Soon after this scene, as Phil Collins’ “One More Night” blares out over the bar speakers, Felson hears the crack of balls on the pool table behind him. Startled, he notices the energetic Lauria taking command over the table. After a few minutes of examination, Felson invites Lauria and his girlfriend out for dinner. It’s at this meal that he begins to pitch Lauria on becoming a full-time player, and, his protege. He sees greatness in him – maybe a little bit of his former self.
He tells Lauria that being a student of the game is akin to being a student of human behavior. Cruise’s Lauria has Felson’s watch in his hand during this conversation. Felson then bets the dinner bill that he can leave with a woman at the bar in two minutes. Through a little trickery, he gets the woman to agree to leave with him, before returning to the table to announce his victory. At this moment we get a clear view of the watch in Lauria’s hand as Felson says, “Human moves, kid. You study the watch but I study you. You get the check.” He then takes back the watch, and throws cash on the table for a cab, and leaves. It doesn’t get more Paul Newman than that.