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One word: Karma.

Boy did Artie make a mistake picking a fight with Benny Fazio. Artie saw Martina (Manuela Feris - oooom - see photos below), his Maitre D of three months, being too friendly with Benny, and thinking that the possibility that he'll ever screw her is gone, does a very low-life thing: he tells her that his connection won't be able to get her a green card.

Martina, feeling the bad vibes from Artie, gives Benny American Express credit card numbers used at Artie's restaurant. These get sold to some Arab friends via Christy's sponsor, Murmur who goes around to various retailers collecting credit card numbers via small black boxes.

American Express fraud agents come to check Artie's receipts and cut off his credit card sales. Artie freaks out in front of his entire staff accusing one of them of the dirty deed.

When he's told by Sandy his coat check girl that Martina was seen wearing $600 shoes, he confronts her, where she promptly confesses that she did the credit card swipe scheme with Benny and blames it on his bad 'attitude' towards her. Line: "I never fuck you! I go to Benny and we laugh at you when I fuck him in the pile of money that we take from your stupid customers!" For those who don't know what karma is watch "My Name Is Earl".

He braces Benny at his home and the two get into a rough and tumble fight ending up with Artie pummeling Benny's face.

Tony has to intercede to keep Benny from putting nails into Artie's balls. Line: "You don't shit where you eat. And you really don't shit where I eat."

Just when everything should be patched up between the two, Artie suggests that Benny have a Martina, just like a Martini, but a 'Martina goes down real easy."

More Karma. Benny sticks Artie's cooking hand into boiling marinara sauce, which is about 20 degrees hotter than boiling water.

The Ojibwe reference comes up again when Tony complains that Artie is pitying himself.

Everyone is giving Artie advice about his schmoozing skills: stop talking to customers.

Hey, I know the new restaurant Da Giovanni's, run by the new young chef Giovanni Coppito, is giving Artie agita, but one really feels like slapping his face every time his mouth opens. He can't say anything right. When I'm eating, the only time I want the chef to come over and explain how he prepared the food is if I ask.

Artie is finally reduced to taking Tony's advice about coupons as we see senior citizens coming in for reduced price meals. Line, Artie: "The restaurant business is like an elephant. It costs a fortune, and sooner or later, it shits on your head."

At the episode conclusion we see him using a recipe for rabbit (see trivia section below) from an old composition book from his Grandfather when he first opened his restaurant. Perhaps this will help him to return the Vesuvio back to its former glory?

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What can one say about Christopher? Obviously he's out of his element. The cornucopia of gift-giving at the Luxury Lounge completely overwhelms him. In the end his only recourse to obtain something of what these stars get is to steal the presenters gifts from Lauren Bacall. How low can you go? The first impression is that Hollywood is so vain and so enamored of its stars that they get gifts thrown at them. Kingsley mentions how obscene it all must seem, but he does his best to spread the gifts among the less fortunate. Chris shows the true nature of mob guys: he steals the gifts and does his best to spread it among those that are not poor. In this episode at least, Hollywood does not come off so badly; but Mafia members everywhere have to feel some shame and disgust. A captain mugging an old woman like a common ghetto punk. Tony watches TV. I'm surprised he doesn't see this and put 2 and 2 together.

And Yes, there is a Luxury Lounge. Here are the watches in the show.

I have to say that his hooker in L.A. has fantastic but genuine breasts, something rarely found at the Bada Bing. Oh marone!

The hit on Rusty and Nick Annunziata was clean and fast, although I wonder why Rusty's wife Gianna doesn't come out when she hears the gunshots. Afraid? Maybe. Only loose end is the map Italo hands Rusty. Not that these guys have any fingerprints on file in America but what else might they have written on it?

That our two tailors from Italy are returning home with what looks like gifts from that presenter's stash, bodes ill. I heard Salvatore ask Italo if he got the watch at the big store on 57th but I didn't really hear a confirmation that he actually bought it there. Are they traceable back to Lauren Bacall? Will they be questioned at the airport customs? Or just red herrings from David Chase? And Isn't that him sitting in the aisle across from them reading InFlight Magazine?

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Tony plays coy with Phil regarding the Rusty hit. Good move. I don't trust Phil either.

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Those who don't see all the pieces coming together for a grand finale are short-changing themselves. If you don't like the Sopranos, stop watching. Reminds me of people who leave a movie theater just as the credits start to roll. I know a number of movies where the real good stuff came during the credits.

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Writer: Matthew Weiner
Director: Danny Leiner

Cast List:

Jamie-Lynn DiScala....Meadow Soprano

See Jamie-Lynn scantily clad in Girls of Maxim.

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Joe Abbate....Man #1

Taleb Adlah....Ahmed

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Peter Allas....Salvatore

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Nick Annunziata....Eddie Pietro

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Edoardo Ballerini....Corky Caporale
John Bianco....Gerry Torciano
Frank Borrelli....Vito Junior
Filippo Bozotti....Giovanni Coppito
Dylan Bruce....Doorman

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Enya Flack....Janine

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Dierdre Friel....Sandy
Abigail Marlowe....Sara
Nic Novicki....Little Person Nightclub Manager
Artie Pasquale...Burt Gervasi
Vincent Piazza....Hernan O'Brien
Channing Pourchot....Carla, The Watch Girl at Luxury Lounge
Aida Turturro....Janice Soprano
Lenny Venito....Murmur
Brad Lee Wind....BadaBing Cigar Patron

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Katherine Narducci (Charmaine Bucco)

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John Ventimiglia (Artie Bucco)
Arthur J. Nascarella (Carlo Gervasi)
Maureen Van Zandt (Gabriella Dante)
Max Casella (Benny Fazio)
Suzanne Shepherd (Mary DeAngelis)
Laura Niemi (Roxanne)

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Alicia Lorén/Alicia Sorell (Eden) $400 for 40 minutes...
Alicia and Annie Sorell are twin actresses, most famous for their scene in Cruel Intentions 2. Click on photo for nasty view.

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Mario D'Elia (Benny Fazio Sr.) John Rue (Kloski) Meital Dohan (Yael) Kristin Cerelli (Jen Fazio) Peter O'Neill (Hollings) Abigail Marlowe (Sarah) John Robert Tramutola (Boy #1) Bjorn Johnson (Photographer) Peter Salzer (Elderly Man) Todd Wall (Man #2) Jose Sanchez (Hector) Geraldine LiBrandi (Patty Leotardo) Adriana Delawari (Shelly) Judy Prianti (Connie Fazio) John 'Cha Cha' Ciarcia (Albie Cianflone) Manuela Feris (Martina) Alberto Bonilla (Alonso) Sig Libowitz (Hillel Teittleman)

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Angelle Brooks (Liason Woman with Lauren Bacall)

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Dee Nelson (Erica) Joseph Emmi (Boy #2) Donnie Keshawarz (Muhammed) Merel Julia (Gianna Millio) Frankie Valli (Rusty Millio) Lenny Venito (James "Murmur" Zancone) Elizabeth Bracco (Marie Spatafore) Denise Borino (Ginny Sacrimoni) Paulina Gerzon (Francesca Spatafore) Ben Kingsley (Himself) Lauren Bacall (Herself) Wilmer Valderrama (Himself)

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Here's a prediction: Tony will still forget to talk to the building inspector.

There's more chemistry between tin and sand than Meadow and Finn. Finn can now quietly back out of the engagement since he doesn't need Meadow's protection from Vito anymore. Who wants to see these two together anyway?

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Sopranos Episode guide Season 6

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Lbracco.com has cast photos from various events throughout a few cities.

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Manuela Feris, Latin American: DOB 08/07/1981 -- Height inches 69 -- Weight pounds 124 -- Hair color Dark Brown -- Eye color Brown

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Another Review of Luxury Lounge: Great recap from tv.com

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Trivia section:

Artie, explaining why he shot the rabbit: "I brought those Arugula seeds all the way back from Italy in my shaving kit"

Arugula, probably from the Veneto section of Italy, is an herb of the mustard family popular in Italian cooking. The reason Artie would have had to smuggle it inside a shaving kit is because of department of agriculture regulations requiring seeds be inspected and deemed to be free of harmful contaminants. Artie might have worried that customs would have confiscated the seeds if he declared them.

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Older readers may recall the Frank Sinatra comedy/drama Hole in the Head where Frankie's character, hard up for money, tries to convince Jerry Marks (Keenan Wynn) that his idea for a Disneyland type theme park is a great idea. Frankie blows it by nearly crying when he loses a hundred dollar bet, showing that he wasn't in the same league as the big players. He showed, just as Christopher showed, that he was small-time. You either have it or you don't. Chris can never see the big picture. He is doomed to always be a petty thief.

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On the Arab issue. Some may complain that these can't be Muslim fundamentalists or terrorists because they drink alcohol and glom girls at the Bing or even that they have dogs. It happens that Takfir Wal Hijra members are permitted to disregard the injunctions of Islamic law in order to blend into infidel societies.

In other words, Takfirs can have sex with loose women, drink alcohol, eat pork and do whatever else they feel is appropriate to advance their mission. From rotten.com

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Carlo Giuliano plays Italo the second tailor from Italy. Not to be confused with Carlo Guiliano who was assassinated by Italian police in Genoa Italy, 2001.

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Disclaimer: Some images are screenshots from a copyrighted film, and the copyright is likely owned by the studio which produced it, and possibly by any actors appearing in the screenshot. It is believed that the use of a limited number of web-resolution screenshots for identification and critical commentary on the film and its contents by Planck's Constant - a non-commercial blog - qualifies as fair use.