Jerry Lee was played by Rando, a 3-year-old German Shepherd from West Germany. A year-long search was held to find the right dog for the role. Over 40 dogs were considered but none of the American German Shepherds were deemed suitable. Rando trained for 3 months with Karl Lewis Miller and learned to understand commands in English.
At the dinner party given by the gangster, there is a butler walking across a room behind a doorway. The butler is Michael John Robert Gill who was working with the catering staff hired for the film. After the filming, he actually served the food used in the scene to the cast and crew. Gill was not an actor but was actually a real English butler, and for seven years he was butler to British actor Laurence Harvey, prior to his death.
Contrary to the claim made by Jim Belushi's character that his car is a classic 1965 Mustang, the only '65 mustang in the movie is the one at the end when they are driving to Vegas. Any others used in the movie are '66 models.
The game played by Dooley in his car is a Game and Watch from Nintendo. The game is called "Manhole", which was released in 1983.
The waiter serving Jim belushi at the Hotel Del Coronado is Dan castellaneta. the voice of Homer Simpson on the long running animated comedy "The Simpsons".