JUDGE FOXMAN: Have a seat.

Defendant number four,
Molly Bloom.

Good morning, Your Honor.

Charles Jaffey
for the defendant,

just for the purposes...

Well, it's good to see you,
Mr. Jaffey.

Are you with us this morning?

Mr. Jaffey?

Ah. Yes, sir.
Just one moment.

Switch back.

Seriously?

You said you left 10 times
that much on the street.

In my office, when I said
the retainer was $250,000,

you said, "I left 10
times that much."

Yeah.

Counsel! I need to record
your appearance...

If it please the court,
Your Honor, just one moment.

You were extending credit,
you're destitute,

and you leave $2.5 million
on the street?

I had to.

CHARLIE: Didn't anyone try to
buy your debt sheet?

Everyone tried to
buy my debt sheet.

(WHISPERS)
Is this the right time...

Why didn't you sell it
like you sold your clothes?

I couldn't.

Why?

I couldn't be sure how
they were going to collect.

I was afraid
you were gonna say that.

Counsel!

(CLEARS THROAT)

Yes, Your Honor. Uh, Charles
Jaffey for the defendant.

For the purposes
of this hearing only?

No, sir. I am Molly
Bloom's attorney.

Uh, she's read the indictment,
discussed it with her lawyer,

waives the right to
have it read to her,

and pleads "Not guilty."

Thank you.
You may be seated.

(CROWD MURMURING)

(SIGHS) I'm gonna have to
keep reading your book.

MOLLY: There was
a track star of the 1930s

named Matthew Robinson.

Matthew Robinson
shattered the Olympic record

in the 200 at the
Berlin Games in 1936.

Absolutely shattered
the Olympic record,

and came in second.

The man who came in first
was Jesse Owens.

Jesse Owens went on
to be a legend.

Matthew Robinson went on
to be a janitor

at a "whites only" middle school

in Pasadena.

The difference
was four-tenths of a second.

As if that wasn't enough,

Matthew Robinson
had a little brother

who was also an athlete.

His name was Jackie.

I have two younger brothers
who are overachievers as well.

While I was ranked third
in North America,

my brother Jeremy
was number one in the world.

And while I was placing
into AP Chemistry

as a sophomore,

my brother Jordan was doing it

when he was 12 years old
or something.

I don't know.

I was a hotshot student
and a hotshot skier

everywhere but my own house.

As I got older, I began
to bait my father into fights

without really knowing
why I was doing it.

LARRY: What did everyone learn
in school today?

Uh...

I learned that Sigmund Freud

was both a misogynist
and an idiot,

and anyone
who relies on his theories

of human psychology is a quack.

I don't know why you'd say that.

You asked me what I learned
in school today.

- LARRY: Is this Mrs. Linwood?
- MOLLY: Yep.

Did she happen to
mention anything

about his work
on the unconscious mind?

His dream analysis

has the credibility
of a horoscope,

but what got
my attention was that

he opposed the women's
emancipation movement.

He believed that a woman's life

is about her
reproductive functions.

So you're really getting to
the nuts and bolts

of why middle-class
suburban white girls

have been oppressed
for centuries?

No, Mrs. Linwood was just...

Barbara Linwood doesn't
like men, Molly.

She doesn't like dicks, Dad.
There's a difference.

Molly!

(BANGS UTENSILS)

Don't disrespect me
like that at the table.

I wasn't disrespecting you,
I was disrespecting Freud.

And it's the kitchen table,

not the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier.

And I'm a professional
psychologist, not a quack.

MOLLY:
I never said you were a...

Yeah, you did,
and don't do it again.

And don't ever use language
like that again.

All right.

Ignore my teachers,
watch my language,

and respect the kitchen table.

What else do I need to do

before I'm allowed
to disagree with you?

Make your own money,

so you can live
in your own house

and eat your own food.

MOLLY: I'd been running
the game for three years

and saved $58, 000.

I was recruiting
and vetting players,

keeping the books,

collecting
and delivering checks,

meeting the needs

of all the players
throughout the week,

and still working full-time
for Dean Keith,

who made it clear that
if I quit the office job,

I'd lose the game.

- DEAN: Call.
- Eights, full of nines.

(ALL EXCLAIMING)

I thought he had trips too.

He was slow-playing
into the river,

and he hid the pocket 8s
pretty well.

It's a tough beat, man.

- You owe the game...
- I know what I owe the game.

I want to talk to you a minute.

- Okay.
- In the hall.

(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)

Is he cheating?

- No.
- How would you know?

I'd know.

He and Diego aren't
in bed together?

No.

What about him and you?

A 52-card deck produces

hundreds of millions
of random patterns.

But every time one of you
loses two weeks in a row,

you're sure
something fishy is going on?

Come on.

I'm going to stop paying you.

- What do you mean?
- As my assistant.

- Are you firing me?
- I'm not firing you.

I'm just going to stop
paying you.

You get paid once a week
from the game,

it doesn't seem fair.

I also have a job working
for you 24 hours a day...

And if you didn't have that job,

you wouldn't have the game.

You understand what I'm saying?

I understand each of the
words that you're saying,

- but I don't understand...
- Look!

Twenty-four hours a day,
every day.

You're going to stop
paying me to do that job

because I'm making too much
money doing my second job?

And if I say no,
I'll lose both jobs,

because it doesn't seem fair?

Business is bad right now.

Welcome to the real world.

All right, here it is.

Banks are loaning you money,
and they shouldn't.

You're a bad risk, they know it.

So, the debt service
on your loans

is close to 20%, which is crazy.

20% is barely survivable
if it's a bridge loan, but,

like, for instance,
it's taken you 10 years

to build seven houses,

all of which are worth
less than they were

before you built them,
because the housing market

is on a downward trajectory
for the first time

in the history of houses,
and that's why

business is doing bad,

not because you're
paying me $450 a week.

You're a business savant?

I've read every piece
of paper in your office.

You're making thousands
in tips every week.

Why do you care
about $450 a week?

Because I don't want to pick
up your dry-cleaning for free.

Well, you don't have
bargaining power here.

You can refuse the pay cut,
but you lose the game.

Cash me out, please.

MOLLY: I wasn't going to
wait for Dean

to take the game away from me

before I put a plan in place.

The next morning,

I made appointments
at the Four Seasons,

The Peninsula,
and The Beverly Hills Hotel.

The suite was $5,200 a night.

I spent $17, 000
on a shuffle master

that was installed in the table.

Faster, more reliable shuffles.

Less downtime between hands.

Food was brought in from Mr. Chow

and available to eat
on the side tables.

There was Macallan 18,
Belvedere, 1942,

Rémy Martin,
and an '88 Lafite Rothschild

served by a bartender

who already memorized
your drink.

Cohibas and Montecristos
were in the humidor.

A professional stylist turned me

into what my defense attorney
would later call

the Cinemax version of myself.

I spent almost everything I had

in preparation for the phone
call I knew was coming.

(PHONE RINGING)

(SIGHS)

Hello.

DEAN: I want you listen to me.

- 'Cause you need to hear this.
- Where are you?

I need to tell you
something in plain English,

and I need to know
that you understood it.

- Dean.
- You are unimportant.

Do you hear me?

And you are fired.

The job, the game, you're fired.

Can I ask why?

How many of my friends
are you sleeping with?

I'm not sleeping
with any of them.

That's not what I heard.

Listen to me.

With a Hazmat suit,
I wouldn't...

Can I give you some advice?

Lose the bitchy air.

Lose the superior air.

And go to the office
and get your stuff

and be out of there
before I show up.

Hey. Are you Molly?

Yeah.

I'm Leah. Dean asked me
to pack your personals.

I appreciate it.

He also asked me
to get the numbers

of tonight's players
so I can confirm the list.

- I'm really sorry.
- Don't be.

My phone's in my car.

Uh, I'll text you
all the numbers you need

when I get downstairs.

I texted my replacement
a bunch of random numbers

with 310 area codes.

Then I sent a text
to the players for tonight

and told them
the game had been moved

to the Four Seasons Hotel,
Suite 1401.

- PLAYER 1: Hey, how you doin'?
- (FRENCH MUSIC PLAYING)

- BARTENDER: Drink?
- Thank you very much.

- BARTENDER: I'd love t0.
- PLAYER 2: Yeah?

So, this guy's producing it.
You should come down.

- Amazing.
- Yeah, it'll be fun.

Fellas, can I have your
attention for a moment?

(MUSIC STOPS)

Where's Dean?

I'll be hosting a game
in this suite

every Tuesday night.

If you play tonight,

you'll be guaranteed
a chair for a year.

If you'd prefer to play
at the Cobra Lounge,

there'll be no hard feelings.

Let's play-

MOLLY: The game was mine now.

I incorporated, and Molly Bloom
Event Planning was born.

I paid taxes
and 1099'd my employees.

I never became romantically

or sexually involved
with any of the players.

The game would have
fallen apart.

This was back when I was
still making good decisions.

And I went to a lawyer
to make absolutely sure

all this was legal.

- LOUIS: Are you taking a rake?
- MOLLY: No.

Then you're not
breaking the law.

But can I give you some advice?

Please.

There's a saying in my business.

"Don't break the law when
you're breaking the law."

- What do you mean?
- No drugs. No prostitutes.

No muscle to collect debts.

I don't do anything like that,

but you just said
I wasn't breaking the law.

You want to keep it that way

because you don't want to
break the law

when you're breaking the law.

Am I breaking the law?

Not really.

We're able to find out
for sure, aren't we?

Laws are written down.

You're not taking
a percentage of the pot?

No.

You're running a square game.

MOLLY: My game had
a tricky ecosystem.

These guys could buy anything.

But here, in this room,
you couldn't buy your win.

You couldn't buy me.
You couldn't buy the girls.

And you couldn't buy
a seat at the table.

There's nothing as sweet as
a win you have to work for.

And the wins and losses
were compelling,

and they were real.

Of course, it helped that

the players were
gambling addicts.

Can I see you for a second?

Jay, you're famous.

You are an
international rock star.

Oh, I wasn't sure you'd noticed.

You can't send emails like that.

Well, it's not
a federal production, okay?

I just invited you to Cabo
for the weekend.

The next woman you send
an email like that to,

it's not going to be me. It's
going to be someone else.

You're playing with fire.

I'm telling you that
I'm in love with you,

and you are worried
about me getting blackmailed?

Oh, my... That just makes me
more into you.

Lemon head.

They won't need to
blackmail you,

they can get just as much
money from TMZ.

And TMZ will give them
what they really want.

Tell me the truth.

Was mine the first love letter
you've gotten from a player?

It was the seventh.
All digitally transmitted.

You are begging for your life

to be turned into
a very public hell.

So, that's a "no" on Cabo?

Why don't you give your wife
and kids a break

and run 'em over with a limo?

I love the way
that you talk to me.

Oh, God.

(SIGHS)

- I've had a thought.
- Yeah?

Raise the stakes.

To what?

50K buy-in.
Blinds are 250/500.

- That's a 500% hike.
- Yeah.

I don't think it's a good idea.

Could you guys give me
the room for a second?

Sure.

(DOOR OPENS)

(MOLLY CHUCKLES)

The players that are
losing $100,000 a week

are going to be losing
half a million.

And the players winning
$100,000 a week...

Will have no one left
to play with.

Players are gonna get hurt,

others are gonna get killed,
and some will drop out.

It's not sustainable.
We'll lose the game.

Find new players.

MOLLY: He meant,
"Find new fish."

I went recruiting again.

First up was Donnie Silverman.

Donnie won the World Series
of Poker last year

and got in touch with me
through one of the players.

Are you fucking nuts?

Donnie Silverman won the
World Series of Poker.

You can watch it online.

He took 11 hands
at the final table,

but he had the nuts
on eight of them.

Three of those...

Three were two outers

with four players
still in the hand.

He ran hot.

He doesn't lock his chips down,

he's reckless,
he gives tons of action,

and he's got $12 million.

You know, I don't
like playing poker.

Why do you play?

I like destroying lives.

Give him a chair.

MOLLY: The next recruit
was Brad Marion.

Good evening, gentlemen.

Who everyone called "Bad Brad,"

because he was uniquely
terrible at this game.

If there was a worse player
in the world,

Brad would still find a way
to lose to him.

Sorry, I don't have a chair,
but you're welcome to a drink.

No, I just came
to introduce you to Brad.

PLAYER: All in. Calling it.

Sorry.

I just wanted to introduce
you to Brad Marion.

He wants to play.

Give me his information.
I'll check him out.

NEAL: Derek is going to
vouch for him.

MOLLY: "Derek's going
to vouch for him"

meant Derek would cover any
losses if Brad didn't pay-

- Up to any amount.
- Yeah.

- Hi, I'm Molly Bloom.
- Brad Marion.

- Nice to meet you.
- You too.

MOLLY: But he could pay,
and had to,

because he embraced the fallacy

of being pot-committed.

I'm all in.

You've already invested so much,

you might as well see it
through to the end.

Bad Brad had raised $700 million

for a fund
that traded oil futures,

and every week
he came to the game,

lost $100, 000,
and tipped me $5,000

so he could play the next week.

He wasn't getting any better.

And the guys were
feasting on him.

(SIGHS)

Can I get another 50?
(CHUCKLES)

- Sure.
- Can we talk for a second?

Brad, this game might
not be for you.

I know I'm no card shark.

No, you're not.

(TYPING)

Here are your losses
after 10 weeks,

and you've won never.

It's actually
a statistical anomaly.

Yeah, I know.

I like playing with the guys.

I don't have that many friends.

Don't take my seat away.

- I can tip you more.
- No.

Your tips are very generous.

How about I get you some books?

Or even a pro
to give you lessons?

Yeah. Maybe.

Let me think about it.

Okay.

Turned out Bad Brad
knew what he was doing.

He was getting customers.

He'd drop his $100K at the game

and pick up $4 million
for his hedge fund.

DEREK: Tell 'em
what's smart this week.

Not me.

MOLLY: More on that later,
but first, Harlan Eustice.

Player X said he met Harlan
at the Commerce Casino

and that he'd be good
for the game,

but I wasn't seeing
what he was seeing.

He played tight,

folding after the hole card
64% of the time.

It wasn't clear where
his money came from-

He produced
backyard wrestling videos

and other low-rent productions.

But worst of all,

Harlan Eustice
was a good card player.

Why would Player X want someone

at the game who could beat him?

I'd learn the answer
to that one the hard way.

- How was your flight?
- MOLLY: Just fine.

How are you paying for tickets between L.A.
and New York?

I had two million points
left on my Amex.

They took the card, but
let me keep the points,

which I thought
was nice of them.

You had meetings.

Hmm?

You had meetings in L.A.
about your book and life rights.

- I did.
- Was there any interest'?

A company that owns 4,000
video poker machines

wants to put my face on 'em.

Anything else?

Treat magazine made
a generous offer.

Treat?

It's a new magazine for

the high-end
photography enthusiast.

- They want you to pose naked.
- I'd be the April Treat.

I meant interest in your book.

Uh, yeah.

Any offers?

A few, I guess. Couple.

- Five.
- Really?

- Yeah.
- And?

I passed.

You're destitute, and you
passed on five offers

to turn your book into a movie?

You will be paid, Charlie.

I'm just curious
as to why you passed

on what would appear to be
the only way out you have.

- Creative differences.
- Okay.

Shall we start?

You know, I am gonna
figure you out.

Well, let me know what you find.

You see this?

This is discovery.

Let's see what we discovered.

Over here
we have Peter Druzhinsky,

Peter Antonovich,

and Peter Slobo.
The three Petes.

Now, the three Petes run a chain

of corrupt medical clinics

and have been committing
insurance fraud,

wire fraud, and mail fraud
on an epic scale.

Now, over here we have

the Ragnyada-Gershen
Organization.

They're a worldwide
bookmaking operation

handling hundreds of
millions of dollars a year

in illegal sports betting.

And over here we have

the Alexander-Habib
Organization.

This is also an illegal
sports betting organization,

but this one,
financed by an art gallery

owned by Shillel Habib,
who everyone calls...

Shelly.

This is the Russian Mafia.

And the three are tied together

in the indictment through

a poker game.

- Were they tapping my phones?
- No.

Thank God.

They were tapping the phones
of everyone you talked to.

Okay.

They've got you confirming
that you ran raked games

at the Plaza Hotel

and various locations
in New York.

They've also got
a confidential informant

confirming that
you ran raked games

at the Plaza Hotel

and various locations
in New York.

You were in violation of 1955,

which is a part of the U.S. Code

that makes it illegal

to run an illegal
gambling business.

You know what you did?

You finished writing a book
before the good part happened.

You really get a kick
out of yourself, don't you?

You know,
I don't like this picture.

Thank you.

You look like the cat
that ate the canary,

and then told the canary's
parents about it.

It's the picture
the publisher wanted.

And I didn't get a vote.

I liked the book.
A good story, well told.

Thank you.

I need you to
tell it again though,

from the beginning,
and this time

without skipping over
the Russians.

Would you like a glass of water?

- I'd like a glass of bourbon.
- (CHARLIE CHUCKLES)

(SIGHS)

- One more thing.
- Yeah?

I need your hard drives.

- Going back how far?
- What do you mean?

Well, I kept my hard drives
when I'd buy a new laptop.

- You're kidding.
- No.

It had a record of who owed what

and spreadsheets on the players.

It has more than that.

Every time you charge your phone

by plugging it
into the computer,

the computer takes a record

of all your text messages
and emails.

My laptop has a record
of all text messages

and emails received years ago

on phones that have been
smashed with an aluminum bat?

I wanna run a forensic
imaging on your hard drives.

Oh, no, thanks anyway.

But I'll be destroying
those hard drives.

You can't do that,
they're evidence.

Well, I'm going to blow them up.

I'm literally going to
use explosives

and scatter the remains
in the sea.

Except you told me they exist.

You're gonna have to pretend
I didn't tell you.

- Can't do that.
- Yes, you can.

You were the one
who wanted a lawyer

that wasn't even
a little bit shady.

New information
has come to light,

and I now see that,
that was stupid.

- Molly.
- There are no hard drives.

If you destroy evidence
and obstruct justice

on top of the charges

already brought against you
in this case,

you will be,
I promise, incarcerated.

You don't understand what's
in those text messages.

I understand
you've had boyfriends,

and there'll be some exchanges

that are a little
bit embarrassing...

I don't care about embarrassing

text messages from boyfriends

as there is not left

the smallest corner
of my private life

that isn't available
for public scrutiny.

There are messages

that would destroy other lives.

There are messages
that would end careers

and obliterate families.

If those the text messages
were to be made public...

- They won't be.
- If they were...

They won't be.

It would be catastrophic
for many people.

- I'm a lawyer. I'm legally...
- No.

Listen to me.
I'm legally prohibited

from disclosing anything...

Someone leaked
my last deposition

to the National Enquirer,
Charlie.

Butterball?

My last lawyer's name
was Butterman,

and he was one of five people

in the room besides me.

But the information
in that deposition

would be nothing compared
to the consequences

- of those text messages...
- Ah!

I just got it.

...showing up everywhere.

I couldn't figure out why

you named some people
but not others.

I thought that
maybe some people paid you.

You were wrong.
But doesn't matter.

No, the only people
you named in that book

were the ones
that were already named

in the Bad Brad Marion
deposition.

- Which you think...
- I know.

- ...somebody leaked it...
- Sold it.

- ...to the tabloids.
- Yes.

- Maybe even Butterbean.
- Butterman.

But I don't know who it was.

I watched
Jenny McCarthy beat you up

for naming the players.

Why didn't you just say,

"Hey, those names
are already public record."

I don't know. Because I wasn't
on The View under subpoena.

Can we please get back
to the emails and texts?

Is that why you have
creative differences

with the Hollywood offers?

Because they want information
you won't give them?

- I don't know you.
- Hmm.

If what happened last time
were to happen this time,

it would make
what happened last time...

What is this for?

It's got every text message
and email

I've sent in the last year

as well as a variety
of incriminating evidence

about my clients.

Now if anything of yours
get leaked,

you can sell my phone
to the highest bidder,

and I'll lose my job
and get disbarred.

So in order to
demonstrate the sanctity

of your attorney-client
confidentiality,

you're betraying
the confidentiality

of all your other clients?

I know you're not
going to look at it.

How do you know?

I don't know.

I'll fly home to Colorado

and be back the next day
with the hard drives.

MOLLY: Harlan Eustice
was excited about

the surprise 40th birthday party

he was throwing for
his wife in 24 hours.

I rented out the whole
courtyard of The Buffalo Club.

It'll be about a hundred people.

Kumamoto oysters,
snow crab, lobsters.

MOLLY: He wasn't ticking off
menu items to show off,

he was genuinely excited
about the party

he was giving his wife.

She doesn't know anything
about it.

She thinks we're having dinner
with her brother and his wife.

(MOLLY AND HARLAN CHUCKLING)

MOLLY: I liked Harlan.

But nobody else liked him
except Player X.

He played tight, didn't
give a lot of action,

and always got his money
in good,

which means
he was running the odds.

- DIEGO: $5,000 to call.
- No.

MOLLY: In other words,
he was playing poker,

and the others were gambling.

And he won.

By midnight, Harlan had tripled

his original $50, 000 buy-in.

But everything came off
the rails with one hand.

And that's how it happens.
That's how you go full-tilt.

Harlan, the best player
at the table,

the best player at most tables,

was about to get
bluffed off the win by,

of all people, Bad Brad.

HOW?

Because Harlan had never
played with Brad before

and didn't know yet
that Brad was bad.

Harlan's got a boat.
Nines full.

Brad's got nothing.

But his pre-flop betting
made it look,

entirely accidently,

like there was a chance
he had pocket kings.

HARLAN: $20,000.

MOLLY: Which, if true,

would give him
the better full house.

Brad's counting off $20,000,

which means he's going to call.

And Harlan knows that

if Brad is going to call
and not raise,

it means he didn't have the boat

and he's betting
a high two pair,

probably kings and queens.

But then,
instead of calling the bet,

Brad pushes $72,000
into the pot.

I'm all in.

Harlan looks at Brad.

Every tell Harlan knows about,

carotid artery pumping,
stiff hands,

Brad's doing the opposite.

Brad's betting represented
a huge hand

by calling on the flop,

check raising the turn,
and bombing the river.

Of course,
Harlan didn't know that

Brad didn't know
what any of that meant.

So Harlan,
always a good sport, said...

Nice bet.
I'm laying this down.

As he tossed in
what he didn't realize

was the winning hand.

Brad tosses in his cards too,

and one of them flips over,
and Harlan sees...

You didn't have pocket kings?

I didn't have any kings,
except the one in the middle.

- You had two pair?
- I had one pair.

The nines in the middle.

(MEN EXCLAIMING AND LAUGHING)

PLAYER: Harlan,
what are you thinking, man!

Thank you.

MOLLY: It wasn't even that
it was that much money.

Harlan only lost about
$40,000 on the hand.

But a circuit breaker blew,

and Harlan was
out for blood now.

Everyone's.

You have $112,000 on the table.

MOLLY: You want another 50?

Give me another 100, please.

Sign here for $100,000.

By 5:00 a.m., Harlan was down
half a million.

He'd abandoned everything
he knew about poker

and was playing like a frat kid,

swinging for a home run
on every hand.

Another 100, please.

- Hey, bud...
- Molly, please. Let's go.

Sign here for 100.

6:00 a.m.

Text messages were going out,

letting everyone know
Harlan was bleeding.

Guys were coming by to play

for a couple of hours
before work.

They'd been losing to him
for months.

Everyone wanted a check
from Harlan Eustice.

If you go home now,

you can have a few hours
of sleep

before Sheila's party.

(BREATHING HEAVILY) Soon.

Come talk to me.

Hi, guys. Help yourself
to some coffee.

You're on tilt.

Everybody knows it.

You're playing without
the weapons you need to win.

You're right.

All right, thank you.

Give me $500,000.

I just gotta get back to even.

MOLLY: That should be
the second line

of every gambler's obit.

"Mr. Feldstein died while
trying to get back to even."

Harlan never did.

And he never got
to his wife's birthday party.

She filed for divorce
two days later.

But there was
one last punch coming

that would put Harlan
on the floor for good.

Harlan was heads up
against a guy

named Frederick
who was Austrian royalty.

Call.

Harlan had pocket queens.

His Excellency had ace-king.

They were both in 65K pre-flop.

Flop's queen-seven-seven.

Harlan has a full house again,

queens full of sevens,

with three rounds
of betting in front of him.

The Count has nothing.

All in.

MOLLY:
And the Count goes all in.

He wants Harlan to think

he's got two more sevens
under there.

- Call.
- “Nope, " says Harlan.

He's not falling for this again,

and he snap-calls all in.

There's $750, 000 on the table.

Diego burns a card
and deals a turn.

A king.

Otto von Bismarck
now has two pair,

kings and sevens.

But two pair is nothing
next to a full house,

and, at this point,

the only hand left that can
beat a queen full house

is a king full house.

Captain Von Trapp
bluffed two pair

and rivered into kings full.

Motherfucker!

(SCREAMS)
Motherfucker!

Fuck you, you fucking mechanic!

Hey!

Fuck you, you bottom-dealing
party magician!

Hey, get out onto the terrace.

You've been pulling this shit
on me for two days!

- Come on! Come on!
- Party magician!

- You good?
- I'm okay, thanks.

MOLLY: What the hell?

I'll apologize to Diego.

Yeah.

And you're going to go home.

I'm making a floor call,
that's it.

Did you hear me?

I don't have it.

A million two.

I don't have it.

I'm sorry.

(SIGHS)

Go home.

I'm very sorry.

You got to tell Sheila
the truth, okay?

Tell her the truth.
Tell her what happened.

And I'm gonna help you,

I'm gonna get you to a meeting.

We'll meet tomorrow

and figure out what to
do about the money.

Harlan and I didn't meet
the next day.

He just called me and said
everything was okay

and showed up the next week

with a bank check
for $1, 200, 000.

Where'd he get the money from?

- I loaned it to him.
- Loaned it?

I get 50% of his wins
until the debt's paid off,

and then 50% for the next
two years with no exposure.

You're getting 50% of the wins
and no exposure on the losses?

- Yeah.
- First of all,

he'll never climb out of that.
That's sharecropper math.

It's also usury.
It's racketeering.

Second, you can't stake a player

and play in a game
at the same time.

I've been doing it
for two years.

- You've been staking Harlan?
- Yeah.

Jesus Christ.

It's not cheating.

It creates the opportunity
for it.

Tell me how.

- Are you kidding me?
- Tell me how.

If you have interest in
another player winning...

You think
I'm going to take a dive?

And if I did, who would care?

You fold your hole cards.

Five of clubs, jack of hearts.

He's still in the game.

It would benefit him to know
that the five of clubs...

You think I'm signaling him?

I'm saying it can't
fucking happen again.

You disapprove of me?

It's not personal.

It feels personal
when you chat up

every other guy at
the game except me.

When you stay late for a drink
with J.T., but never...

Have you visited his Oscar?

I think it's bolted
on the hood of his car.

It's noticeable when
you go out of your way

to demonstrate that
you have no interest in me.

You did the same thing to Dean.

These guys want to
play cards with me, not you.

Be that as it may...

You know who the biggest
winner in this game is?

It's you.

You know who the
second-biggest winner is?

- Look...
- It's you.

What are you taking home,
$10,000 a night now?

That is my business, literally.

Between you, the dealers,
and the servers,

you're taking a lot of money
out of this game.

Not as much
as I'm bringing to it.

That $10,000 is $10,000 that
doesn't go in my pocket.

- Again. My money is...
- Your money is my money.

Is it?

I think we should talk
about capping your tips.

You want to get together
with the other players,

who on my tax returns
are called clients,

and discuss putting
a ceiling on my wages?

That's right.

It'll be America's

most closely watched
anti-trust case.

(CHUCKLES)

Right there, right then,
that fast, I lost the game.

It was the next Tuesday,
game night.

He waited until he knew

I'd be on the way to the hotel,

and then sent me a text.

(PHONE CHIMES)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

It said, "We're playing
at Dave's tonight.

"No need to show up."

And I knew the truth

even before I answered
the call that came next.

(PHONE RINGING)

PLAYER X: (CHUCKLING)
You are so fucked.

There's no such word
as "verticality."

- In the book on page 152,
- Hmm?

When you lose the game in L.A.
and you come to New York,

you admire
the city's verticality.

It's a word.

Once you're in New York,

you talk about games lasting
all night, two nights,

being up for days, but
you don't mention drugs.

There were drugs.
I'm two years clean.

You left the drugs out
of the book.

You know what, I'm not
paying you $250,000

for your Amazon customer review.

So far you're not
paying me for anything.

I just emailed you "verticality"

from the Merriam-Webster's
dictionary.

What's an advance
on a book like this?

The advance?

(SIGHS)

It depends.

If you guarantee the
publisher certain elements,

then I can get you
a million and a half.

Which you'd probably
double in sales,

plus ancillary rights.

What kind of elements?

You have to use real names.

Eli...

There's a guy who sits
outside my Starbucks

with a cardboard sign
that says, "Vietnam Vet."

And every morning,
I give him a quarter.

And right now
the only difference

between you and him

is that you have a story.

I'm 1,000% sure that

the homeless Vietnam vet
has a better one.

You have one asset.

Write your story, and I can
get you a million and a half,

and that's the floor.

Go big or go home and
live with your mother.

For the rest of your life.

What if I...

What if I told the
publishers that I would

name the players
who are already named

in the Brad Marion deposition.

All four?

I'll use the real names
of the players

who are already named
by Bad Brad.

What if I told them that?

You spent eight years
in Hollywood

and two years in New York
running the world's

must exclusive, glamorous,
and decadent man cave.

So what do the
publishers get from you

about people with real names?

My advance was $35,000.

Well, the first thing
I'm gonna do is

get you a minor role reduction.

Get the 12 points
knocked down to 10.

What's a minor role reduction?

I'm going to argue
to the prosecutor

that you're an employee

that was hired
and fired by the players.

Not a chance.

I think we've got a good chance.

No. Not a chance I'm letting
you make that argument.

- Why not?
- It's not true.

Let me explain how the
point system works.

I know how it works.

Points correspond
with the prosecutor's

sentencing recommendation.

You try to get a point reduction

based on a variety of factors,

including, say,
prior criminal history,

which I don't have.

Or whether the defendant
played a minor role,

which I certainly did not.

You really think this is
a good time to hog credit?

I built it from scratch.

No. There was
already a game

at the Cobra Lounge
when you came along.

The New York game is
what I'm talking about,

I built from scratch.

I wasn't fireable.
I made sure of that.

So, no.

I wasn't really listening.

I'm refusing you permission

to seek a minor role reduction.

I'm refusing you permission

to invalidate my entire career.

And I'm not caring.

- I built a successful...
- Hey, do you want kids?

You interested
in having a family?

Very much.

I don't get you
some point reductions,

and the sentencing
recommendation

guidelines say 8 to 12 years.

And that's before
they try to jam you up

more for money laundering.

Money laundering?

The moment you changed the
Russians' money for chips...

I would have had to been
aware where the money was...

Find me 12 men and women

who'll believe that
you weren't aware

of exactly who was sitting
at your table

and where the money
came from. So, that's it.

You were a cocktail waitress.

MOLLY:
When I lost the L.A. game,

I told myself
it was no big deal.

It was just supposed
to be an adventure

and a way
to meet influential people.

(PANTING)

And /'d saved over $200, 000.

But that was just a weak
firewall I'd hastily built

to keep out the humiliation
and depression

I knew was coming.

It had to end sometime.

I just thought
it would be on my time.

The game had given me
an identity, respect,

and a defined place in a
world that was inaccessible-

And in one irrational
heartbeat it was taken away.

I was irrelevant
and forgotten overnight.

It'd been two weeks
since I lost the game,

and I made an appointment
to see someone,

because now the humiliation
and depression

had given way to blinding anger

at my powerlessness

over the unfair whims of men.

It was that
there weren't any rules.

These power moves weren't framed

by right and wrong.

Just ego and vanity.

Selfish whims with no regard
for consequence.

No fairness, no justice.

And that giggling,
cackling call from Player X.

PLAYER X: (CHUCKLING)
You are so fucked.

I couldn't lose to that
green-screened little shit,

and I didn't want a therapist
to make me feel okay about it.

You know what makes me
feel okay about losing?

Winning.

I got on a plane to New York.

Wall Street.
Madison A venue.

Fifth Avenue. The Dakota.
The San Remo.

The players were here,
I just had to bait the hook.

This time
I didn't have movie stars.

This time
I used Playboy Playmates.

These weren't
just any Playmates.

Jesse was
a Puerto Rican knockout

who grew up working
in card rooms

and was a good player herself.

I could stake her,

infiltrate other games,

and poach
their big-ticket players.

Ready to make some money?

Shelby could write code

and run more thorough
background checks

than the TSA.

Here's your account at Citibank.

MOLLY: Winston was the daughter

of an American diplomat.

She's lived
in nine different countries

and had the email addresses

of half the Saudi royal family.

MOLLY: Who's the biggest
game in Manhattan?

On any given night

it's either Teddy Chin
or Tutti Toscano.

- But that's Manhattan.
- What do you mean?

The biggest game in New
York is in Brooklyn.

Russian Jews.

Buy-in's 100k, no one runs the
game, they just play and pay.

MOLLY: We couldn't
promise anyone

they'd rub elbows
with movie stars,

but New York has one
thing Hollywood doesn't.

The Yankees.

And there was one Yankee
in particular

that every man in America
would line up to lose to.

Don't say his name out loud.

Write it on a cocktail napkin.

Crumple the napkin up.

Put it in a glass of water,

so they can see
the ink dissolve.

That's really necessary?

No, it's not at all necessary.

When do we tell them the
game is going to start?

Tell them it's been happening

once a week for about six months

at a location you won't
disclose right now.

There's a pretty long
waiting list for a chair,

but Molly's here somewhere, and
I'll introduce you to her.

50k buy-in,
blinds are five and one?

Yeah, 50...

Mol? 50k buy-in?

No. 250.

That's gonna make noise.

Enough to be heard
on Rodeo Drive.

(BIG BAND MUSIC PLAYING)

The Gold Coast of Long Island

has been home
to the Vanderbilts,

Roosevelts, Whitneys,

J. P. Morgan,
and F.W. Woolworth.

It's an impossible ticket
to get.

But I can talk to Molly.

MOLLY: Tonight was a
$10,000-per-person fundraiser

to pay for major renovations

at the East Hampton Yacht Club.

Molly's around here somewhere.

I could introduce you, but I
wouldn't get my hopes up.

MOLLY: That's for real.

There was a charity event
for residents

of the Hamptons who own yachts.

In my business, that's called
a target-rich environment.

I have to tell you, the
initial buy-in is $250,000.

$250,000? That's almost
as much as my second car.

Do your friends come
to the games?

Mmm-hmm.

MOLLY: It took only
seven weeks of

recruiting to get ten players

and seven on a waiting list.

And in these circles,

that was more than enough
to start the mythology.

By morning, gamblers would be

telling and hearing stories
about this game in London,

Tokyo, and Dubai.

All in.

At the end of that year,

I reported an income
of $4,773,000,

every square inch of it
legal and on the books.

I was the biggest
game runner in the world.

All tips. I still
hadn't taken a rake.

And I still hadn't
accidentally recruited

members of
a Russian crime syndicate.

In the beginning, I was
using drugs to stay awake.

First Adderall,

then Adderall crushed up
to defeat the time release.

Then coke, Valium, Vicodin,
Percocet, and more Adderall.

I rented a penthouse apartment
and installed plasma screens

for the sports betters.

I had the lower-stakes games

on Wednesdays, Thursdays,
and Sundays at my place,

with Tuesday night at the
Plaza being the big game-

At 7:00, the dealers came,

and the table was set up
and polished,

and 10 chairs were placed
around it,

exactly 12 inches apart.

I used custom chips

and two dealers who worked
an hour on, an hour off,

with a new crew coming in
after 12 hours.

Casinos had discovered that
certain scents

make people more likely
to place big bets.

The casinos pump those scents
in through the ventilation.

I had custom candles made.

I'd been working with
a new dealer named "B."

Not like Beatrice,
just the initial.

She'd been working
in trashy card rooms

on the East Side,
and we became friends.

Tone it down.

The big players
don't like fast hands.

Sarcastic dealing, cool.

You've gotta do it.
Not doing it is insanity.

You must be able to see that?

You've been stiffed four
or five times,

you've got hundreds
of thousands on the street.

That's money you're
never gonna see again.

MOLLY: B had been suggesting
it for a long time.

- (DOORBELL RINGS)
- She was suggesting it again

because of an incident
the week before.

- Hey, Cole.
- Hey.

- Come on in.
- Thanks. You got my check?

- I do. It's right here.
- Thank you.

Hey, can I show you
something on TV?

Actually,
I'm in kind of a hurry.

It'll just take a second.
Have a seat.

This is last Tuesday's game.

Shit, Molly,

if the guys find out you've
got cameras on them,

they're gonna go nuts.

Yeah. That's you
in the seventh chair.

Look at your stack of chips.

I've got a cab
downstairs. Can we just...

Look at the time stamp.

1:06 a.m.

Let's fast-forward to 1:07.

1:07 you lose a hand to Boosty.

- What is this?
- 1:08...

Our sheets say
you didn't buy in again

between 1:06 and 1:08.

But look at that.
Your stack's bigger.

I can explain.
It's just...

Okay, let's rewind.

This screen's got
the dealer changeover

while at the same time
on this screen, and...

There we are.

This is why
I can't reconcile $57,000

from Tuesday's game.

A 7-Eleven's
got security cameras

on their slushie machine.

I've got a million dollars
changing hands

every two minutes, imbecile.

You don't think
I've got eyes on the table?

Relax.

- I... I owe people money.
- I know.

Why isn't it coming
from the trust fund?

I need my parents'
permission to get that much.

And they'd kill me.

You don't even understand
what it's like.

People just don't realize
trust fund kids

are suffering
in this economy too.

I realize
what I did was wrong...

Did it take a lot of
soul-searching to

- get you there?
- I meant that...

First of all,

the guys that are making
the counterfeit chips,

they're taking you for a ride.

They know that there are
signatures built in the chips,

exact weight,
infrared markings...

- (GASPS)
- Breathe. Second...

Don't try this
at anyone else's game,

because if you do,

they're gonna express
their anger

in a much different way
than I am.

You owe me $57,000.

When I get it, you get the tape.

But until then,

you don't play in anyone's game.

So, when Tuesday night
came, B was at it again.

B: Your exposure's crazy.

It's not if, it's when.

You're gonna get blown up.

Your risk is nuts.

If I took a rake, this game
would no longer be legal.

And if you can't cover,

this game will no longer exist.

You're the bank now.

You're guaranteeing the game.

If you see a hand
you don't want to carry,

just look at me,

flash me a number,

and I'll take it off the table.

Most runners cap it at 5%.

- I'll see you out there.
- See you out there.

(SCOFFS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

MOLLY: Two weeks later,
around 2:00 a.m.,

there was a pot that was up
to $1.3 million pre-flop.

PLAYER: Call.

MOLLY:
With five players still in.

My hope was that the flop
would chase four of them off.

PLAYER: $200,000.

Raise $100,000.

$300,000 to you, sir.

Call.

MOLLY: There was now
$2.1 million on the table.

$300,000 to you, sir.

Plus 200.

MOLLY: $2. 6 million.

$3 million.

She was right.

I was extending credit.
Big numbers.

And it's not like Harlan Eustice

hadn't already put
the fear of God into me.

If I couldn't pay one time,
that'd be the end of the game.

I was the house.

That's how quickly
I made the decision.

And just as quickly,

B calculated 2% of the pot
and took it off the table.

That was it.

I had just taken a rake

in violation
of U.S. Criminal Code 1955.

It's time
to introduce Douglas Downey,

'cause Downey's gonna
take us all the way home.

Downey was a drunk,
and he'd stay after the game

and hang out
while I did the books.

He was hard to understand
when he was drunk,

and his conversation openers
would always sound like

the title of a detective novel.

Victim of circumstance.

Yeah.

Story of, you know...

Story of my proverbial,
you know...

- Life?
- Life.

MOLLY: He'd talk
about his marriage.

I married young, Mol.

I married young,
and I married dull.

If I'd been born in Greenwich
instead of Flushing...

MOLLY: He talked about
wanting a better life.

New Canaan.

Gone to Rye Country Day.
Princeton.

The life I'd have.

The wife I'd have.

I'd be a player.

(CHUCKLES)

Victim of circumstance.

Mol, these are things
I only say to you.

Good call.

And he'd talk about
another game he played in.

It was the Brooklyn game.

The Brighton Beach game

where they played all night
and all day.

The game that was populated
by Russians.

I'm the only Irish guy
they'll let play.

Mol, these are the nicest
guys I've ever met.

Then one night, Douglas Downey
lost $80,000 at my game

and didn't have it.

Winston, can I have
the room, please?

Sure.

- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Hmm.

You won $190,000 last week.

Lowe Teddy Chin
and Tutti... (SIGHS)

- Right.
- And some sports bets.

I'm a winner trapped inside
the body of a...

- Stop.
- Yeah.

The Brooklyn game.

Is everything I've heard true?

What have you heard?

The Russians have deep pockets,

bad at poker, give
action, pay instantly,

- and wear a coat and tie.
- That's all true.

Bring me some of those players,

and I'll give you
a piece of the game

until your 80k is paid down.

Loser is what I was gonna say.

Winner trapped inside
the body of a...

- I know. Got it.
- ...loser.

Can you bring me some players?

I'm the only Irish guy
they let play.

Do you understand the
deal I'm offering you?

No, I'm saying this
because you're Irish,

and they may not want
to play in your game.

I'm the only Irish guy
they let play.

I'm not Irish.

(CHUCKLES)

- You're not?
- No.

Molly Bloom?

You're thinking of the
James Joyce character.

I always thought you were Irish.

I'm not. Can you bring
me some players?

- Isn't there a famous book...
Okay, Douglas, focus up.

Yes, there's a book by James
Joyce called Ulysses,

and there's a character
named Molly Bloom,

and that is why
you think I'm Irish,

but now it's time
to move past that.

Can you bring me some
Brighton Beach players?

If you're not Irish,
what are you?

I'm a Russian Jew.

The next week
I had some new players.

Mike was the first one
to arrive.

- Good evening. I'm Jesse.
- I'm Mike Davidoff.

MOLLY: Mike owned a chain
of medical clinics

and had already posted
with a wire transfer.

Next were the Gershen brothers,

Illya and Alexei.

They were in the business
of exporting steel to China.

Alexei brought a quarter
of a million dollars

in cash in a backpack.

Mr. Habib, good evening.
I'm Shelby.

(CHUCKLES) I'm Shelly. Only
one letter's different.

Also, I'm a billionaire.

I think I may have
seen you naked.

No. You would remember.

MOLLY: And then Shelly Habib.

The Habib family owns
the largest collection

of classical art in the world,

valued at $3 billion,

and Shelly runs the Hallie
Gallery on Madison Avenue.

As for tonight, I was not able
to put my hands on cash today,

because I woke up this morning
after the banks had closed.

So, I'm hoping
you'll accept this

as temporary collateral.

That is an authentic Monet.

Grabbed it right off the wall.

You came over here
carrying a Monet?

I was driven, and I have
security outside the door.

Okay, Shelly.

Here's what I need you to do.
I need you to get this, what,

- four?
- Seven.

$7 million painting
out of here right now.

- And you're, I assume, armed?
- Sure.

Security can't stand
in front of the door.

Fix this up, come on back,

and I'll extend you credit
tonight up to one and a half.

You're a very beautiful woman.

Please be careful
with the painting.

Always.

MOLLY: Mike, Hiya, Alexei,
and Shelly.

Those were the players
Doug Downey brought me.

As advertised, they played
loose, gave action,

lost to the regulars,
and settled right away.

People have asked,

"Wasn't there any way to tell
that some of the players

"at your game were connected

"to one of the darkest,
deadliest,

"and far-reaching organized

"crime syndicates in the world?"

No. There wasn't.

- I'm gonna go all in.
- ALL: Aww!

(DOOR CLOSES)

(SIGHS)

I wish I had better news.

Harrison Wellstone didn't go
for the minor role reduction?

No.

He didn't buy that I was
a cocktail waitress?

- No.
- Aww.

Is it because I wasn't?

Hey, I tried, which is what
you're not paying me to do.

So, what now?

The government is
expressing an interest

in you being
a cooperating witness.

You don't say?

- Molly.
- Who could have possibly

- seen that coming?
- Let's have the conversation.

It'll be short,
because I don't know

anything at all
that can help them.

You don't know anything that
can help them convict

the Russians, but you know
things that can help them.

Did you know that
97% of federal cases

never make it to trial?

Even though the chances
of being convicted at trial

is a little more
than one in 100?

If you want to go to trial,
that's fine.

But it's gonna cost you in
the area of $3.5 million.

Which the Justice Department
knows I don't have,

because they took all
my money in a civil forfeiture

which they can do without a
warrant, because my property

doesn't have a presumption
of innocence.

Then after I'm arrested
by 17 agents

holding automatic weapons...

Totally necessary, not at all
meant to intimidate me...

I'm given two days
to hire a lawyer

and appear in a courtroom

on the other side
of the country.

If you're saying that

everything that happens from
the moment you are arrested

is designed to persuade you
to plead guilty,

you are correct.

So, tell me all the ways
I can help,

because I really feel
I owe it to them.

Oh, speaking of owing,

the IRS put a tax lien on
the money they took from me.

Are you kidding...
(SIGHS)

All right.
None of that matters.

Taking my money wasn't a tax.

I also need to give them
my money,

- or they will take it again.
- None of that matters.

It needed to be said.
Not really.

So, to be clear,
you're not interested

in entering
a cooperation agreement

with the prosecutors?

If I had testimony
that would lead

to the conviction of a bad guy,

no one would have to
coerce me into cooperating.

But I don't.
I have dirt.

I have dish.
I have gossip.

So, my value to the prosecution

is exactly the same
as it is to Hollywood.

I'm here to ensure

the New York Post
covers the trial.

I'm here to sell tickets.

Which is nonetheless
value to the prosecution,

so what we do is leverage it

to get you a favorable
sentencing recommendation.

Or, better yet,

- complete immunity. What!
- (KNOCK ON DOOR)

- Oh. Hey, honey.
- Hey, Stella.

Hey.

What does he have you doing now?

An essay on three poems

with what he believes
are a common theme.

Not an essay.
Two paragraphs.

- Which three poems?
- "Close," "Rush," and "Walls."

Oh, I know those.

What's the common theme?

Things with one-word titles.

Are you sure you're qualified
to be teaching poetry?

Hang on... And, yes.

Anytime you want to
run away from home,

you can come live with me.

CHARLIE: Then you'll discover
she doesn't have a home,

and you'll come back to me.

This is good. Great.

Why don't you grab a snack

and start your homework in
one of the conference rooms.

Okay. See ya.

There's no law that says

you can't just hit him
in the head.

There is a law that says that.

It's the first thing
I taught her to read.

Go.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(MOLLY CHUCKLES)

My father used to
give us extra work.

Can I ask you a question?

You think I'm too hard on her?

I met a girl
when I first moved to L.A.,

she was 22.

Someone arranged through
a third party

to spend the weekend
with her in London.

- You know what she got?
- For the weekend?

- Five grand.
- A bag.

A Chanel bag she wanted.

Whatever you're doing
with Stella, double it.

Where's your father in all this?

You mean physically?

He's in Colorado.

Are your parents still together?

No.

You and your father close?

No.

Was he tough on you?

You know how many girls
at the Olympics

have demanding fathers?

- All of them?
- That's right.

I was tough on him.

What do you mean?

Mmm...

I was a brat.

CHARLIE: Fathers don't care.

I'd start fights with him.

Why?

MRS. BLOOM: You were lying!

MOLLY: Why would
I start fights with him?

CHARLIE: Yeah.

MRS. BLOOM: I put you through
grad school.

(SCOFFS) I raised the kids.

I did every...
God, everything!

No.

No, you listen to me.

All you do is cheat on me,

and lie to me,
and lie to the kids.

You lie to your wife, and
you lie to your kids.

I don't know.

For the record, the law 1955
that I'm accused of breaking,

it defines gambling as
betting on games of chance.

- Yes.
- Poker isn't a game of chance.

Roulette's a game of chance.

Poker's a game of skill.

Still...

I'll tell them everything
they want to know about me.

About me.

That's it.

MOLLY: Remember Bad Brad Marion?

MOLLY: Remember Bad Brad Marion?

It turns out, his $700
million hedge fund

wasn't what you would call real.

It was a Ponzi scheme.

He'd been falsely reporting
profits for years.

He wasn't even registered
with the SEC.

With the money given
to him by friends

and family and players
at the game,

he bought several
Malibu beach houses,

an airplane hangar full of cars,

another one with an airplane,
and a life he wanted.

When he was arrested,
he had $740 in the bank.

Brad cooperated with the FBI

and gave them hours of testimony

on a range of subjects,

including how,
three years earlier,

he lost $5.2 million

in an underground
celebrity poker game

that was run by a girl
named Molly Bloom.

His story was that
I'd induced him

to play in a high stakes game...

I just wanted to introduce
you to Brad Marion.

...and that due to my enabling,

he'd become a gambling addict.

She was the person who made me
become a gambling addict.

Brad, this game might
not be for you.

Federal bankruptcy lawyers
were brought in

to recover as much of the
boosted money as they could.

I was sent a subpoena

and flew out to L.A.
to be deposed.

Can you confirm the
names on the list

all played poker
with Brad Marion?

This list was provided
to you by Brad Marion?

I just need you to confirm
for the record

that your game included,
but was not limited to,

- the players on this list.
- I understand.

What I'm trying to get
on the record

is that I'm not the one
who provided the list.

These names were provided
by Brad Marion.

So, under oath...

Yes.

I can confirm
the list is accurate.

The L.A. players
and I were given a choice.

Testify against each other
in open court,

or help make restitution
to the victims

of Brad's Ponzi scheme.

I wrote the government
a check for $500, 000.

And somewhere in an FBI
field office in New York,

someone was pinning
my picture to a wall.

I was running six games a week,

sometimes at two different
locations in a night.

And by this point,
I was addicted to drugs,

Adderall, Ambien, Xanax, coke,

alcohol, Valium,

Ativan, trazodone.

Anything that could
keep me up for a few days

and knock me out
for a few hours.

But I wasn't just taking
them to stay awake anymore.

It was dark and friendless
where I was.

I felt like
I was in a hole so deep

I could go fracking.

It didn't feel like depression,

it felt more violent.

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

I was tired of living
in the frat house

I 'd built for degenerates.

I was tired of the greed.

Mine, not theirs.

Everybody's.

I was sick of being high
all the time.

I was sick of living
in the gray area.

I couldn't recognize myself,

and what I recognized
I couldn't stand.

After a game one night,
Douglas Downey surprised me

with a confession

after opening with another
detective story title-

Gunshot on the river.

- I want to say something.
- Okay.

I want to say something.

Okay.

- I'm just gonna say...
- Cool.

'Cause there's a poem,
a famous...

A poem about thoughts
left unexpressed.

"Two roads emerged
from the woods.

"Do they explode?"

I don't know.

You like poetry?

I did until a second ago.
I'm gonna call you a car...

I'm in love with you.

(SIGHS)

This isn't happening.

Plain and simple.

You're the woman
I've always dreamed of,

- and I've been dreaming...
- Stop it.

Listen to me, Douglas.

I'm the woman all of you
have always dreamed of.

I'm the anti-wife.

I encourage your gambling.

I have drinks served to you by
models who simultaneously create

the impression
that you're the kind of guy

who can score a dime piece
anytime you want.

It's nice for you in here.

Do you know who Circe was?

Urn...

Circe?

Used to play
in Teddy Chin's game?

Nope.

Circe did not play
in Teddy's game.

She was the Greek
goddess of magic.

And she gave men feasts
with wine and honey,

and then turned them into swine.

Why?

Fantastic question.

I would never do that to you.

Missed the point by
miles, but that's okay.

Oh.

Um, Molly.

Shelby and Winston
will close up.

I'll see you next week.

Here you go.
Thanks a lot, Randy.

Thanks, Molly.

- Good morning.
- Morning, Pat.

Pat was my driver and security.

- Straight home?
- Yeah.

We didn't know much
more about each other

than we needed to know,

but I liked him.

We were friends.

I used to be
a competitive athlete.

I didn't know if you knew that.

What sport?

Skiing.

Freestyle.

Were you good?

I don't know.

Hey, Molly,
can I ask you something?

MOLLY: Pat asked me a favor.

He said there were a couple of
hedge fund guys in New Jersey

who wanted to play,

and he could score points
with them

if he was able to get them
a meeting with me.

I said sure, and set the meeting

for 5:00 p.m. on a Thursday

at the Four Seasons bar,

knowing that if they were legit,

they'd recognize someone
in the crowd

at happy hour

at the Four Seasons
right after the closing bell.

It turns out, I didn't need
to be that clever.

These weren't finance guys.

They were from the cast
of The Jersey Boys.

They looked around the bar
self-consciously,

they were out of their element,

and tough guys try
to look tougher

when they're insecure.

I had a good hunch
what they wanted,

and I was gonna have to

shut down this meeting quickly,

but without being rude
to Joey Bag '0 Donuts

and Secaucus Sal.

I'm Molly Bloom.
Nice to meet you.

John G.

- And you are?
- Paul.

JOHN G.: How do we get a drink?

MOLLY: I don't remember
what the other guy ordered,

but I'll never forget
what John G. Had.

He looked at the waiter
as if to say

that he could handle
himself just fine

among the Manhattan elite
and said...

I'll have an appletini.

Okay.

- So, how was your week?
- My week?

Uh, it was fine.
Thank you.

Pat said you guys might be
interested in a game?

We want to partner with you.

We've talked to Tutti, Will...

Teddy Chin.

JOHN 6.: Teddy Chin.

We did a little work
with them too.

We can make your life easier.

Nobody will fuck with you.

Nobody will stiff you.

I appreciate the offer,
but really, I'm fine.

I don't carry a big debt sheet.

I feel safe.

Ah, you lied just then.

When you said you don't
carry a big debt sheet.

You've got $2.8 million
on the street right now,

right as we're sitting here.

We do our research.

That money should be
in your hands,

'cause it's yours.

It's yours.

And if you don't have it,

you got to go into your
pocket to pay the wins.

Fellas, I'm sorry,

it's just a friendly game
with higher stakes.

It was really nice
to meet you though.

Let me know if there's ever
anything I can do for you.

I like to do favors.

They'll put your drinks
on my card.

There are some gaps
in my memory,

which they say is common

when you've had what's called
an event. For instance,

I don't remember
where I was coming from

when I walked into my building.

Just that my doorman, Reggie,
said he had packages for me.

Ms. Bloom. I think
I got some things for you

in the package room.

- I'll bring them on up.
- Thanks.

It was the first night
of two weeks off

- for Christmas and New Year's,
- (DOORBELL RINGS)

and my plan was to take a bath
and try not to take drugs.

Reggie came up with my packages.

I'm sorry, you're
in the wrong... (GROANS)

Wait! Okay, hold on a second.
I have...

(GROANING)

(MUFFLED SCREAMING)

Not a sound.

(MUFFLED GROAN)

You hear me?

I have money.
It's all cash.

Where?

Safe.

- Where is it?
- It's in the closet.

Show me.

Put the money
and jewelry in a bag.

Gold bars, too.

Come on.

Open your mouth.

Open your mouth.

It wasn't an offer they made.

It wasn't a suggestion.

This will be your only reminder.

Your mother lives alone in
Telluride, Colorado. Right?

(GROANS)

Right?

Right, Molly?

She doesn't live there anymore.

Yes, she does.

(GRUNTING)

MOLLY: I couldn't call a doctor

or go to an ER.

They'd take one look at me
and call the police.

My eyes were swollen and black.

My lips were cut and bloody.

I couldn't feel my face.

(WINCING)

Pat had set up the meeting,

and he was how they knew
where I lived.

I stayed in my apartment
for two weeks,

waiting for my face to heal

and waiting for the phone call
I knew was coming.

But the call didn't come.

Where was the call from John G.,

"So maybe you've had
a change of heart?"

After 10 days,

I opened my front door
for the first time.

People were coming back
into town

after New Year's in Cabo

and St. Barth's and South Beach.

(PHONE CHIMES)

My phone was blowing up with,
"When's the next game?"

But nothing from John G.

And then, right there
on the front page

of The New York Times
from eight days ago...

"Nearly 125 arrested
in sweeping mob roundup."

Those guys were
either laying low,

or they were in custody.

Sometimes God happens fast.

My face had healed enough

so that a little makeup
would cover the bruises

that were left.

I put together a week of games.

One week of games to get
the $2.8 million I was owed,

and then I was out.

I was done.

One week of epic games.

I had some of
my London players in town,

and the Russians had
visiting friends from Moscow.

Jesse and Shelby had already
started the game at the Plaza

and were reporting
heavy early action.

I was on my way
when the phone rang.

- (PHONE RINGING)
- It was Douglas Downey.

I'm on my way, Doug.

Nous; Wait, Molly.

Wait.

I'm hiding in
the bathroom. I just...

I need you to believe me,
okay? I just...

Whose bathroom?

I need you to believe me
because...

At the suite, at the Plaza.

Why are you hiding
in the bathroom?

I would never tell them
anything about you.

I said, "Guys, you want
me to go further,

"you want me to go
other places, I'll do it.

"But nothing about Molly.

“She can't be touched.

"Just the Russians."

Okay, you're drunk

and a little difficult
to understand,

so I'll see you in a few
minutes when I get there.

I was, uh...

I was...

Uh...

I was cited
for securities fraud.

It was scrubbed from my record.

That's why you don't know.

Did you say "securities fraud"?

I would never help them
build a case against you.

I would have never give
them anything against you-

I'd commit perjury
before I did that.

It was such bullshit.
It was 2006...

If you'd had an arrest,
I would have known.

- It was bullshit.
- Doug.

I told them I'll go further,

I'll go other places,
but not you.

I love you, I love...

Doug, listen, I need you to
pull it together for a second.

Did they scrub your record
because you've been informing?

Should I...
Should I have told you?

(PHONE CHIMES)

That's a question that'll...
That'll haunt me for all my...

Why are you hiding
in the bathroom?

For my days, Molly.

Always know that
I was trying to protect you.

MOLLY: Five blocks away,
the FBI had raided my game.

I fully expected the lobby
to be filled

with guys wearing
Windbreakers, but it wasn't.

REGGIE: Ms. Bloom. Haven't
seen you for a while.

Yeah.

You need a cab?

I guess you never made it
upstairs with the packages.

Maybe I didn't tip you
enough before Christmas.

HARRISON:
Then you got into a cab,

took the cab to JFK,

and flew to your mother's
house in Denver.

MOLLY: Telluride.

My mother lives in Telluride.

- That was two years ago.
- Mmm-hmm.

In the cab on the way
to the airport,

I checked my bank
account balance.

There should've been
a little over $4 million,

but instead, it said
the balance was zero,

and there was a note telling me

to contact
the Justice Department.

I just want to mention
that she also

voluntarily checked herself
into 28-day rehab

and has been sober
and clean for two years.

I don't care.

Were the women that worked
for you call girls?

No, sir.

BRENNAN: They never exchanged
sex for money?

No.

Have you ever exchanged
sex for money?

No.

I think he was talking to me.

I meant, "No, she's not
answering that question."

The purpose of this meeting...

I know.
We're off the record.

We're not off the record.

Do you see
a stenographer in here?

We're off the record in as
much as there is no record,

but you're free to use the
information you're given,

and we're not giving
the information for free.

I've been sitting
at this table for five hours,

waiting for the opportunity

to implore you
to do the right thing

while begging my client
for the last three weeks

to act in her own best interest.

Neither of those things
should be hard.

The purpose of this meeting is
for you to meet Molly Bloom

and discover, as I have,

that she's not the person
the press has invented.

She's not under
Federal indictment

for getting bad press, Charlie,

and the purpose of
the meeting, for me,

is to discover if your client
is willing to cooperate

with the government in putting
away some bad people.

No.

You're not willing to cooperate?

No, I've never traded
sex for money.

I'm still not sure
if there's a record,

but if there is,

I want it to be certain
that was in it.

It appears to me throughout
your career as a game runner,

you were extremely diligent

- about vetting players.
- I was.

But you let four guys
play in the game

without knowing
they were connected?

Yeah, plus an FBI informant,
it's embarrassing.

I was high at the end
and doing my job badly.

I'll also add that
in my limited experience

with the Russian mob,

they don't immediately present
themselves as mobsters.

My experience
with the Italian mob

- on the other hand...
- HARRISON: Help us.

I don't know anything
that can help you.

- Yes.
- MOLLY: And if I did...

Yes, you do.
You can provide color.

You can paint a picture.

You can tell us Druzhinsky wore

a $100,000 Patek Philippe
and drove a Phantom.

You can tell us Illya
Gershen showed up

with a quarter million
dollars cash in a backpack,

and you can tell us
how much action

Shelly was taking on
a sports bet.

No one was allowed to place
sports bets inside the room.

They would have to go outside.

So I had no idea

how much anyone
was taking or laying.

So, now you're saying you knew

they were making
and taking sports bets?

No. That's the point
of them going outside.

They could have been calling
their mother for all I knew.

- HARRISON: Molly.
- Yes, sir?

I don't believe you.

In Mike Davidoff's phone
intercepts alone,

just Davidoff, your
name comes up 19 times.

"We need Molly..." "Get
Molly..." "Bring Molly."

It strongly suggests
you were important

to his business,
so it's hard for me

to believe that someone
with your savvy

and obvious intellect...

They're talking about the drug.

"Get molly..."
"Bring molly..."

"We need molly..." It's...

They're talking about
the drug ecstasy.

(CHARLIE LAUGHS)

Shit. My office is next
to yours for two years,

and I've seen you make
some boneheaded moves,

but I've never seen
any prosecutor

step in it the way you just did.

You should thank all of the gods

that there's no physical
evidence of that exchange.

- HARRISON: Hey, look...
- No, you look...

What, are you going to implore
me to do the right thing?

This woman does not belong
in a RICO indictment.

Are you out of your minds?

She does not belong
in a mob indictment.

She raked a game, that's it,

for seven months, two years ago.

And why? Because she was
giving credit in the millions,

and she didn't want to use
muscle to collect.

She has had opportunity
after opportunity

to greatly benefit herself

by just telling the real
stories that she knows. Okay?

I have the forensic imaging
going back to 2007.

And I'm talking about
text messages, emails,

movie stars, rock stars,
athletes,

billionaires, all explicit,

some married with kids,

and that's just the tip
of the iceberg.

What about the guy
that comes this close

to being the U.S.
Ambassador to Monaco?

He's withdrawn
from consideration

at the last minute,
no one knows why.

She does.

CEOs with college-age
mistresses, an SVP

of an investment bank

who wanted Molly to put
a marked deck in a game.

The head of a movie studio
that texted her

that a particular movie star

was too black for his liking.

I mean, J. Edgar Hoover didn't
have this much shit on Bobby.

You know, she could have written

a bestseller
and been set for life.

Easy, she's got the...

She's got the winning
lottery ticket,

and she won't
cash it. (SIGHS)

Your office took
every dollar she has

in a Constitutionally
fucked-up seizure,

and then put the IRS on her
to tax what you seized?

I mean...

I've been in those
strategy meetings.

You broke her back

so she couldn't possibly
afford to defend herself.

And now she has an opportunity
to guarantee her freedom

by "providing color,"
and she still won't do it.

This woman does not belong
in a RICO indictment,

she belongs on a box
of Wheaties.

So, yes, Harrison,

lam imploring you
to do the right thing.

She knows nothing
about the three Petes.

Nothing about Ragnyada.

Nothing about RGO
or insurance fraud.

Between the two of us,

we've appeared
in front of this judge

28 times as prosecutors,

and not once has he deviated

from our sentencing
recommendation.

He's not gonna start now.

I know you've been putting

this bust together
for three years,

and there's no one who doesn't
want to see mobsters go to jail,

including, and especially,
the one person in the room

who's had one of them
put a gun in her mouth!

Probation.
Community service.

Or better yet, just consider
that all she did is

run a poker game exactly
the same way

every casino in America does

and drop the goddamn charges.

(SIGHS)

Anything else you'd like to add?

CHARLIE: No.

There's nothing else
she'd like to add.

Uh, I'd like to talk
to Charlie in private

if that'd be okay with you?

CHARLIE: Yeah.

Why don't you just grab
some dinner for an hour

and meet me back at the office?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Huh? I'm sorry?

Did you want a hot dog?

I'll have a pretzel, please.

(MUSIC PLAYING IN DISTANCE)

Here you go.

Hi.

I would like to rent a pair
of skates, size seven.

But I don't have any money.

These are $800 leather Chanel gloves.
I'll trade you.

$800 gloves?

And they keep your hands just
as warm as the $10 kind.

Miss, are you all right?

I'm fine.

I'm divesting.

(SOFT ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)

Hey! Slow down!

Hey, miss!
Slow down!

Catch me.

Come on, catch me!

MAN: Watch it!

ICE SUPERVISOR: Hey, slow down!

Bend your knees!

Dad?

(ALL GROAN)

MAN: You all right?

- MOLLY: Sorry about that.
- ICE SUPERVISOR: I got ya.

Sorry.

I'm taking you off
the ice right now.

WOMAN: You guys all right?

How's it going?

What are you doing in New York?

And how did you know
I was at the skating rink?

I'm a doctor of the mind.

(SIGHS) Dad...

I'm here in New York because
that's where you are.

I called your mom at the hotel,

and she said you were here.

Listen, it's not a big deal,

but, from what I saw out there,

I think you're having
a small breakdown.

That's weird,
I can't think of why.

Probably because of the arrest

and not knowing what's
going to happen next.

Old man, do you really
not recognize sarcasm?

(CHUCKLES)

Do you?

Here, drink this.

I'm an alcoholic, I can't drink,
but thanks for remembering.

It's hot chocolate.

Okay.

And for diagnostic purposes,

do you think we're in a
cocktail lounge right now?

Are you seeing waiters
with trays of champagne?

I want to check your pulse.

- Have you found a pulse?
- Yeah.

Just admiring my watch.

I can see you're
getting warmed up,

but I really don't have
the emotional bandwidth

to defend my "as usual
irresponsible behavior."

I know, I got your email.

I get that I'm not
welcome in your life

right now as your father,

though you should know
I could give a shit

if I'm welcome or not.

But I'm not here in my
capacity as your father.

I'm indifferent to whether
your father lives or dies.

I'm a very expensive therapist,

and I'm here to give you
one free session.

You think what I need
right now is a therapist?

(LAUGHS)

Yeah.

I have to be back at my
lawyer's office soon.

Do you like your lawyer?

I wasn't asking for money
when I called you, Dad.

I just needed my dad.

God forbid
you part with a nickel.

Yeah, Tiny Tim,
you grew up on a lake

and you've skied
all over the world.

- Were those workhouses tough?
- I gotta go.

- Molly.
- I gotta go.

Molly, sit the fuck down.

All right, we're gonna do
three years of therapy

in three minutes.

How?

I'm gonna do what patients
have been begging therapists

to do for 100 years.

I'm just gonna give you
the answers.

- To what?
- Well, let's start with this.

Why does a young woman who,

at 22, has a gold-plated resume,

why does she run poker games?

Why did I choose
to make a ton of money?

That's a head-scratcher.

You were gonna be a success
at anything you wanted.

You know it.

If you'd gone to law school,

you'd have owned
a law firm by now.

Why did you do the
other thing instead?

I don't know.

Drugs.

You didn't start with
the drugs until the end.

They weren't the problem,
they were the medicine.

It was so you could
control powerful men.

Your addiction was having
power over powerful men.

Is that what you really think?

No.

I know it for sure.

You've now completed your
first year of therapy.

I saw an opportunity.
It wasn't about you.

Nah, it wasn't just about me.

- It wasn't at all about you.
- It was.

Second year, second question.

Do you think
you were a good husband?

What do you care?

I care because you were
married to my mother.

I care because
my father's an asshole.

Congratulations. You've
completed year two.

And for the record, your
father raised three kids

on a college professor's salary.

One of them is
a two-time Olympian,

a sixth-round draft pick

of the Philadelphia Eagles,
and a leading philanthropist.

The other is
a cardiothoracic surgeon

at Mass General, and the third

managed to build a
multimillion dollar business

using not much more
than her wits.

I'm about to plead guilty
in Federal court.

Well, nobody's perfect.

The point is,
I did a few things right.

Last question.

No. I have to go.

Last question, Mol.

I'll answer it,
but you have to ask it.

You have to ask it.

Why didn't you like me
as much as my brothers?

There it is.

(SIGHS)

I did.

It only from time to time
appeared that I didn't.

It only appeared that
you didn't?

Yeah.

That is some
Schedule 1 bullshit.

Why would... "It only
appeared." What?

Okay, I had an attitude problem.

I talked back.

(SNIFFLES) I broke some
normal adolescent rules.

I snuck phone time after curfew.

I took your car when I
wasn't allowed to...

You drove it into a McDonald's.

And kids get punished
for that, but they don't...

Did you not see the McDonald's?

Did you misunderstand
what drive-thru meant?

You turn into
a different person,

your voice, your face...

It was because I knew you knew.

I didn't hear what you said.

I said, I knew you knew.

You knew I knew what?

LARRY: What do you think
about the following concepts?

Just going to run them by you.

- Marriage.
- It is a trap.

That I was cheating on Mom.

I knew you knew.

- Society?
- It is a joke.

No. I didn't know
until I was 20.

- People?
- I don't trust people.

LARRY: No, you've known since
you were five.

You saw me in my car,

and you really didn't
know what you saw.

I don't have any heroes.

You knew, honey.

And I knew you knew.
And that's...

That's how I reacted
to the shame.

And you reacted by showing
seething contempt for me.

Driving my car
into a McDonald's.

And wanting to have power
over powerful men?

No, that was a red herring
just to make you mad.

- You're such a...
- You tripped over a stick.

Okay?

Twelve years ago,
you tripped over a stick.

It was a one-in-a-million thing.

You tripped over a stick.

That's what you did wrong.

- There's your session.
- (SNIFFLES)

(LARRY SIGHS)

It's funny how much
faster you can go

when you're not
charging by the hour.

I'm your father.

Trying to comprehend
how much I love you

would be like trying to

visualize the size
of the universe.

I didn't know

you'd gotten beaten up until
I read it in your book.

It was a helluva way
to learn about it.

You should know that I'm

hiring someone to find
the guy who did it,

then I'm hiring someone
to kill him.

- Don't even joke about that.
- I'm not.

It wasn't a purse-snatcher,
Dad. It was the Mafia...

I don't care if it's
the leader of Hamas.

Someone put their hands on you,

they're going to suffer.

- Dad, I'm fine.
- No, they're gonna suffer.

- (SIGHS)
- Dad...

- I'm all right.
- No. They're gonna suffer.

(CRYING)

Really, I'm fine.

- MOLLY: Did you know...
- Oh.

I didn't see you.

Did you know that we know

what the center of
our galaxy smells like?

It smells like rum
and raspberries.

The center of the galaxy
is ethyl formate,

which is the same gas

that gives rum its smell
and raspberries their taste.

Why do you know these things?

To stay busy during games,
I surf the internet.

Then I started taking
online courses.

I'm twelve credits away
from a degree in astronomy.

I didn't even know
I was enrolled.

Hey.

I want to thank you
for what you said tonight.

(INHALES DEEPLY)

It was Stella.

(SIGHS)

Who asked me to be your lawyer.

She read the book.

I accused her of reading trash,

but she defended the book
impressively.

And then defended you.

You're her role model.

I'm good with that.

There's a new offer
on the table.

What is it?

We hand over the hard drives.

I don't get it.

We hand over
the forensic imaging

of the emails and texts
in exchange for...

In exchange? What could they
possibly offer me to do that?

(SIGHS)

I wrote it all down.
It's...

Your money back.

They'll give you all your
money back, plus interest.

It's over $5 million.

Is that why they took it
in the first place?

So they could
offer it back to me?

Yeah.

For what it's worth,
if we went to trial,

you'd have to hand over

the forensic imaging
in discovery.

But that's different than
voluntarily handing it over.

Sure. But it's not really
voluntary anymore

when the alternative is prison.

And that's what they're going
to recommend, 42 months.

Why do you keep breaking
eye contact with me?

I'm looking right at you.

You think I should do it.

You gotta let me
keep you out of prison.

You've seen what's on
those hard drives.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's a lot more
than a little color.

Yeah, but complete
immunity. All right?

You get all your money back.

You'd be the first defendant
to walk out of a courtroom

better off than
when you walked in.

Careers will be ruined.

Families. Wives.
Lives on both coasts.

Hey, when a rich
guy goes to jail,

he spreads his money around.

His lawyer knows how
to take care of that.

He spreads his money around.
You don't have any.

The composition of female
inmates in Federal prison...

They did not commit
financial crimes!

They're drug dealers!

They get raped
by prison guards, you...

You will not be
anonymous, Molly.

You will be a target.

Children will read their
fathers' text messages saying

he wished he'd never had kids.

- These guys...
- These guys, where are they?

Why are you in this alone?
Where are your friends?

Where is the one guy saying,

"Hey, Molly, I know
you're doing everything

"to save my life, what
can I do for you?

"Let me buy you a sandwich."
Where are they, Molly?

You kept their secrets.

Where are the people
you're protecting

by not telling the whole
story in the book?

By settling
the Brad Marion suit.

By not taking $5 million
of your own money.

By going to jail.

Where did everybody go?

It's not their names
I'm protecting, Charlie.

It's mine.

Oh, that's great.

Well, we don't have
the luxury of integrity.

You have to take the deal.

- No.
- You stay out of jail,

you get your money back,

you pay your debts,
you start a new life.

No.

Is this self-imposed punishment

for naming four guys in a book?

It's not.

You didn't do anything wrong.

I threw four people under the
bus for $35,000, Charlie.

I noticed you kept that
out of your speech to the prosecutor.

No, don't do that to me.

I took advantage
of gambling addicts.

Donnie Silverman,
my brilliant find.

Molly, stop.

He lost $6 million on my table,

moved to Florida, got a job
as a substitute teacher,

then hanged himself
in his shower!

Oh, and that's your fault?

- That's not your fault!
- Donnie Silverman's dead!

Harlan Eustice is in jail
in Nevada, wishing he was.

But that's not why
I'm saying no.

You're not saying no.

I was named after
my great-grandmother.

- I don't care.
- Molly Dubin Bloom is my name.

We will stay here all night
until you understand...

Until you understand
nobody gives a shit

about your good name!

- Why?
- I do!

- Because...
- Why?

- Because.
- Tell me why!

Because it's all I have left!

Because it's my name.

And I'll never have another.

Now you read The Crucible?

Yeah.
Everyone's right, it's great.

It is great.

I want to go into that courtroom

and plead guilty.

No deals.
No trades.

And you're very sure?

Yes.

BAILIFF: All rise.

MOLLY: The business
of the court began.

We stood for the Honorable
Judge Dustin Foxman,

and counsel entered
their names for the record.

Assistant U.S. Attorney
Harrison Wellstone

for the Southern District
of New York.

MOLLY: The docket was called...

Docket number 10095-13CR268.

...and some pro forma
instructions

were given to counsel.

And I was asked
a series of questions

- from a script the judge had in front of him.
- What is your full name?

Molly Dubin Bloom.

How old are you?

Have you taken any
drugs, medicine, or pills,

or had any alcoholic beverages
in the past 48 hours?

Sudafed.

Is there anything
about the reasons

for you taking Sudafed

that would interfere with
what's going on here today?

MOLLY: Eighty-seven questions
he was required to ask

before he'd permit me
to plead guilty.

JUDGE FOXMAN: ls your mind
clear today, Ms. Bloom?

It is.

Do you understand what's
going on here today?

I do.

Under the Constitution and
laws of the United States,

you have a right to plead to
the charges in the indictment.

- Do you understand that?
- Yes, Your Honor.

- And do you understand that?
- Yes, sir.

At that trial, you would
be presumed to be innocent

and would not have to prove
that you were innocent.

Do you understand that?

Yes, sir.

Yes, Your Honor.
Yes, sir.

If you plead guilty,
and I accept your plea,

you will give up
your right to appeal,

along with all other
rights I've enumerated,

do you understand?

Yes, sir.

Do you understand that you
are charged in count 20

with operating an illegal
gambling business

in violation of Title 18,

United States Code
Sections 1955 and 2?

Yes, I understand.

Understanding everything
you've been told,

do you now wish to enter a plea?

Yes, sir.

How do you plead to the charge?

Guilty, Your Honor.

Your plea has been so recorded,

and you may take your seat.

Before we move to the
sentencing phase,

I would like a word
with counsel, please.

MOLLY: And then
something happened.

Pardon me, Mr. Jaffey,
just government counsel.

Yes, sir.

What's going on?

(INAUDIBLE)

What are they doing?

Wait for it.

What?

Will the defendant please
rise for sentencing?

Based on all available
information,

this court manifestly disagrees

with the government's
sentencing recommendation.

This courthouse is located

within spitting distance
of Wall Street.

I know this from my
personal experience

trying to spit at it.

The men and women who work there

will commit more serious crimes

by lunchtime today

than the defendant has committed

in this indictment.

I simply don't see
how either the people

or the cause of justice
are served

by locking Molly Bloom
in prison.

MOLLY: It was as casual

as if he was ordering
lunch off a menu.

JUDGE FOXMAN: Ms. Bloom,

this court sentences you

to 200 hours
of community service,

one year of
supervised probation,

drug testing,
and a $200,000 fine.

This case is adjourned.

- MOLLY: And that was that.
- (LAUGHING)

BOTH: Let's go.

MOLLY: There was crying
and hugging...

Proud of you.

Jokes from my brothers,

tough talk about how no one
messes with the Blooms,

and levelheaded talk
about Christmas miracles.

Steaks and beer bought
by my father,

and full reenactments.

And in the middle of it all,

as grateful as you are,

the reality starts creeping
toward you like the tide.

And that's the first time
you have the thought.

"What do I do now?"

OFFICIAL:
We've got a racer down!

We need a toboggan
and a back board!

MOLLY: I'm a felon.

I'm 35 years old, unemployed,

and pled guilty
in a mob indictment.

Make way, people! Make way!
Make way, people!

Patrol here, move away!
Move away!

MOLLY: I owe the government
close to $2 million in taxes

assessed
on the civil forfeiture,

plus a $200, 000 fine.

And you better believe they're
going to come get it.

OFFICIAL: Clear a path!

Move back, please! Back!

I have a quarter
of a million dollars

in legal bills.

I don't know what I'd say
in a job interview,

or if I'll ever be given
a job interview.

I'll never be allowed
to vote again.

FEMALE MEDIC: I'm going
to need a set of vitals!

MOLLY: And for some reason,

I'm not allowed to go to Canada.

- (RADIO CHATTER)
- Molly, can you hear us?

Hips are stable.

Pelvis is stable.

- MALE MEDIC: Her dad's here.
- What's her LOA?

MALE MEDIC:
She's coming around now.

FEMALE MEDIC: Open your eyes
if you can hear us.

- MEDIC: Okay, she's conscious.
- Molly, what day is it?

FEMALE MEDIC: You need
to stay clown, okay?

You need to go to a hospital.

What day?

Dad, I'm fine.

- MEDIC: Try not to move, Molly.
- MOLLY: Let go of my arm.

LARRY: You trying to
get up, hon?

- MOLLY: Yeah.
- She wants to get up.

COMMENTATOR 1: Our cameras
can't get in there,

so we don't know...

COMMENTATOR 2:
I wonder if Tracy's got

an update for us on the ground.

COMMENTATORS: She's moving!

- LARRY: You sure you're good?
- Yeah.

Okay, here we go.

COMMENTATOR 1: We can see that

she's being helped
to her feet now.

Molly Bloom is, of course,
the sister of Jeremy Bloom,

who holds the world's
number one ranking.

That's her longtime coach there,

- Ted Keene, and her father.
- (CROWD APPLAUDING)

COMMENTATOR 2: She came back
from an injury

when she was just 13.

You know, you have to wonder
about the psychological toll,

coming that close, only
to lose it like that.

MOLLY: Did anything good
come of this?

Not really.

But I learned
something encouraging.

I'm very hard to kill.

COMMENTATOR 1:
You and I both know

people who have
never gotten over it.

COMMENTATOR 2: I don't know
if the young woman

we've just seen
is one of those people.

We may not see her ski
competitively again,

but I think we're
going to see her.

MOLLY: Winston Churchill
defined success as,

"The ability to move
from failure to failure

"with no loss of enthusiasm."

So, I guess I'm pot-committed.

COMMENTATOR 2: She'll be back.

All right, up next at the
gate is Whitney Summerhill,

who's currently
in 12th place after...