The Last Gamble was the sixth and last episode in the first series of the BBC crime drama Hustle, which aired on March 30th 2004.
Synopsis[]
Mickey and the crew, struggling with increasing stress from their work as grifters, work to con a greedy, Euro-skeptic businessman out of a hefty cash settlement in exchange for their resignation from a utility company. To succeed, the group focus on the mark's love of horse-racing to cheat him out of his money.
But behind the scenes, Danny is facing difficulties about staying with the crew, especially when another grifter offers him a lucrative opportunity to run his own gang. And at the same time, a previous mark is seeking payback on Mickey for making a fool out of them.
Full Plot[]
Cold Open[]
Mickey and Danny are meeting with theme park owner Arthur Bond (Philip Jackson), a ruthless businessman from Northern England, to oversee a fictional deal for one of London's landmarks. The discussion soon turns to the bidding process for the deal, to which Bond shows them a blank sheet of paper - his tender, which they must fill in themselves above the highest price of one of the bidders, with a bribe supplied to ensure his bid will succeed.
Naturally, the pair play hardball, before pretending to accept his offer. Shaking hands, the pair commend Bond for his bid, hoping he will enjoy "ownership" of the landmark he bought for his themepark in the north - the London Eye. As Bond smiles at his victory, the pair leave having conned him out of his money.
Episode[]
At their hotel suite, Danny comments about how women would react to him asking them out, to which he states that either they will accept because they find him attractive, or reject it, to which he believes it signals they are lesbians. When Mickey questions Ash over this philosopical question, he learns that Danny tried to ask the hotel's new receptionist on a date but got "blanked". Stacie soon arrives with the crew's shares from their latest payout. When Danny receives his share, he quickly questions the amount he received. Mickey points out there were expenses, meaning the huge payout to be shared amongst them amounted to just over £10,000 each after deductions to cover the cost of their room, the medical bills for Ash's friend, and Albert's pension. The talk becomes heated over the small payout for everyone, to which Danny states he was entitled to ask - but not before apologizing to Ash for raising the issue and making it uncomfortable for him to respond to - saving the others the grief of telling him to shut up as per usual. Calming down, Mickey asks Stacie about their current working capital, revealing that Albert has identified their next mark.
At his briefing, Albert reveals he has been courting a friendly relationship with Anthony Reeve (David Haig), a greedy former executive, who recently worked as the CEO of a utility company until his mismanagement of the business led to a rise in bills that led to calls for his resignation - which he did, but not before netting a "golden handshake" of £500,000 for his ineptitude. His payout for his resignation has proven scandalous to those affected by his incompentence. Reeve is revealed to be true rich snob, xenophobic to the EU, but can be easily conned after Albert points out that he has two vices his wife would disapprove of greatly: prostitution, which Stacie quickly objects to using; and gambling on racehorses, which Albert uncovered by mere luck when he borrowed his newspaper and found a racing paper hidden within. Mickey decides the second vice is most favourable and that the crew should con him with a classic - "The Wire": a pre-20th century con conducted when racing results were transmitted by telegraph, in which con artists tricked a mark into thinking they had an edge on betting on the right horse in order to scam them into paying a fortune to take advantage of this. To set up the situation, Ash is assigned to find a location to make up as a private gambling club, while Mickey tasks Danny to lead the con as the inside man.
At the private club where Albert met with and befriended Reeve, Danny accompanies the roper to prepare to meet with their mark, in which he pretends to be Albert's nephew. Reeve, soon arriving with the press hounding him, greets Albert while complaining about the tabloid stories concerning his huge payout, but not before overhearing Danny asking Albert to take part in a sure-fire bet on a horse race that will have a guaranteed payout. When Danny leaves, Reeve asks Albert about the wager he was enticing him to place, but learns little on it. As they enjoy themselves in the club, Reeve comments on a news story concerning the crew's previous con on Bond, and how foolish they had been to think they bought the London Eye. At that moment, Albert receives a message from Stacie containing the name of a horse. Mentioning it to the mark, Reeve inquires with the club's staff, and is surprised to learn it won with high odds. Curious about Albert's "nephew", he asks to see Danny to learn more on about how he knew the horse would win.
While the crew prepare for the meeting with Reeve at Eddie's Bar, Danny learns from Eddie that someone had been looking for him - the only thing he got from them was a number. Curious, Danny goes to meet the person who was seeking them, and discovers them to be a grifter by the name of Ray Fordham, known by his nickname of "Scottish Ray" for conning an American into buying up Edinburgh castle. Fordham reveals that he is eager to recruit Danny into a new crew he is forming, and offers to give him the role of running it all for him, believing he has potential. Danny considers the offer, but asks for time to think on it. Meanwhile that evening, unknown to the crew, their previous mark, Bond, is back in London and hires a tracker named Mark Whittaker (Shend) to find the men who conned him. When Whittaker asks for details, he learns Bond intends to kill them for making a fool out of him.
The next day, Danny and Stacie, accompanied by Albert, head to Reeve's mansion to visit the mark during a private function he and his wife are holding. Having been intrigued about him, Reeve swiftly draws Danny away for a private conversation. On his own, he informs the mark with a story of being involved in a gambling syndicate that rigs horse races, ensuring certain horses achieve certain positions. Danny claims that Stacie is a high class escort (named Yvonne), whom he sent to flirt and seduce the syndicate's boss, so as to secure information on race results the syndicate have planned for upcoming races. Reeve, greedy and interested, asks to join in on this, to which Danny agrees, but states that they must use the information Stacie gets for them to make bets at a private gambling club the syndicate use. Following the meeting, the crew make final preparations for the convincer - Ash reveals the set up will work as long as nothing is done to the interior walls, whilst also supplying a rigged machine that can hold up races from the main screens in the club, but that they must stick to minute long races to ensure they can trick the mark.
The next morning, Danny arranges for Reeves to meet him, having set in place Stacie for their bet. As the crew prepare to leave the lobby, Danny spots Fordham waiting for him, and confronts him over why he is houding him. Not convinced to rush his decision, he leaves to focus on the current con, not noticing Whittaker hiding out in the lobby, having tracked him and Mickey down; he later passes on his findings to Bond, who decides to keep tabs on the pair. Reeves meets with Danny as they head to the gambling club, which he finds to be impressive (even if he is prevented from seeing the other "rooms"), whereupon they await Stacie's call. Mickey soon finds a race that offers favourable odds for their convincer; and thus avoids them paying too much out before the sting. Stacie soon calls with the name she is given, to which Danny gives his stake for the bet to Reeves. The mark soon makes the bet with Danny's stake and his own, and watches the race, as their horse wins it. As he receives the pair's payout, Danny questions Ash on the club's upper limit, revealing to Reeves they can gamble as much as they want, and clear out a huge payout.
After the convincer, the crew reunite at their suite, only to learn from Danny and Stacie that the mark, being cautious, wants to try out the system a second time before they are willing to make a big bet. Mickey quickly fumes at this, knowing they can't afford to do it again; his attitude makes Danny think he is being blamed for something that was out of his control. With no choice, Albert states they must block him out. Mickey relunctantly agrees, and so the next day, the crew arrange for him to be given the name of a horse that they identify as winning a race, but run the race on the main screens before Reeves can make his bet. Annoyed by this, he leaves with Danny, convinced his scheme works, and makes his way home; unknown to the crew, Bond, accompanied by Whittaker, watches Danny leave with Reeves, and decides to keep tabs on them, interested to know about the scheme the crew are pulling.
At Reeves' home, Danny and Stacie meet with the mark to inform him that things are looking set to come to an end - the fictional syndicate is being investigated, and they have plans to rig one more race before disbanding. Despite the risk, Reeves insists they make one more bet to secure a good payout, but Stacie declares she will not attempt to get any information for them unless the bet they make is substantional. Danny convinces Reeves they need to make a big bet, enticing him with prospects of spending time with Stacie; the mark agrees, willing to use his resignation payout for their last bet together. Following the meeting, Danny and Stacie return to the suite, as Mickey finishes up the final details on the con. When on his own, he has a word with Danny, and apologizes for being tough on him, but states it was necessary to help groom him to being a great grifter.
The next day, Mickey briefs the extra grifters they brought in to complete the sting, and has them get into place as the mark arrives. Outside, Danny watches as Reeves removes a briefcase carrying his money - £500,000 - eager to make a fortune with it. Inside the club, the pair await for a name; Mickey awaits for Albert to find them a horse with small odds, but not a winner. Once it is found, Stacie is given the name and states to Danny that they must "place" it on the horse she tells them. Reeves makes the bet, but states it is "to win". After the race begins, Stacie turns up and informs him he was mistaken, claiming the syndicate intended to place their bets on the horse she gave because it will come in third. Panicked, Reeves attempts to claim back his money, but is refused it on the grounds he made his bet and has lost his money when the race ends. At this point, Mickey's allies, posing as journalists, hound Reeves into leaving the club rather than face questions on his gambling.
The crew delight in seeing off Reeves and conning him of his money and make preparations to leave. As Danny is about to mention Fordham's offer that he received, the moment is shatted by a shotgun blast that destorys a TV screen. The crew look in horror as Bond arrives with Whittaker and some thugs, eager to punish them by taking away Reeves' money for himself. With the threat of violence, Mickey tells Danny to do as he says, but this instead leads the pair into a heated argument, whereupon Danny claims the money they have in Reeves' briefcase is actually counterfeit. Mickey, slowly realizing Danny is deceiving Bond, plays along with this, as Danny states the only clean cash they have is behind the counter with Ash - roughly £70,000. Bond accepts this, not wanting "funny money" and delights in leaving with a profit for this troubles. After he leaves, Mickey congratulates Danny in saving their skin, while apologizing for punching him in the face before he knew what was going on. Quickly, the grifters clear out the place, taking away their money. At the same time, Reeves mopes at home, as his wife asks him how his day went; Bond, heading back north, gloats at getting back his money and a little extra, until he finds the bundles of banknotes he got consist of mostly white sheets of paper, causing him to be frustrated he got conned again.
As the crew prepare to leave London for a vacation, after vacating their hotel suite, Danny decides to deal with one issue that has been bugging him. Talking with the receptionist, he asks her to explain why she wouldn't go on a date with him, and politely accepts her response - Ash is in disbelief to discover Danny had been right to believe she was a lesbian all along. Mickey takes this opportunity to talk to Danny before they leave the hotel, to ask him what he was about to say, before pointing out he knew it was about Fordham's offer; Danny had decided not to accept it, meaning Fordham left London without him. When the pair step outside the hotel to rejoin the others, they spot the viewers watching them, and detail to them the important rules of the grifter, as well as stating that they are off for a while but will be back. On their plane to the United States, Albert contemplates retiring, believing his age is getting to him, but when the group overhear a dim-witted but wealthy Texan man passes by, completely ignorant about what molasses is, Albert is inspired to hold off that talk to arrange another scheme, much to his friends' delight.
Characters[]
External links[]
- The Last Gamble on Internet Movie Database
- The Last Gamble at the Hustle series 1-4 archive at BBC Online
Trivia[]
- The mark this episode is Sir Anthony Reeve.
Gallery[]
