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| Mahoney doesn't simply love the thrill of gambling. In fact, he remains nearly emotionless at all times while playing. He even earns the nickname "The Iceman" from the casino security guards. Mahoney is a character who does what he does simply because he can. But he does so without almost any other motivation. This is a man without smugness, without self-importance, without grandiose dreams. It is an important expositional device that Mahoney continues to drive the same beat-up, barely running old Dodge throughout the film. He doesn't go to casinos for perks or women or booze or fancy dining. Nothing. He's like a heroin addict who eventually does the drug not because he is in need of the high but because it eventually becomes a way of life, because when he isn't high, he completely disappears. | ||||