Dustin Hoffman stars in "Luck"

Sometimes, you have to roll the dice to see what comes up. For HBO, all the money lies in horses.

The cable network's new series, "Luck," follows the life of Ace Bernstein as he digs himself deeper and deeper into the shady world of horse racing and gambling.

There are several big names attached to the seven-episode series, including Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Jill Hennessy, John Ortiz and Richard Kind.

Hoffman stars as Bernstein, whose story picks up after he is released from serving a three-year jail term. Despite having just been in jail, Bernstein purchases a $2-million Irish race horse and puts all his faith in trainer Turo Escalante (Ortiz) to turn the thoroughbred into a champion.

On paper, the owner of the horse is actually Gus, Bernstein's chauffeur and bodyguard, but all of the orders are coming from Bernstein himself. He taught himself the ins and outs of the industry, learning everything as he went. He has autodidacticism, similar to Matt Damon's character in "Good Will Hunting" (1997).

Nolte stars as Bernstein's rival owner, Walter Smith. He is much more modest with his purchases and his wins, but it's not because he's not confident.

"We learn there's a dark history and a shadow of scandal behind the horse," claims a release from the network.

There are also four down-and-out gamblers who will do anything to get the upper hand on a race. These guys are played by Kevin Dunn, Ritchie Coster, Jason Gedrick and Ian Hart.

Behind the camera, director Michael Mann and writer David Milch add a sense of experience to the series. Milch has owned almost 100 horses, with several of them winning major racing titles.

"The pilot is about a bunch of intersecting lives in the world of horse racing," Milch told Variety. "It's a subject which has engaged -- and some might say has compelled -- me for 50 years. I find it as complicated and engaging a special world as any I've ever encountered, not only in what happens in the clubhouse and the grandstand, but also on the backside of the track, where the training is done and where they house the horses."

It's not just the experience of the writer that gives this series its legitimacy. It was filmed at the legendary Santa Anita race track, where the 2003 blockbuster "Seabiscuit" was filmed. Many scenes in "Luck" were filmed while the racetrack was open last spring, capturing actual races and fans in real time.

Retired Hall of Famer Gary Stevens will also appear in the series. He played jockey George Woolf in "Seabiscuit," as well.

Hoffman's resumé doesn't include much about horses or gambling, though he did provide the voice for a horse in the 2005 animated film, "Racing Stripes." Hoffman has appeared in dozens of films, such as "The Graduate" (1967), "Hook" (1991) and "All the President's Men" (1976), plus he won Oscars for "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) and "Rain Man" (1988). He has also starred in a number of comedies, including "I Heart Huckabees" (2004), "Stranger Than Fiction" (2006), "Kung Fu Panda" (2008) and "Meet the Fockers" (2004).

Nolte's had a little experience playing a betting man, as well. He had the lead role in "The Good Thief" (2002), in which he played an old gambler who steps up his game and plans to rob a casino in France. Nolte has also starred in "The Thin Red Line" (1998), "The Prince of Tides" (1991) and "Cape Fear" (1991).

Canadian-born actress Hennessy is likely best known as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh from NBC's "Crossing Jordan." She played that role for six seasons before the series was canceled in 2007, and she has done little on TV since. She had the female lead in 2001's action film "Exit Wounds," but she only had small roles in 2000's "Autumn in New York" and 2007's "Wild Hogs." She has, however, been broadening her experience by doing theater -- she appeared in the Broadway musical "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" -- and releasing a music album in 2009.

Kind stars as a crooked jockey agent, giving him one of his few serious roles in his career. Most viewers will recognize him from his role on "Spin City," wherein he played bumbling press secretary Paul. He also had a recurring role on "Scrubs" as an annoying hypochondriac. That's not to say he has only done comedy -- he had roles in "Hereafter" (2010) with Clint Eastwood, and TNT's series "Leverage," but those were small roles. His most notable non-comedic role was in USA's "Psych," in which he played a greedy astronomer who killed his partner over who discovered a new planet first.