What happens when Christmas miracles meet gambling odds? Kenny Yates’ Final Wager delivers a holiday story unlike any other—where love, redemption, and a touch of danger collide. It’s Christmas Eve, and our hero, Chance (Scott Hamm Duenas), should be living a good life. Despite being a recovering sports gambling addict, he’s found the love of his life in Lisa (Fernanda Romero), who runs his favorite bar. He hasn’t placed a single bet since she threatened to leave him. Her devotion to Chance prompts him to purchase a rather sizable engagement ring for a Christmas proposal.
As they say, all good things must come to an end. On a holiday visit with his foster mother, Valerie (Gwendolyn Fuller Mukes), Chance is told that Valerie is being kicked out of her assisted living home because she wouldn’t tell Chance she lost her insurance coverage. The home’s director, Gary (Tom Arnold), won’t kick her out on Christmas but needs $60,000 immediately.
In a serious financial bind, Chance needs money fast and turns to his only solution—sports betting. His first step is to reach out to his GA sponsor, Ian (Michael Madsen), who tells him it’s a bad idea. In fact, he tells Chance to look up all his betting history over the years for perspective. When Chance does, he discovers that the only time he’s ever won a bet was on Christmas…and tomorrow is Christmas.
The problem is Chance is already four grand in the hole with his former foster brother/best friend/bookie/style god Ty (Trevor Penick). Chance begs Ty to reactivate his online betting account. Against his better judgment, Ty convinces his mob boss, Whit, to get Chance back online. As predicted, Chance starts winning again, but he has to keep his plan under wraps; otherwise, Valerie will leave him.
“…the only time he’s ever won a bet was on Christmas…and tomorrow is Christmas.”
One of the reasons I like Final Wager is that though it has the tone and spirit of a Hallmark Christmas special, it is darker and more down to earth than the milk toast Hallmark affair. There’s swearing, characters trying not to swear, and a little mob action.
It’s also squarely a Christmas movie, as holiday magic makes Chance a winner while he learns a valuable lesson about love and trust. It’s a gambling story with high stakes and a mob debt angle, but at its heart is the deceptive game Chance plays with Valerie, who thinks he’s kicked his habit.
Storywise, the fun comes in this tension between Scott Hamm Duenas’s performance as Chance to save his mother juxtaposed by the endorphin rush he gets from winning. Fernanda Romero is perfect as the virtuous Lisa, and Trevor Penick brings the comedy as the style-challenged Ty, who has a bone to pick with Chance.
It’s hard to believe. The vast majority of the film takes place in a bar. Like the classic show Cheers, the bar is constructed so that the drama never feels stale and offers director Kenny Yates many visually interesting backdrops to set the drama.
Final Wager turns Christmas cheer and real-life stakes into tasty eggnog, balancing holiday magic with the grit of second chances. This one is worth a watch for anyone who loves a Christmas movie and isn’t afraid to bet on the darker sides of life.
"…What happens when Christmas magic meets gambling odds?"
