May contain spoilers!
ESPN takes another foray into the entertainment portion of the sports arena with "Tilt", a new series focusing on the world of high stakes poker. Michael Madsen plays "The Matador", the world's best poker player, and a hustler.
"The Matador" is in league with seemingly everyone - the owners of the casino, the police, other players, and is using his influence to fleece the unsuspecting opponents he faces. He is opposed on two sides, first by the county sheriff brother of a man who tried to expose the Matador's cheating, and also by a trio of young players whom the Matador had cleaned out in the past by cheating. The young players are being staked by a mysterious older man who also has a grudge against the Matador.
Unlike other poker series out there (Lucky comes to mind), this show seems fluid and well written. Madsen convincingly plays an amoral scumbag and the supporting cast is excellent. Those of you familiar with the poker world will notice the similarities between the character of the Matador and with real life poker icon Doyle Brunson. Most of the script seems to based on real life accusations made against the poker great by people like Russ Georgiev, who claims to have actively cheated at poker with many of the greats of the game. More on this can be seen at Georgiev's website. It is an interesting view into both this series and the seedly underbelly of pro poker.
All in all - an excellent show.
ESPN takes another foray into the entertainment portion of the sports arena with "Tilt", a new series focusing on the world of high stakes poker. Michael Madsen plays "The Matador", the world's best poker player, and a hustler.
"The Matador" is in league with seemingly everyone - the owners of the casino, the police, other players, and is using his influence to fleece the unsuspecting opponents he faces. He is opposed on two sides, first by the county sheriff brother of a man who tried to expose the Matador's cheating, and also by a trio of young players whom the Matador had cleaned out in the past by cheating. The young players are being staked by a mysterious older man who also has a grudge against the Matador.
Unlike other poker series out there (Lucky comes to mind), this show seems fluid and well written. Madsen convincingly plays an amoral scumbag and the supporting cast is excellent. Those of you familiar with the poker world will notice the similarities between the character of the Matador and with real life poker icon Doyle Brunson. Most of the script seems to based on real life accusations made against the poker great by people like Russ Georgiev, who claims to have actively cheated at poker with many of the greats of the game. More on this can be seen at Georgiev's website. It is an interesting view into both this series and the seedly underbelly of pro poker.
All in all - an excellent show.