Tatort (1969)

The Game

Eddie, Clark, and Miami are seated at the same poker table. Eddie starts insulting Clark and it eventually turns into a physical fight. However, it was all for show. The trio is in Vegas to take the Matador down. The fight was a bluff just to make sure that the Matador doesn't realize they're a team if they ever get in a high stakes game with him. A sheriff from out of town, Lee Nickel, is looking for a no limit game to join. He finds himself seated at the same table as the Matador, who tries to get inside his head and eventually takes all of his money with a winning hand. Seymour Annisman, the mastermind behind the trio's plan, reprimands Eddie and Clark for being seen together. They can't give anything up to the Matador because he owns Vegas. Eddie and Clark attempt to build their bankrolls by playing in games out of town. The next day, Eddie returns to the casino and meets Tropical Henry, one of Matador's right-hand men. Henry tells Eddie that if he plays along, he may be able to get an influential backer. Eddie accepts the offer, seeing a chance to infiltrate the Matador's inner circle.

Risk Tolerance

The Matador sees Eddie's poker talent and recruits him for his team. Clark and Miami are worried that he's going to get sucked in to the side they're fighting. Dee Everest, the Matador's daughter, seduces Eddie.

The Whale

A multi-million dollar player, Roy "Mac" McEntyre, also known as a whale(because he is a big player with a bank to spare) arrives on his private jet. He has come to Las Vegas to beat the Matador, because he said Eaverest is the only person to beat him constantly in something, and that thing is poker. At first, he takes his money to a different casino, but they don't recognize who he is. He storms out, and Lowball is waiting with a limo. Meanwhile, Nickel caught up with Seymour, and he wanted to know how much he knew about Nickel's now deceased brother. He gives the address to a man in Montana that may have some information. Nickel has to drive though, because Seymour says the man doesn't trust phones. The man ends up knowing nothing, and that's when Nickel knows he's been tricked. Seymour is getting a massage when the Matador shows up to welcome him back to town. Seymour knows this is a warning to his life, so he starts to think about skipping out of town. When McEntyre is finally lured out of his room to play, Eaverest shows Eddie the secret signs they will use to win the game. Eddie has some second thoughts while playing, but he ends up going along with the Matador, and McEntyre has made the Colorado a little richer. That's when yelling and screaming echo through the casino. Someone is dead on top of the slot machines, and that person is Seymour.

The Aftermath

After Seymour's death, there is speculation all over Vegas about what happened. Officials rule his death a suicide. While that is happening, Eddie and Clark go to his apartment to find where he hid the stash. Miami does not take the news of his death well at all. She bursts into the apartment and takes out a gun. Eddie and Clark take it away from her and tell her that is not the way Seymour would have wanted it. They decide they can wait no longer, they have to get in a game with The Matador now. When Nickel hears about the death, he immediately knows that it was not a suicide. He goes out and talks with people, trying to piece together what happened right before he died. He pretends to be a funeral director, so he goes to the coroner and takes pictures of Seymour's dead body. While talking with these people, he is able to learn that Tropical Henry was involved in the death somehow. Clark is approached by two of his former business partners, Dean and Shurgin. They want him to participate in a money laundering scheme, and at first he goes along, but then he decides it's not a risk he's willing to take. Everest approaches Lowball and warns him in no uncertain terms that he shouldn't try to force The Matador out. Nickel brings the evidence he has to police chief Carruthers, but the chief says that all of it is circumstantial. He also gives Nickel a thinly veiled threat that he should leave town.

Rivered

The Colorado is visited by a representative of the gaming commision that is intent on finding out whether cheating is really going on. Molloy tells Lowball to make this problem go away. Lowball agrees, but only if Molloy agrees to fire the Matador. Meanwhile, Clark, Eddie, and Miami open Seymour's safe deposit box, finding money and some old articles written about the Colorado. They decide that the big game must happen tonight. Nickel tracks down Tropical Henry and demands he confess to the murder. He doesn't want to take the blame, so he rats out the real killer: Skip. Skip is very unhappy that Henry told Nickel, so he takes out a knife to kill him. Henry throat is slashed, and the only reason he is not dead is because a janitor happened to be cleaning and could have been a witness to it. Henry then goes to Nickel and says he will make a confession that Skip and Everest killed Seymour. They go to the police station and share this info with Chief Carruthers. It was a trap, though, as Nickel is arrested for the beating and burglary of two men, which happened in the last episode. After Nickel is taken away, Carruthers shoots and kills Henry. The game finally takes place, and Miami and Clark are doing great. They are just about to win, until an unexpected twist takes place.

Gentleman Jim

After their devastating loss, Clark, Miami and Eddie attempt to pick up the pieces. Nickel and Lowball conspire to take down the Matador.

Shuffle Up and Deal

The Matador must win a bracelet at the World Championship of Poker in order to secure a minority stake in the Colorado. Meanwhile, Eddie, Miami and Clark begin to set a trap for the Matador.

Nobody Ever Listens

Eddie, Clark and Miami pick off the Matador's cohorts to advance to the World Poker Championships. Nickel continues to gather evidence against the Matador. When the FBI doesn't give up after Clark gives them the slip, The Matador has to stick to his word.

The Last Hand