literal meaning), and bribing Colorado Casino officials and even local law enforcement to turn a blind eye toward his illegal activities. One member of the group arrayed against Everest, Eddie Towne (Eddie Cibrian), manages to gain the Matador's trust and is offered a role as one of his horses. This enables Towne to learn firsthand how Everest operates, and eventually to set up a high-stakes game involving himself, his partners and Everest, in which he and his partners plan to use the Matador's own signaling system against him. Unfortunately for them, they learn the hard way that Everest was onto them from the beginning. Towne is brutally cast out of Everest's stable, and his partners are forced to abandon their stake money to Everest (as the price for not having charges pressed against them for their own attempt at cheating). No longer able to break Everest at the poker table, Towne's group decides to take a different approach: Join forces with Nickel to try and turn Everest's associates against him. Nickel has also gained another ally: erstwhile Colorado Casino President Bart "Lowball" Rogers, recently ousted for crossing Everest one too many times. Lowball stakes Towne and his partners the $10,000 buy-in for the WCOP tournament, so that they can keep Everest preoccupied while he and Nickel put the heat on his henchmen. Meanwhile, one of Towne's partners, Clark Marcellin (Todd Williams), brings Everest's cheating racket and attendant murders to the attention of an undercover FBI agent. In between WCOP playing sessions, Towne and his partners help the agent build a federal case against Everest. Ultimately Everest and Towne become the last two players left in the WCOP tournament. Towne wins the heads-up battle, only to learn later that Everest had deliberately thrown the hand—and had his daughter bet enough money on Towne to more than cover the prize difference between first and second place. Everest is then arrested by the FBI, but in the closing moments of the final episode a key witness against Everest is found hanged in a shower tub, as an apparent suicide. Cast Chris Bauer as Lee Nickel Eddie Cibrian as Eddie Towne Kristin Lehman as "Miami" (Ellen) Don McManus as Bart "Lowball" Rogers Todd Williams as Clark Marcellin Michael Madsen as Don "The Matador" Everest Michael Murphy as Jimmy Molloy Cameos The series featured cameo appearances by a few real-life poker personalities, all portraying themselves: