A Scene in "Hard Eight" is Referenced/Homaged in "The Cooler" (2003)

Hard Eight (aka Sydney) was Paul Thomas Anderson's debut full-length film and came out in 1997(maybe 1996 in some markets.)

A movie called "The Cooler" came out about 6 years later, in 2003.

They are both about casino gambling. Hard Eight opens in Vegas, then moves to Reno for the duration. The Cooler is always in Vegas.

Both films have the following scene:

At a craps table with a big crowd all around it, a somber and dignified older man in a suit and tie plays craps. Across the table, a young Frat Kid type punk is playing, too. The young punk is showing off, and keeps joking with, needling, and somewhat insulting the older man, who just stands there and takes it.

In Hard Eight, the older man is played by Philip Seymour Hall and the young punk is played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

In The Cooler, the older man is played by a "Sopranos" actor(I can't remember his name) and the young punk is played by...nobody I can remember.

Anyway, both scenes end with the older man losing(as I recall) but the scene in The Cooler has a follow up that isn't in "Hard Eight."

In The Cooler -- the older man turns out to be a Mafia guy who finds the young punk(in the bathroom?) and beats him to a pulp. Satisfying.

In Hard Eight -- the older man (who just MIGHT be Mafia) does nothing to the young punk.

What's funny is, in Hard Eight, you kind of EXPECT the older man to beat up the young punk later. But it just doesn't happen.

Which is why I wonder: did they put that reference to "Hard Eight" into "The Cooler" for the EXPRESS PURPOSE of delivering the more satisfying finish of the old man beating the young punk into pulp?

I dunno. I like the idea, though...