Brian De Palma cast Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo because he had loved Johnny le dangereux (1984). De Palma reportedly laughed hysterically throughout an advance screening of the film.
The casino in Atlantic City was also used as a location in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (1986).
According to Hollywood columnist Peter Bart, United Artists personally screened a rough cut for Billy Wilder, at the request of studio head Jerry Weintraub. After the screening, Weintraub asked Wilder how he liked the film, and if he could offer any suggestions to Brian De Palma about how to make the film even better. Wilder's reply was: "It's a piece of shit! I can tell you how to make it less of a piece of shit, but it would still be a piece of shit!"
Rare comedy from director Brian De Palma, and first fully directed by him since Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972). Other De Palma comedies are mostly from his early work, and include Greetings (1968), Hi, Mom! (1970), the co-directed student film Home Movies (1979), The Wedding Party (1969), and Le bûcher des vanités (1990).