Angel, Fred and Gunn take a road trip to Las Vegas to enlist Lorne’s help in finding Cordelia, but when the get there Lorne doesn’t even acknowledge their presence. It soon becomes clear that Lorne is being held against his will, and that his popular casino act is actually a way for his captor to read the futures of people in the crowd. Angel and the gang must find a way to help Lorne escape without sacrificing their own destinies in the process.
Fred: (talking about Lorne) They must think it's all make-up, like the Blue Man Group...You don't think that Blue Man Group's...
Angel: Only two of them.
Behind the Scenes Trivia
Fury’s Bobblehead
At Lorne’s show in Las Vegas in The House Always Wins, Buffy and Angel writer David Fury can be seen in the front row, with a bobblehead Kelly Manners.
Las Vegas
The cast and crew of Angel went on location to Las Vegas for this episode The House Always Wins. Though the action was set at the Tropicana, much of the filming took place inside the Riviera Hotel.
Special Andy
Andy Hallett (Lorne) is credited as “Special Guest Star Andy Hallett” in the episode The House Always Wins. From this point on, Andy appears in every episode of Angel.
Cast and Crew Trivia
Clayton Rohner
Clayton Rohner played Las Vegas casino owner Lee DeMarco in The House Always Wins. He appeared in David Boreanaz’s show Bones as Wayne Kellogg and has been in Trespassers, Into the West, Jake 2.0, Coronado, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Jack & Jill, Charmed, G vs E, The X Files (as the Rain King), The Big Day, Where’s Marlowe?, Murder One, NYPD Blue, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues and T.J. Hooker.
Character Trivia
Lee DeMarco
Lee DeMarco was the owner of The Tropicana casino in Las Vegas. Once a second-rate lounge magician, he got hold of a mystical item which he used to extract futures and destinies from players at his casine, which he then sold on the Black Market. He took Lorne captive and took advantage of his psychic abilities to pick out people with the brightest or most important futures. He then invited the ‘lucky’ ones to play the million dollar ‘Spin To Win’ game. The house always wins and the victims lose their destinies, doomed to live without purpose and to spend their life playing at the slot machines.
Continuity
Music Trivia
Mythology Trivia
References
Mel Tormé
A sign in Las Vegas for Lorne’s show, seen in The House Always Wins calls him “The Green Velvet Fog”. This is a reference to jazz singer and song-writer Mel Tormé (1925-1999) who was known as “The Velvet Fog”. He co-wrote Nat King Cole’s Christmas hit “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”.
Goofs
Quotes
Angel: I know you're there. Watching me.
Cordelia: Oh my God, Angel! You can hear me? I so love you! You don't know what it's been like...
Gunn: Something's starting to feel a lot not right about this.
Fred: That's what I've been saying, only with better grammar.
Angel: I just thought we all could use a little get-away to decompress. You know I haven't had a vacation in a while, not counting my recent ocean cruise.
Lorne: You got me. Grind your organ - I'll be your monkey.
Fred: (talking about Lorne) They must think it's all make-up, like the Blue Man Group...You don't think that Blue Man Group's...
Angel: Only two of them.