Preview–Wesley Snipes rolls the dice in NBC’s The Player

We last saw Wesley Snipes in this year’s better than you’d expect sequel The Expendables 3. Snipes has a history of being the coolest guy in the room going back to Passenger 57, Rising Sun, and Demolition Man. He’s giving his famous tagline “always bet on black” a new spin in his next venture as a high stakes gambler in NBC’s new series The Player. Only this gambler isn’t just playing cards in a Las Vegas casino.

Originally titled Endgame, The Player stars Philip Winchester (Fringe, 24: Live Another Day) as Alex Kane–The Player–a former intelligence officer working as a security expert. Think Robert Redford’s character in Sneakers. When Kane’s wife is murdered he is pulled into a strange world of crimefighting without the supersuit. Snipes plays Mr. Johnson, a pit boss of sorts. Charity Wakefield (Wolf Hall) plays Cassandra King–The Dealer. At stake is whether bad guys will succeed at committing violent crimes.