The Gambler stars James Caan in the title role. Constantly in debt, college professor Caan must rely on his former friends and associates to bail him out. Morris Carnovsky, as Caan's grandfather, is the first but hardly the last person close to Caan who washes his hands of the whole mess. As his habit becomes an incurable disease, Caan finds that the only people who will have anything to do with him are those to whom he owes money--particularly the polite but deadly loan shark portrayed by Burt Young.