In the 1998 movie “Rounders”, which provides a look into the world of high-stakes poker, main character Mike McDermott (played by Matt Damon) heads for Las Vegas in the final scene after making a big score. He settles some big debts but still has $30,000 in his pocket, or, as he puts it, “three stacks of high society”, poker lexicon for individual $10,000 stacks of chips at a poker table.

Last weekend at The Meadowlands, players walked away with two stacks of high society, not to mention a handful of other bets that paid off quite handsomely during the 28 races that were conducted Feb. 5-6.

Friday’s five-figure payout went to one sharp player wagering into the Belmont Park hub. That bettor was the only one with a winning ticket in the 20-cent Survivor Pick 7 and walked away with $10,886.

But that was merely High Society Stack No. 1.

After three longshots finished among the top five in the 10-cent Hi-5/Pentafecta on Friday night, a carryover of $21,961 led to track management guaranteeing the pool at $60,000 for Saturday’s card, which created another opportunity for a big payoff.

When the bell rung at the start of the 15th race, a total of $79,254 was in the pool, and when the field hit the wire, 16-1 shot Western Redhot topped a Hi-5 that returned a handsome $10,094 despite the first, third and fifth choices in the wagering finishing in the top five. There were seven winning tickets sold.

Saturday’s Pick 7 may not have reached the level of high society, but it certainly was not low. Despite four favorites scoring during the sequence, those with winning tickets cashed in for $5,983, which represented one of the one dozen four-figure payouts during the weekend.

“The Meadowlands certainly has built up a lot of momentum in 2021,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “The little bettor can make scores and the bigger players have enormous pools to wager into that are much larger than last year. Full fields, low takeouts, a great wagering menu on a mile track and an incredible on-track and social media presentation are just some of the reasons new players have made The Meadowlands their wagering destination every Friday and Saturday night.”

Speaking of momentum, The Big M’s big January kept rolling into February, as the $7-million barrier was busted for a second consecutive weekend. During all of 2020 – except for Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian weekends – that plateau was reached only once, and that weekend (June 19-20) needed 36 races to bet $7.5 million.

Wagering last weekend over the corresponding two programs from 2020 was up $1,691,263. Jan. 5 was the first Friday in 2021 that saw betting top the $3-million mark, while the $3.966 million put in play on Saturday fell less than $35,000 short of becoming the third $4-million card of the year.

Comparing the last four programs of this year against the corresponding ones from 2020, wagering is up $773,650 per card.

THE SCHEDULE: Live racing at The Meadowlands takes place every Friday and Saturday evening. Post time is 6 p.m. (EST).

The track’s live “Racing from the Meadowlands” pre-game show begins at 5:27 p.m. (EST).

FREE PPs FOR ALL: Thanks to an agreement between The Meadowlands and TrackMaster, past performances for every race of every Big M program are now available at no cost.

To access the free PPs, go to playmeadowlands.com.

GET SOCIAL: You can always check in with the team at The Meadowlands on Twitter.

For early changes, racing information and staff selections, go to @themeadowlands or #playbigm.

On race nights, stay in touch on Twitter with the Big M’s Dave Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little (@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover), Shades Demsky (@shadesonracing) and Jessica Otten (@JessicaOtten1).

$100,000 GUARANTEED: Every night, The Meadowlands guarantees big green on both editions of its signature wager.

Each 50-cent Pick 4 (one gets underway in Race 6, the other in Race 10) sports a $50,000 guaranteed pool. Last Saturday, the Early P4 saw $105,074 pushed through the windows while the late version of the popular puzzle took in $92,281 of action.

SIX LOW TAKEOUT BETS: A large part of The Meadowlands popularity with players are its big payoffs, big pools and enticing low 15 percent takeouts.

The menu of The Big M’s six sought-after low takeout wagers:

• Race 1: 20-cent Pick 5
• Race 3: 20-cent Survivor Pick 7
• Race 6: 50-cent Early Pick 4
• Race 8: 20-cent Pick 6
• Race 10: 50-cent Late Pick 4
• Race 15 (or final race): 10-cent Hi-5/Pentafecta

(The Meadowlands)