"A check of the Magnolia Pictures website shows that the new documentary film "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" is in very limited release.

It's playing only on 19 screens, mainly in larger cities such as New York, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver and Cambridge, Mass., and only in art house cinemas.

There are no plans to bring it to Michigan, and certainly no plans to bring it to Mt. Pleasant, where uber-lobbyist "Casino Jack" Abramoff's schemes began to come unraveled.

Frankly, the $14 million or so that the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe sent to Abramoff and his crony Michael P. Scanlon pales in comparison to the almost unbelievable schemes outlined in director Alex Gibney's documentary film.

And therein lies the problem.

"Casino Jack and the United States of Money" is an unabashed documentary, not a fictionalized account, not something with a big budget and a lot of star power. Cinema operators have a tendency to shy away from documentaries, because unless they are directed by Michael Moore, they often don't do well at the box office.

That's unfortunate, because "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" tells a story that people should see. It's fast-paced, entertaining - the New York Times says the story is almost too big to put into one movie - and well documented."

Get the Story:
OUR VIEW: 'Casino Jack' needs to be shown locally (The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun 5/23)

Related Stories:
Review: Abramoff film can't make 'pond scum' interesting (05/07)
Bradford: 'Casino Jack' an inaccurate account of Abramoff (5/6)
Coushatta vice chairman to attend 'Casino Jack' screening (5/4)
Indian lobbyist takes credit for taking down Abramoff (01/26)