December will mark seven years since the release of the 2015 thriller film, Cold Deck.
Stéfano Gallo plays the main character, Bobby. The most notable name of the Cold Deck cast is Paul Sorvino, who gained worldwide fame for his role as Paulie Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 blockbuster, Goodfellas. Sorvino also starred as Sergeant Phil Cerreta in NBC’s Law & Order hit series.
Kjartan Hewit (Ben), Kate Trotter (Audrey), Jessica Sipos (Kim) and Prison Break star Robert Knepper round out the other main characters of the film.
Though Cold Deck received mostly negative or mediocre reviews, Zack Bernbaum’s project does offer some valuable life lessons and interesting parts that make the film worth watching.
Avid poker players, casino patrons and sports bettors may come to like Cold Deck, which was filmed in Toronto, Ontario. The film may appeal more to such a crowd in the province now because Ontario online casinos launched back in April.
Through these online casinos, residents of Ontario can play games such as poker, blackjack, roulette, slots and more. BetMGM, Caesars, 888 Casino, and BetRivers are among the available sportsbooks in Canada’s most populated province.
Residents of Ontario can also place wagers on their favorite sports teams, from money lines to over/under to futures. The Blue Jays have the fifth-best odds of winning the 2022 World Series (+950) at FanDuel.
Cold Deck Teaches Us The Importance Of Gambling Responsibly
There’s one thing that the best gambling/poker games teach us.
The Gambler (1974), Maverick (1994), Casino (1995) and Uncut Gems (2019) are among the most critically-acclaimed gambling movies. The main characters in all four films get themselves in trouble by not gambling responsibly. In some instances, characters even put their own lives in jeopardy.
Cold Deck is no different. Bobby is a gambler who quickly loses control to the point where his own life and personal relationships with loved ones fall into danger.
Bobby’s ill mother grows fed up with his gambling addiction. Over time, Bobby racks up a giant debt and becomes desperate to pay it off. He makes the mistake of listening to bad advice from his friend, Ben: The duo steal a car for the purpose of selling it to make extra cash, and Bobby steals his mom’s life savings.
Bobby’s personal life and well-being continues to spiral out of control from here. His mother doesn’t want anything more to do with him, and Bobby ends up performing an armed robbery at a poker game to come away with quick cash.
Gallo’s character shows the audience the importance of not letting gambling take over your life. It’s always easier to lose large sums of money than to gain large portions of money. According to the International Center for Responsible Gaming, one percent of the American population “has a severe gambling problem.”
Gambling addiction is very much real. There are sad stories about people losing money, homes, vehicles, jewelry, other valuable personal items, and of course friendships/family relationships over serious gambling problems.
Cold Deck doesn’t offer the action-packed and pulse-pounding moments that movies like Casino and Uncut Gems do, but they do teach the valuable lesson of not letting gambling consume one’s lifestyle.
Paul Sorvino Is The Film’s Highlight
While Cold Deck can’t be considered anything close to a five-star thriller, Sorvino’s role as Chips is certainly a major bright spot.
Sorvino gained fame, of course, for his roles in criminal and law-related movies and television shows. Those who love the aforementioned Goodfellas film will get a nice dose of nostalgia by watching Sorvino here.
Sorvino once again masters the role of a stern, intimidating, no-nonsense authoritative figure. In Goodfellas, the Henry Hill character (played by Ray Liotta) has no choice but to testify against Cicero and Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) to save his own life.
But in Cold Deck, it’s Sorvino’s character who ends up betraying the film’s protagonists in Bobby and Ben. While some viewers may not be able to help but feel rather sorry for Cicero in Goodfellas (he was a father figure to Hill in many ways), it’s much different with Chips in Cold Deck .His betrayal makes him the savvy villain that the audience loves to hate.
The film itself has its flaws, no doubt. But Sorvino is without a doubt the star of this movie, even if he’s not the main character. This was another masterpiece of a performance by the longtime actor.
This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.