A black comedy about Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy), a man with such devastatingly bad luck that it's infectious — just by bumping into a hot hand he can instantaneously turn it cold. And so he does by acting as a "cooler" at the gritty Shangri-la Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas, a job forced upon him by the slippery Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin), the casino's director of operations, in order to pay off an outstanding debt. Once the debt is repaid, Bernie wants nothing more than to put Vegas behind him, much to Shelly's dismay, since he has become reliant on Bernie's cooling abilities. In a devious attempt to lure him to stay, Shelly throws a gorgeous waitress named Natalie (Maria Bello) his way, but the plan backfires when Bernie and Natalie end up falling for each other and Bernie's bad luck begins to turn.