40 Pounds of Trouble

Steve McCluskey is the manager at the Villa D'Oro Hotel and Casino at Lake Tahoe, it owned by gangster Bernie Friedman, nicknamed "The Butcher". The facility actually straddles the Nevada/California border, which is a bit of a problem for Steve as he is a wanted man in California for failure to pay alimony to his ex-wife Liz McCluskey, pay which he refuses to do if only out of principle in that she only wants the money out of spite. There are several people in authority, including Liz's lawyer, Louie Blanchard, who are laying in wait to pounce on Steve if he is ever in California. While he is not averse to the company of women on a casual basis, Steve has soured on the notion of ever getting married again. Steve and Chris Lockwood, who has just been hired as the headlining singer in the hotel theater, immediately butt heads in they differing on their wants for her show, Steve who believes she has a sense of entitlement as being introduced to him as Bernie's "niece", which is a euphemism for Bernie's girlfriend. But Steve ends up having a bigger problem when something is found abandoned at the hotel by a just departed gambler: his five year old daughter, Penny Piper. In taking care of Penny in not wanting to place her in further jeopardy while they wait for her father to return, Steve faces a bigger problem in the facility potentially losing its Nevada gaming license if she, a minor, is discovered on the property. As Steve and his staff come to have a soft spot for Penny, he, out of circumstance in realizing her father will not return, risks being caught by Liz's henchmen in wanting to grant Penny her wish of a trip to Disneyland, accompanied by Chris, who truly is Bernie's niece and not his girlfriend, so that they go travel incognito as a young family. But that façade may be something that Penny sees as reality, which can only come to pass if Steve stays out of trouble, not only with Liz's henchmen but with Bernie who would not take too kindly to losing his license.—Huggo