A passion for gambling has been running through Brian’s veins since a very young age when his father used to take him to the racetrack and teach him secret gambling techniques and strategies. When it came to major sporting events at his school, Brian would act as a bookkeeper for his friends.

Brian Molony

His father was a Doctor while his mother stayed at home to take care of their four children: Brian and his three siblings. After high school, Brian attended the University of Western Ontario where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in hopes of becoming a financial writer.

As Brian Mahowny, Philip Seymour Hoffman delivers a complex and layered performance. His character is constantly tormented and his internal turmoil is physically expressed by Hoffman with an economy of movement and expression.

Upon graduation, he applied at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and scored so high on their entrance exam that he was immediately put on the fast track to earning a managing position.

• Brian Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At 24, he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district.
• Brian Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district.
• 'Mahowny': A Director's Dicey Move Pays Off Big.

Brian had a serious girlfriend throughout college and was living with her in a small apartment near the High Park neighborhood while he was working there. By the time Brian turned twenty-six years of age, he was named assistant manager of his branch, which is an amazing accomplishment for someone so young.

With his promotion came the power to accept or deny loans the bank processed and access to almost all of the accounts the bank owned.

During his prime, he was betting up to $75,000 a hand and winning millions of dollars almost every weekend through playing anything from craps to poker. He even dabbled in sports betting, waging $500,000 on the winning team of the Superbowl, and successfully doubling his money overnight.

Brian Mahowny

He spent his money almost as quickly as he had earned it, by taking expensive trips to Las Vegas in less than two years.

Synopsis

Brian Mahowny True Story

Brian Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At 24, he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet, but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Brian Mahowny--the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in eighteen months to feed his gambling obsession.