CineVegas 2009

You could say that poker is a microcosm of the American dream. It’s the rags-to-riches, overnight success story that gets people every time — the “lucky strike” mentality that has fueled so many American dreamers since the Gold Rush. It all rings true in poker rooms, gaming houses, and, yes, once again even in living rooms across the country. Three decades ago, there was a card table in nearly every household. But then poker lost favor and was nearly shut out of casino game rooms in the late ‘80s. But in the last decade, thanks to television, movies and the internet, poker has had a rebirth not only as an unbelievably popular game but as an unbelievably tangible lifestyle.

Director Douglas Tirola takes us through the full deck of poker’s new renaissance. ALL IN - THE POKER MOVIE combines interviews with the elite gamers and big dreamers with celebrity opinion (Matt Damon, Jennifer Tilly, Ira Glass), showing us what has made the game such a phenomenon: from the booming Internet business to a heated moral and political debate; from a hit song and film to a fairytale story of an online amateur turned gaming superstar.