Paul thomas anderson was cutting his teeth with his first effort Hard eight,Before he went all Epic character peices with Boogie nights,Magnolia and the Huge" There Will be blood.Its definatly worth a look,it,s got a nice performance from John c reily,A Sleazy Samuel l jackson performance,and it certainly has a alot of touches that he would explore further in later films.It,s a No brainer thou for fans of the Director and people who want to see his first film.Theres also a brilliant scene with the great Philip seymour hoffman who has a cameo as a totally obnoxious Casino player.