The House Always Wins

Still unable to contact the missing and now apparently godlike Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), Angel (David Boreanaz) and the crew head to Vegas to enjoy a little R & R and take in pal Lorne's new musical revue. But at the show, their green-skinned, horned friend (Andy Hallett) refuses to acknowledge them -- even as he parlays his psychic power to read the future of anyone who sings for him into a parlor trick for the delighted audience. As it turns out, Lorne is the victim of Lee DeMarco (Clayton Rohner), a casino-owning crook who is forcing Lorne to help him literally steal the futures of any audience members who are set to enjoy fame or fortune. Fred (Amy Acker) disguises herself as one of Lorne's green-skinned backup dancers in an effort to rescue him, but the plan backfires and Angel himself gets his future stolen, reducing the vampire hero to a slot machine-addicted drone. It's only through the power of divine intervention (in the form a little mystical nudge from the far-off Cordy) that reunites Angel with his apocalyptic destiny -- and his fighting prowess. He and the crew head back to Los Angeles, where they find an apparently amnesiac Cordelia waiting for them. Originally broadcast October 20, 2002, on the WB network, "The House Always Wins" marked season four, episode three of the supernatural comedy drama.