TV REVIEW : Kenny Rogers Gambles on ‘MacShayne’

The bad news is that there’s another TV movie starring Kenny Rogers involving gambling. The good news is that it’s not another “Gambler” sequel and he doesn’t have any songs in it. The odds suddenly improve, slightly.

“MacShayne: Winner Takes All” (at 9 tonight on Channels 4, 36 and 39), running under the “NBC Mystery Movie” banner, is the first in a series of TV features starring Rogers as a security specialist for a Las Vegas casino--though he doesn’t actually land that job till the very end of tonight’s pilot. MacShayne is that media perennial, the lovable con-man gone good, using his knowledge of the shady side to beat the baddies even as he still keeps a roguish streak in his heart.

As the saga begins, MacShayne is being released from a brief jail stint, and heads for Vegas to find his ex-wife and make some money back. Meanwhile, a retired police chief (Terry O’Quinn, good as ever) is planning an unlikely heist on the casino where our hero’s staying. Meanwhile, a lovely grifter (Ann Jillian) mistakes MacShayne for a high roller and tries to pull a con on the erstwhile conner.

The way these three plot strands come together has more to do with making sure all the guest stars meet up at some point than invoking the inevitable, interlocking intricacy of classic criminal mind games. And the story unfolds so casually you’d think the villains were preparing to write a bad check, not steal millions in one of the world’s best-guarded cities.

But if the amiability of the thing defies all credibility, E.F. Wallengren’s script does offer occasional flashes of wit, and director E.W. Swackhamer’s pacing allows some chemistry to develop between his leads and character actors.

Rogers is reasonably well-served: Though he’s outlived his usefulness as a recording artist, and doesn’t exactly electrify the screen, he has a naturally comforting presence that’s exploitable in the right undemanding context. “MacShayne” could well be his franchise.