Business & Tech

Loss of 'Luck' Costs 100s of Jobs, Thousands in Fees

The show was a boon to Arcadia's Santa Anita Race Track, which received up to $20,000 a day in fees.

threw a couple of hundred people out of work and cost —where much of the show was set and shot--$10,000 to $20,000 a day in fees, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"Luck" employed about 180 crew members, 23 actors with regular and recurring roles, 20 weekly or day player actors, in addition to dozens of extras.

The surprise cancellation happened as the show was shooting the second episode of its proposed second season, the Times reported.

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“Luck" was also a boon to the Santa Anita racetrack, which generated $10,000 to $20,000 a day in site fees from the series. About 75 people who work at the track earned extra income working as riders, gate guards and extras.

The show also offered a new generation an introduction to the fabled race track, even if the show's depiction of the people and the sport were occasionally less than complimentary. :

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“As for the decision by HBO to cease production on LUCK, that is obviously their decision alone.  While many have expressed disappointment in the direction some of the characters and episodes had gone, we feel badly that so many LUCK-related jobs have now been eliminated.

“Going in, we felt this was a great opportunity to reach a younger demographic and in many cases, expose them to our great sport for the first time.  Although Santa Anita looked magnificent on screen it’s safe to say this is a missed opportunity on several levels.”

What do you think of the entire episode? Do you think Santa Anita is better off without the show, or is the loss of the show a blow to the race track and its denizens?

You can read Arcadia Patch's previous coverage of Luck below:






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