House of Games (1987)

Director
David Mamet

Main cast
Lindsay Crouse; Joe Mantegna; Mike Nussbaum; J. T. Walsh; Ricky Jay

Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Description
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led my a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.


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