Originally Posted by
The Shrink
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
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