Las Vegas and love stories don't exactly go hand-in-hand.

They call it Sin City for a reason. It's because love is often limited to cheap hookers, one-night stands, and your occasional drunken spontaneous nuptials (paging Ms. Spears).

This fact didn't seem to faze the creators of “Lucky You,” which opens Friday, May 4, in an attempt to mix the gambling world together with romance in Las Vegas.

With a cast that features Drew Barrymore, Eric Bana and Robert Duvall, there's more than enough star power to go around. But is there enough story too?

The movie centers around a love story between Barrymore's character, Billie Offer, and the professional poker-slinging Huck Cheever, played by Bana. We're off to a bad start because these fictional names seem better fitted for “Getting Lucky 69” than a legit Hollywood offering.

Naturally, since all good hook-ups require an eventual break-up scene, you’ll find that too in “Lucky You,” with the likely reconciliation at the end.

Duvall enters the movie as the villain in yet another stereotypical fashion. He too is a professional poker player, and he plays L.C. Cheever, Huck's father who ran off from the family to pursue his gambling passions. The two don't exactly see eye to eye and they eventually meet — you guessed it — at the poker table.

This is where the movie has the opportunity to either fall into a full-blown chick-flick, or keep its poker-themed mandom — presenting serious boredom danger for either viewing sex if they guess wrong.

Guys will hope to see a movie similar to Matt Damon's 1998 hit movie “Rounders,” which focused on the underground cardroom scene of New York City. “Rounders” is the best gambling movie ever made (with Paul Newman's “The Hustler” running a close second) and inspired legions of young players to take up poker.

 Women will want to see Barrymore spin this movie into more of a personal affair, keeping the poker as a mere backdrop to the storyline.

Unfortunately, we can't tell you which direction it takes in this space. The movie hasn't been made available for full review yet, which is typically a bad sign in the business because there is little-to-no buzz.

For Barrymore's sake, let's hope that “Lucky You” has a little more dramatic flair than “Charlies Angels 2: Maximum Velocity.”

For Bana, let's hope that Steve Spielberg gives him another ring for the highly anticipated “Munich 2.”

For Duvall, it's still hard to believe that it's been more than 30 years since “The Godfather.” Is this what it has come to?

Chuck Blount | 210SA contributor