LUCKY CHANCES, starring our very own Vincent Irizarry as Gino Santangelo, is one of those sweeping multi-generational miniseries where the "six-degrees-of-separation" rule is in operation. Every character is eventually tied in with every other character, in ways you can’t possibly begin to predict. Just count on it. The Jackie Collins’ 1994 teleplay is based on her books CHANCES and LUCKY and can be found on video, running 285 minutes. {ed. note: the video is very hard to find.}

Lots of other soap stars crowd this drama as well, including Michael Nader as Enzio, Gino’s arch rival. The entertaining story plays out from the 30’s to the 70’s. VI’s great as the cocky, streetwise bootlegger who ages into a cocky, sophisti- cated Las Vegas hotel mogul.

The first two hours breeze by as Gino rises to power in 1933 New York. VI’s adorable here, with that thick ebony hair and those bedroom eyes. Lounging back in his chair in a hip jazz joint, he exudes brash ambition, telling his friends he wants "everything." Gino’s on the fast track with his partner Enzio running liquor, but he rules out drugs and hookers. Courtesy of Clemmie Duke, the depraved wife of a very rich man, Gino makes his way up. Clemmie educates Gino in the finer points of love-making (slow down, hon), dresses him, and teaches him how to behave in polite society. The Dukes also offer Gino financing for a legitimate liquor company when Prohibition’s over, and they back a sparkling new jazz joint Gino gratefully names Clemmie’s.

Depth of character isn’t exactly LUCKY CHANCES strong point, but VI does get some great moments. "Nice ritzy set-up you got here," Gino tells Clemmie on his first visit to her estate. Those smoldering dark eyes are used to fine advantage when he assures Clemmie, "Anything you want, I’ve got."

Each character in LUCKY CHANCES enters the drama with a label around his neck, so to speak, and Gino is no exception. From the beginning, we know he isn’t only as brash as the first light of dawn, ambitious, and a ladies’ man; he also has a heart. In the first of our six-degrees pieces of puzzle, he saves a drugged-out stripper, Carrie, from a life of degradation. Gino hides her from her vengeful pimp WhiteJack, makes sure she’s detoxed, and secures her a maid’s position for a wealthy playwright. Not asking for anything in return, Gino earns the -black beauty’s eternal gratitude. The gangster with a heart also pulls out of his partnership with Enzio after he discovers the foul-tempered braggart (Nader’s mighty good here) was running drugs along with liquor. Label Enzio as BAD as Gino is GOOD.

VI’s natural style of acting is a joy, and he never loses Gino’s rough edges even as he gains in sophistication and self-confidence. That streetwise New York accent is always prevalent, along with his signature way of addressing friends and family as "kid." Gino’s the quintessential bad-boy hero with his own code of honor. He’ll break the law, but won’t do anything really nasty; he’ll love women and leave ‘em, but always with a smile and never leading them on. He has raw ambition and he doesn’t hesitate to play rough, but he’ll never hurt someone who doesn’t deserve hurting. Gino hooks up with Costa, his old reform-school buddy who’s become an attorney. Doesn’t every great crime family need one? Oh, and another piece of the six-degree puzzle is set in place when Gino dances with Maria, a star-struck 12-year-old at Costa’s wedding.

Time speeds up once the first-generation characters are in place. The lovely, shy Carrie becomes the kind playwright’s personal assistant. WhiteJack’s obsessed with finding Carrie. Enzio and Gino have more run-ins. Gino rescues Carrie from Enzio, one thing leads to another (that happens a lot), and they make love. The Dukes back Gino’s Vegas hotel dream. Pregnant with Gino’s baby, Carrie sneaks out of the playwright’s house, and becomes a madam, evading the vicious WhiteJack. By 1945, Gino’s proudly constructing the Vegas Sierra Hotel. He sees Costa’s niece Maria again (Sandra Bullock), all grown up and lovely, and the luv 'em/leave ‘em bigshot loses his heart. On the run from WhiteJack, Carrie and Steven (Gino’s secret son) are taken in by the playwright whom she later marries. When the Dukes die in a car accident, Gino, strapped for cash, offers Enzio a piece of the Sierra. Gino and Maria have two children, Lucky and Dario, and Enzio muscles his way in as Lucky’s godfather. WhiteJack hooks up with Enzio.

The first half of the show builds to a climax as Gino flies out East for Lucky’s birthday and has to immediately return when he finds out Enzio’s been laundering drug money though the hotel. Even as he kicks Enzio out, the charming Maria is murdered in her home, the apparent victim of a robbery.

Part II slows down with the addition of the second generation, including Nicollette Sheridan as the headstrong 17-year-old Lucky. Gino’s aged into a man heavier with time, more grounded by life’s realities. There’s some gray in his hair, a few wrinkles around the eyes, and he sports a mustache. He doesn’t smile as often now that his beloved Maria’s gone. For all of that, Gino’s still a ladies’ man, bedding a starlet who’s also bedding a Senator. He cleverly steals her blackmail photos of said Senator.

The new generation’s players include the headstrong Lucky’s promiscuous boarding-school roommate Olympia, Olympia’s father, Greek tycoon Dimitri (Eric Braeden), attorney Steven and his budding comedian friend Lenny, and Lenny’s starlet girlfriend Eden. Over time, things happen: Gino forces Lucky to marry the Senator’s son to settle her down (convincing the Senator with those photos). Steven becomes a high-powered prosecutor with the FBI. Lucky gets divorced and builds a new hotel while Gino’s out of the country evading an indictment. You see, Steven, who thinks his never-named father is dead, tells Carrie that his office hopes to get to Enzio through Gino. It’s the catalyst for Carrie to reconnect with Gino, warning him he’s about to be prosecuted for tax evasion. And, by the way, she adds, he also has a son! And Enzio’s son Santino rises to power in his father’s organization--a bad seed if I ever saw one.

The drama reels with multiple murders, marriages, and mayhem, in between which Lucky and Dimitri marry and give Gino a grandson. A grand kidnapping climax ties together every last thread of the canvas and completes the sixth degree of separation. We end with a most happy wedding between Lucky and her groom, and Gino shows signs of a future reunion with Steven and Steven’s recently widowed, still-beautiful mother Carrie.

If you like your entertainment sweeping, your sets opulent--gobs of marble floors, vaulted ceilings, carved wood, cavernous estates -- and a family saga that strikes sparks with a rich dynamic of personalities, it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon. VI is a delight to watch, from the lithe and agile Gino to the older man giving a little grunt when he stoops to pick up his grandson Bobby.

Here’s to ya, Gino, or should I say, kid?