FX's Lucky, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m., at first seems like a heart-wrenching television drama. Its characters are hopeless gambling addicts, living from day-to-day in Las Vegas. Some of them have tried to seek help and curb their addictions only to allow extenuating circumstances to drag them right back into the casinos.

This show couldn't possibly be a television sitcom, right? Wrong. Even with the serious, real-life problem of excessive gambling at its core, the entertaining Lucky can't help but entertain and draw some laughs.

Most responsible for this feat is series star John Corbett, who plays gambling addict Michael "Lucky" Linkletter. At the start of the series, Lucky wins $1 million at a poker championship, but as luck would have it, winds up broke and recently widowed one year later. Determined to turn around his life, Lucky attends gamblers anonymous meetings and tries to find legitimate work. In last Tuesday's hilarious episode, Lucky sought to embark on a new career path selling meat, only to embroil himself in an entertaining "meat war" with some pseudo-Mafia competitors. But by the end of the episode, Lucky was again out of work, back at the craps table.

Corbett, best known for his roles in Sex and the City and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, does a great job making this character likeable. With a happy-go-lucky swagger, Corbett turns what could have been an irritating character into an endearing one whom we cheer, despite his flaws.

It's not clear how much longer the show will be able to realistically portray gambling in an entertaining light, as the habit's eventual pitfalls may soon wear down the comic element of the show. In the meantime, though, Lucky is proving an amusing Tuesday night treat.

-- Reviewed by Roger Mahon