chunk: Sam meets and falls in love with a hustler and former prostitute, Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone). They conceive a daughter and marry, but their marriage is proven difficult by Ginger's strong independence and love for her former boyfriend, con artist-turned pimp Lester Diamond (James Woods), who is ordered beaten severely by Sam and Nicky after they catch him conning Ginger out of some money. Ginger subsequently turns to alcohol. Meanwhile, Sam makes an enemy in county commissioner Pat Webb (L. Q. Jones) for firing his brother-in-law Don Ward (John Bloom) for incompetence. When Sam refuses to reinstate him, Webb pulls Sam's licence from the backlog, forcing him to face a hearing for his gaming licence while secretly arranging for the board to deny Sam. Sam blames the incident on Nicky's recklessness and the two argue furiously in the desert after Sam attempts to tell Nicky to leave Las Vegas.