Magazine writer George Segal falls in with gambler Elliott Gould, then hustles to keep pace as the adrenaline rush intensifies with trips to Tijuana and Reno. Rudolph is second assistant director to Altman as the filmmaker roots around in male-bonding psychology and overlapping sounds of crowd scenes. Joseph Walsh, known as an actor (appearing on-screen as Sparkie), received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for his (sole produced) screenplay.