What Happens in Vegas is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Vaughan and written by Dana Fox. It stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as a couple who get married and win a casino jackpot prize during a drunken night in Las Vegas, but their simple plan to get a quick divorce and divide the money is complicated by the divorce court judge's ruling. The title is based on the Las Vegas marketing catchphrase "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas".[1] Despite negative reviews from critics, the film was a box office success.
In New York City, high-strung commodity futures trader Joy Ellis McNally (Cameron Diaz) is dumped by fianc Mason at the surprise birthday party that she threw for him. At the same time, easy-going carpenter Jack Fuller Jr. (Ashton Kutcher) is fired by his father, Jack Sr. Both Joy and Jack are distraught and take debauched trips to Las Vegas with respective best friends Toni "Tipper" (Lake Bell), who is a bartender, and Jeff "Hater" (Rob Corddry), a lawyer.
Joy and Jack meet by chance when given the same hotel room due to a computer error. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up and receiving upgraded rooms and coupons to various clubs, they party and drink together and end up getting married. The next morning, agreeing it was a mistake, they plan to divorce.
Before they divorce, Jack uses a quarter Joy gives him in a slot machine, hitting a three million dollar jackpot.[2] Joy reminds him that they are married and consequently she is entitled to half of the money. They return to New York, where they attempt to divorce. The judge declares they cannot divorce until they attempt to co-exist for six months, while attending weekly sessions with marriage counselor Dr. Twitchell. If they work at the marriage but still want to divorce after six months, each can keep half the winnings. If either party does not cooperate, the money will be tied up in litigation by the judge.
The newlyweds devise more and more cunning schemes to undermine each other, such as Jack telling Joy that their counseling session is canceled to show she is not committed, and Joy inviting girls to their apartment to seduce him, throwing a party. Jack gives Joy's ex-fianc, Mason, her engagement ring back without Joy knowing. However, at Joy's work retreat, they unexpectedly find themselves attracted to each other.
Returning from the retreat, it is time for the judge to decide what happens to the money. On her way to the hearing, Joy sees Mason, who tells her he wants her back. Giving back the engagement ring, he tells her she is good enough for him. Joy thinks Jack set her up with Mason to cheat on him to guarantee divorce. She walks away from Mason and goes to the hearing. There, the marriage counselor testifies that the couple worked on the marriage. The judge decides they will split the remaining 1.4 million dollars (after taxes, bills Joy ran up, and money Jack spent on his new woodworking business). Joy tells the judge she does not want any of the money and as she leaves she gives the engagement ring to Jack, telling him she wants nothing from him.
Joy is offered a promotion, but declines it, telling her boss she would rather be happy doing nothing than miserable doing something she hates. Jack's parents tell him it looks like he and Joy are in love. Realizing his mistake, he goes to find her. Tipper tells Jack that she quit her job and nobody knows where she is. He suspects that she has gone to Fire Island, New York, the only place that makes her feel truly happy. Finding her, Jack proposes (again) and she says yes.
The film had its world premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square, London on April 22, 2008. Twentieth Century Fox held the U.S. premiere on May 1, 2008, at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, CA.[4] It opened in wide release in the United States on May 9, 2008.
American Big Brother 9 housemates Ryan and Sharon were given a special screening of the film after winning a "luxury competition" in April. They were also awarded tickets to the May 1 Hollywood premiere.[5]
What Happens in Vegas received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 25%, based on 135 reviews, with an average rating of 4.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "What Happens in Vegas has a few laughs, but mostly settles for derivative romantic comedy conventions and receives little help from a pair of unlikable leads."[8] On Metacritic the film has a score of 36 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9]
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times slammed it, stating that What Happens in Vegas is "one of those junky time-wasters that routinely pop up in movie theaters".[10] Metromix Chicago's Matt Pais called it "bland, boring and not fun at all".[11]
The film received two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actress (Cameron Diaz) and Worst Screen Couple (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher). Both awards went to Paris Hilton for The Hottie and the Nottie.[12]
Thirty-seven states and U.S. territories use random-number generators from the Iowa-based association, which administers games and distributes prizes for the lottery consortium. So far, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma have confirmed paying jackpots valued at a total of $8 million allegedly linked to Tipton and associates.
Investigators have asked states to review jackpots produced by the number-generators Tipton had access to and whose winning numbers were specifically requested by the ticket buyer. They hope to talk with anyone aware of payouts being collected by someone other than the person who ends up with the money, said Rob Sand, a state prosecutor in Iowa who is leading the probe.
Prosecutors said Tipton installed software known as a root kit that let him manipulate numbers without a trace. What tripped him up, investigators said, was his decision to buy the winning ticket himself at a service station near lottery association headquarters; lottery workers are prohibited from trying their luck.
Iowa got suspicious in 2012 after a New York lawyer representing a newly created trust tried to claim the $16.5 million Hot Lotto jackpot on behalf of a Belize-registered corporation, turning in the ticket hours before a one-year deadline. The trust eventually withdrew the claim rather than identify who purchased the ticket. Investigators initially suspected the buyer was merely trying to hide the winnings from a former spouse or creditor. Still, who would walk away from $16.5 million?
Eddie Tipton had worked at the association since 2003, after a career in information technology. He was promoted in 2013 to security director, a job that included protecting the integrity of the computer programs that generate winning numbers.
Investigators allege Tipton passed the winning ticket to Rhodes, a businessman in Sugar Land, Texas, who was his classmate at the University of Houston. Rhodes then passed it to a Canadian offshore banking expert who gave it to the New York lawyer who tried to collect, they said. Rhodes is now fighting extradition to Iowa, where he was charged early this year.
Authorities are now investigating a $4.5-million Colorado jackpot split by three winners in 2005. They said Tommy Tipton, who resigned last month as a justice of the peace, received $537,000 in a cash payout after giving a friend 10% for claiming the prize on his behalf. In Oklahoma, investigators are reviewing a $1.2 million Hot Lotto jackpot claimed by a Texas construction company owner in 2011.
Eddie Tipton, former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, has been accused of tampering with drawings in four states over a six-year period, and investigators are now expanding the inquiry nationwide to determine if the number could be larger.
State lotteries in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma have confirmed they paid jackpots worth $8 million to Tipton associates, including his old college roommate, Robert Rhodes. Investigators are looking at payouts in the other 37 states and U.S. territories that used random-number generators from the Iowa-based association, which administers games and distributes prizes for the lottery consortium.
Tipton, 52, was convicted in July of fraud in the attempt to claim a $16.5 million jackpot in Iowa. He was sentenced to 10 years but is free pending appeal. He is also charged with ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering involving the other three state lotteries. Rhodes, a businessman from Sugar Land, Texas, is charged with fraud in connection with the Iowa jackpot, and is under investigation in Wisconsin.
The scheme allegedly continued for years. Prosecutors say Eddie Tipton installed software known as a root kit that enabled him to manipulate numbers without a trace. Tipton was tripped up, investigators say, by the audacious move of buying the winning ticket himself at a service station near where he worked in Des Moines.
Eddie Tipton had worked at the association since 2003, after a career in information technology, including at a Rhodes-owned firm in Houston called Systems Evolution. He was promoted to lottery security director in 2013.
In the Wisconsin case, authorities said, Rhodes hired a law firm to claim a $2 million Megabucks jackpot for him in 2008, and took legal action so the $783,000 cash payout could go to his limited liability corporation instead of him. Wisconsin Lottery spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said nothing seemed suspicious and that other winners have done the same.
Prosecutor Rob Sand, who is now leading the case, said investigators want to talk to anyone who has been asked to claim a prize on behalf of someone else. They are focusing on jackpots that involve tickets in which the numbers were specifically requested by winners rather than chosen randomly.
Pachinko (パチンコ) is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-strategy gambling.
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