I see Amazon Prime has a Vinny Favorito documentary on it now. It’s 4.99 to rent. I played with him a few times at Flamingo back in 2008 or so. I know he owed and stiffed many people. The doc seems to cover some of this. Anyone seen the doc, or plan to?
honestly this documentary looks kindof awesome in the trailer.....will be watching tomorow
"Just Do Your Job"
"Discipline or Regret"
There are four reviews on Amazon so far. They are all five stars. I wonder if they are legit reviews or if they are from the director’s family and friends.
Last edited by Dive_Bar_Dave; 08-29-2025 at 07:47 AM.
Thanks for bringing this doc to my attention. I'm definitely going to watch it tonight.
I love Las Vegas documentaries. Need to start a thread devoted to them.
Looks like the film was completed 3 years ago. It's 85 minutes long. The director also did "Poker Bustouts" (2005). Vinnie was also featured in that film.
https://lanewsdaily.com/degen-films-...nnie-favorito/
This article says Favorito owed people over 1 million. The filmmakers took years to get the film done, even starting their own fence and gate company, to stay afloat at one point.
Favorito still has weekend shows in Vegas at Notoriety Live on East Fremont Street. Don't lend him money...
we saw him years ago at the flamingo i believe. he was funny. enjoyed the show.
I’m gonna wait for a The Shrink review.Originally Posted by The Shrink
The Shrink already cemented his legend poker movie review status. He doesn’t have to match previous work. He can coast now.
Poker movies are just awful as a rule. I’ve been hurt before and feel vulnerable now.
Note Bill Krackomberger is featured in the documentary.
Bill is an AP, a great players advocate on X and by all accounts appears to be a good dude.
Agree about the Shrink poker movie reviews. They were far better than any of the movies themselves (which is admittedly a low bar).I’m gonna wait for a The Shrink review.
The Shrink already cemented his legend poker movie review status. He doesn’t have to match previous work. He can coast now.
Poker movies are just awful as a rule. I’ve been hurt before and feel vulnerable now.
Poker's popularity in the 2000s is what ruined the poker movie. It went from a niche interest/community to something common part of life for many people. This caused filmmakers to believe that all poker movies had to be aimed at the lowest common denominator of viewers. Any degree of sophistication or edginess was considered too highbrow. Instead, we had unrealistic characters, outrageous storylines, and the tropes of straight flushes beating quads to end tournaments, because how can you write a cool scene where a pair of 3s beats ace high?
I've discussed Vinny Favorito on the PFA show before.
At one point, I was contacted by some representative of his. Unlike other unflattering stories I've posted on PFA regarding scammers, I wasn't asked to remove anything about Vinny. Instead, I was asked if I was willing to have him on the show, to where he could tell his story, and explain all the debt.
Obviously I said yes to this.
This person then said that they'd like to know in advance the questions I was going to ask him. as various legal issues at the time could be a problem for him if I blindsided him with tough questions, and it were used against him later. I wasn't thrilled about this, but reluctantly agreed to it.
Then I was told that I'd have to wait a few weeks because of these legal matters, but he'd appear after that. Again, I said okay.
Then it was crickets, and the person disappeared.
Not 100% sure it was really a representative of Vinny's, but I'm guessing it was real. They weren't attempting to ask for anything from me (other than these agreements regarding his appearance), nor was I put through a lot of hassle or trouble. If it was a troll, it wasn't a very good one, because I probably had a grand total of 15 minutes of time wasted on the whole thing.
Would've liked to have had him on, though. Sad!
Strangely enough, two different victims a few years earlier wanted to come on the show as well, but they also both flaked on me. I'm guessing everyone's lawyers were advising them not to do this.
Anybody watch it yet? I wanted to but the wife made me watch Stanley Tucci in Italy on NatGeo. He ate a lot of tripe.
The Shrink hasn’t cleared it yet. It’s a poker movie so you want to exercise caution. Be patient.
Still no Shrink review?
I may have to bite the bullet.
The Amazon reviews are a little sketchy. 4 of the 5 people have never reviewed a movie before.
(Rented it, half-price with Amazon Day Digital rewards. Will watch later, after The Rainmaker show which is middling but watchable)
snap it off clean. we likely will watch it tonight as well.
san is just saving his shekels for the upcoming reset.
Good documentary.
It's rare to have the full participation of the main subject of a documentary and still have him look like a complete piece of shit. And, yes, Vinnie is a piece of shit. You can't come to any other conclusion after watching this documentary. What a fucking scumbag. An unapologetic sociopath. There are pure narcissists (e.g., Phil Hellmuth), there are pure psychopaths (e.g., Jeffrey Dahmer), and then there are narcissistic psychopaths (e.g., Christopher Mitchell), and Vinnie fits into the latter category. Believes he's the greatest thing in the world and manipulates people for his own benefit without any consideration for the effect on others. Glib. Superficial charm. Zero empathy. Just the worst type of person. But man, what an entertainer.
I've never lent a penny to anyone in the poker world in my 20+ years of playing poker recreationally despite being asked on many occasions but, I have to say, I can actually see how I could be suckered in by Vinnie. A master of his craft. And that poor schmuck who moved to Vegas to grind $1/$2 cash games and got roped into loaning him thousands of dollars because he thought Vinnie was his friend...(by the way, that's gotta be the saddest existence ever. My buddy and I have a running hypothetical question that we revisit from time to time - how much would the potential prize need to be for you to move to Las Vegas, you have to play 40 hrs/week of $1/$2 cash, and you have to show a net profit at the end of the year to win the prize? I think my number is $10 million).
Overall, I'd recommend it for a $5 rental. Production value is decent. Lots of interesting archival footage. Interviews are good. Decent Vegas content.
7.8/10
Good review. I am currently watching. There is a PFA screenshot in the doc, featuring a post by Britney Griner’s Clit. My review will probably be lower than 7.8. More to come.
My rating would be 6.9 out of 10 (69 since I am perpetually immature). I thought the general set-up went on too long and there was too much low resolution footage. The doc looked like an under 150k-budgeted doc. The doc got better later, especially in the last third, which featured more of Vinnie and the people he owed, who seemed to be mostly either obese schlubs or half-in-the-closet old guys. I played poker with Vinnie a few times in the aughts and we chatted, but he never asked me for money, thankfully, maybe because he knew I was from NY, and I could see dirtbags like him coming from blocks away.
Anyway, the wife rated it a 6/10.
Vinnie is a dirtbag/the opposite of classy. The end.
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