asinos. The mob. Hit men. 

This territory has been well covered in film, but director Joe Carnahan (Narc) wanted to make sure his contribution to the genre was more than just an action flick, although there's plenty of action in it to go around. 

  "You have to think in this film. You can't just turn it off and be, 'Whatever, just entertain me.' The movie won't function," Carnahan told IGN. "You'll be bored stiff if you're not trying to keep up with it." 

  In Smokin' Aces, Buddy "Aces" Israel (Entourage's Jeremy Piven) is a sleazy Las Vegas magician/wannabe gangster who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. In exchange for a vanishing act
with Witness Protection, Israel has agreed to testify against his former mentor, Primo Sparazza. When Sparazza gets word, he takes out a $1 million contract on Israel's life. 

  Word of the hit quickly spreads through the underground crime world and it's only a matter of time before everyone finds out Israel is hiding out in the penthouse of The Nomad Casino in Lake Tahoe with his posse of bodyguards including right-hand man Sir Ivy (rapper Common) and a bevy of hookers. Worried their stool pigeon might fly the coop, FBI director Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) sends two agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) to secure their key witness. 

  At the same time, bounty hunter Jack Dupree (Ben Affleck) and ex-cops Hollis Elmore (Martin Henderson) and Pete Deeks (Pete Berg) are hired 
actors
Jeremy Piven
Alicia Keys
Ben Affleck
Ryan Reynolds
Common
Jason Bateman

director
Joe Carnahan

location
Los Angeles
South Lake Tahoe,
California
outtake
Director Carnahan approached Keys for the role as an assassin after catching one of her shows, telling her "They are going to come to you with some jerk-off romantic comedy. Don't do it. Read this instead!"

by Israel's lawyers (left holding the bag when Israel skipped bail) and sent to Tahoe to pick him up and return him to Vegas.

  Of course, Sparazza has hired his own specialist to take out Israel and two rogue mob members have their own plans involving a pair of diva assassins (Taraji Henson and Grammy winner Alicia Keys) while a rag tag bunch of hit men looking to hit the jackpot are all descending on Lake Tahoe with the same intention-to kill "Aces."

  Chaos ensues as hit men and the FBI converge in the penthouse -- loyalties shift, lives end and shocking secrets are revealed involving cover-ups, hidden motives and true identities. All while the bullets fly in true mob/Vegas/hit men style.

-- Robin Stevenson