Lookin to Get Out

Plot

Alex Kovac, playing poker in New York City, drops $10,000 to gamblers Joey and Harry that he can't pay back. Alex persuades pal Jerry Feldman to hop on a plane to Las Vegas with him and try to win 10 grand to pay off the debt.

Finding out that a similarly named Jerry Feldman is a regular there, Jerry is comped $10,000 by the casino, no questions asked. A room and other perks go along with the comp. A waiter named Smitty, an old acquaintance of Alex's, is an expert card-counter, so he is staked to a high-limit blackjack game by the guys.

Patti Warner, a former girlfriend of Alex's, is now the mistress of the casino's boss. Their mutual attraction returns, but trouble follows after a $500,000 victory at the tables, not only from the casino but from Joey and Harry, who have come to Vegas looking to get their money or get even.

Cast

Production

Director Ashby had notorious bouts with the studio and recut the film for himself before it was taken from his hands and recut by the studio. Years later, while speaking at the University of Southern California, Jon Voight discovered that the version of the film which had been shown to the students was not the theatrical version but instead Ashby's original cut (which was considered lost). This was brought to the attention of Warner Home Video who released the Ashby Director Cut on DVD on June 30, 2009.