Hollywood Entertainment invites you to experience a rare 35mm screening of Richard Kwietniowski’s Owning Mahowny on “Brian Molony Day” – the unofficial holiday whose namesake inspired the film’s events.

In one of his most unforgettable yet under-seen performances, Philip Seymour Hoffman immerses you in the double life of Dan Mahowny, a bank employee stealing money from wealthy client accounts to gamble with in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Casino manager Victor Foss (John Hurt) notices his high rolling and goes out of his way to enable Mahowny’s addiction, flying him and his stolen cash directly to the casinos. Dan’s compulsions cause turmoil with his girlfriend (played by Minnie Driver) and bookie (Maury Chaykin).

The real story: Brian Molony; a CIBC manager who gambled over $10 million (over $34 million today) in stolen funds via mostly sports betting and at Caesars Palace Atlantic City. Because Caesars violated reporting regulations, the state of New Jersey ordered the casino be shut down for a full day. Casino employees deemed that day (November 30, 1985) “Brian Molony Day.”

When Gary Stephen Ross, the author of Stung: The Incredible Obsession of Brian Molony, was asked if Hoffman’s portrayal was anything like the real Brian Molony, Ross said, “Philip somehow managed to assimilate the psychic essence of Molony – a yawning emptiness that nothing except gambling was able to fill.”