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Smokin' Aces is a 2006 American-British-French crime film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. It stars Jeremy Piven as a Las Vegas Strip magician turned mafia informant and Ryan Reynolds as the FBI agent assigned to protect him. The film was the debut of singer Alicia Keys and rapper Common as actors, and also starred Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Andy García, Ray Liotta, Taraji P. Henson, Chris Pine and Matthew Fox. The film is set in Lake Tahoe and was mainly filmed at the MontBleu casino, called the "Nomad Casino" in the film. On July 17, 2007, director Joe Carnahan announced that production had been approved by Universal Pictures for a second Smokin' Aces film, titled Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball, which he would not direct. The film is a prequel to the original and was released straight to DVD on January 19, 2010.
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
Walter Weed is an unassuming desk jockey at the FBI when the Bureau uncovers a plot to assassinate him. A team of degenerate, psychotic assassins dispatched by mystery man Hal Leuco to win a huge bounty includes a resourceful beauty who has a unique method of killing her prey, a power-tool wielding psychopath and a deadly master of disguise.