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I am watching Martin Scorcese's movie Casino (1995) and there is lot of idioms. I am not native english speaker so I am searching for the meaning of quotes I didnt know already. I found meaning of most of them but I cant find meaning of the last two sentences in this one (in bold):

"The little guy. He's half in the bag, and nobody told him he was eighty-sixed from the joint, so we all turned our heads and made out like we didn't know who he was. He's over at the twenty-one table with his nose wide open. He took the money out of his own kick. His nose is open for about ten thousand."

I thought "nose wide open" has something to do with using cocaine but it doesnt make much sense. Thanks for explanation of the meaning.

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    It's a boxing term meaning his nose (face) is unprotected and he could be soon to receive a knock-out punch. It's used metaphorically here, and suggests he stands to lose $10,000 at the gaming table.
    – Robusto
    Jun 26, 2019 at 12:12
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    @Robusto, can you turn that comment into an answer? It's more correct than the last half of Strauss's answer.
    – shoover
    Jun 26, 2019 at 12:58

1 Answer 1

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A few things here:

  1. "He's half in the bag" - he's drunk.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/half+in+the+bag

  1. "Eighty-sixed from the joint" - he was kicked out.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/86

  1. "With his nose wide open." This is indeed an odd turn of phrase. It's generally used in the context of lust,

For example:

Sam’s not dense. He’s got his nose wide open. It’s that Sally.

This example used here: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+one%E2%80%99s+nose+wide+open

In this context, I take it to mean that he is pursuing ten thousand dollars. Perhaps he's well on his way to winning ten grand.

  1. "He took the money out of his own kick." Kick refers to his pocket. He's paying out of pocket.

From https://www.dictionary.com/browse/kick:

Slang. a pocket: He kept his wallet in his side kick.

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