Elbow your way inside the bustling Hard Rock casino and take a seat at a blackjack table. Maybe, just maybe, the dealer's face will seem familiar.

It's a round, regular guy's face, more Kevin James than Brad Pitt. No cleft chin or distinguishing profile. Nothing that makes him stand out in a crowd.

If you're a movie buff, chances are good you'll find something about Frank Tagliareni Jr.'s face that rings a bell. He's carved an interesting niche in movies and television by not standing out in a crowd.

If you've ever watched one of those cop movies where the star cracks wise with the jaded desk sergeant, you might remember the actor/dealer whose screen credit reads Frank Patton.

If you've watched one of those Vegas action flicks, you've probably caught a glimpse of our man dealing.

Some people would call that typecasting, considering the fact Tagliareni has been dealing cards since 1993, the past two years at the Hard Rock. Those who know him realize he's pursued acting as a profession since the late 1970s, when he used his skill with impersonations to land a voice-over as an ant in a "Sesame Street" cartoon. From such humble beginnings are big dreams and 30-year journeys launched.

Despite making appearances in more than 40 movies and television programs, Tagliareni is the first to admit he's no star. In most appearances, he's listed by job description.

He played a bouncer on "Las Vegas," a stick man on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," a roulette dealer on "Alias," a desk clerk in "Angel Blade," a lockbox carrier in "Ocean's Eleven," a croupier on "Chicago Hope," a dealer in "Out to Sea," and a hustler in "Vegas Vacation." He was also a repairman on "Adam 12," a deliveryman on "General Hospital" and a doorman on "Cagney & Lacey."

This guy has trouble keeping a job.

Then there are Tagliareni's appearances on screen as a police officer, a job title the New Jersey native held in reality while living in New York. Though not always in the credits, he wears a badge in "Collision Course," "The House on Carroll Street," "The Equalizer," "Fort Apache, the Bronx," "Lady Cop," "Last Action Hero," "Deadly Illusion," "Legal Eagles," "Superior Court," "Streets of Gold," "Death Wish 3," "Ghost Busters," "Track Down," "Amityville II," "Wrong is Right" and "Ragtime."

He also played a cop in "Ishtar," a movie in which not even the stars stood out. He played a dancing cop in "Off Beat."

Speaking of offbeat, Tagliareni was a "Plato's Retreat Patron" in "New York Nights," a bartender in "Eddie and the Cruisers" and a subway passenger in "Six Weeks."

He chased acting jobs from New York to Los Angeles and was up for the leading role in the TV series "The Commish." When that didn't come through, he moved to Las Vegas and grabbed a job dealing cards. He found stability in a city that promotes fantasy.

He still lands minor roles, most recently in an as-yet-untitled blackjack movie. In Las Vegas, he can live his dream and have a life.

"It's not steady," he says. "You don't get as many auditions living here. But when something comes from out of the blue, the fever kicks in."

He caught the acting bug as a schoolboy, where he developed his James Cagney impersonation. Years later, he talked his way into a meeting with Cagney. The two became friends and even traded Cody Jarrett lines from the great actor's gangster epic "White Heat."

When Cagney called Tagliareni "a big prosciutto," the Hollywood dreamer beamed. He's followed that dream for three decades.

If he's disappointed his career didn't reach the top of the world, it doesn't show.

"It's all luck," he says. "It's being in the right place at the right time."

Why focus on the career of a Hollywood bit player?

Because Frank Tagliareni is what Las Vegas is all about.

Las Vegas is marketed as a land of ultimate fantasy. In reality, it's a working-class factory town with clean fingernails.

Beyond the hype, Las Vegas is a place where a regular guy with a dream can earn a living while waiting for his day in the spotlight.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.