It was exactly two years to the day that filming began. Interestingly, screenwriter Brian Koppelman decided to write a poker film after losing $750 in an underground New York poker game on December 15, 1995. It wound up being an accelerated shoot of approximately 45 days. Despite the filmmakers not thinking they could land Norton, who was coming off some successful films, the up-and-coming star signed on and was on set filming a month later. In one DVD commentary track featuring director John Dahl, the two screenwriter, and Norton, the actor revealed that he received the script in November 1997. Phil Hellmuth & Edward Norton in the 1998 WSOP Main Event.
