If Hollywood ever makes a sequel to the gambling flick “Rounders,” I would vote for Ryan Miller to replace Matt Damon as the lead actor.

First of all, having someone with Miller’s wiry stature succeed on the big screen would give hopes of stardom to all skinny kids - like me, Mike Chappell and Grover from “Sesame Street.”

But I digress.

On a more “serious” note, I’d endorse Miller for the role because he’s got a great poker face. And that’s what you need to be a successful gambler, right? That, and three stacks of high society.

Again, digression.

Of course, Miller’s not a gambler. He is MSU’s all-everything goaltender that, seemingly forever, has been weighing an early jump to professional hockey against returning for his senior season with the Spartans.

All summer, fans and media have badgered the 6-foot-2, 170-pound East Lansing native for and update on the situation between him and the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted him in the fifth round in 1999. All summer, Miller has given vague answers to those questions - which is probably a smart thing to do.

He doesn’t want to jeopardize his MSU career by committing an NCAA violation in dealing with the Sabres (college players can’t have agents negotiate with pro teams). But he also doesn’t want to scare off the Sabres by sounding too keen on returning to MSU.

To maintain this balancing act, Miller holds his cards so close to his chest that the ink probably bleeds onto his jersey.

I was talking to sophomore center Jim Slater the other day, and I asked him if he knew anything about Miller’s status. He said, “No” and asked me if I knew anything about it. I said, “No.”

It wasn’t a very informative conversation, but it is pretty indicative of the situation - nobody knows anything, except Miller, a few people in the Sabres organization and probably some family members.

And trying to get any of them to say anything is harder than getting a puck past Miller. I haven’t talked to Ryan in about six days, but I can’t imagine I’m missing too many new developments. The time I called him last week was just like the time I called him two weeks ago, which was just like the time I called him a month ago.

“I’m keeping all my options open and trying to make the best decision for me and my career,” Miller said. “I’m trying not to negotiate through the media, so I don’t have too much information for you right now.”

You know that Miller knows more than he’s letting on, but he unwaveringly sticks to his negotiating strategy of keeping things private. Meanwhile, plenty of people would love to know what’s really going on.

MSU head coach Rick Comley seems to be getting tired of fielding questions about his star goalie, especially because he probably knows as much about the situation as the questioner.

And then there’s Justin Tobe, a 17-year-old goaltender from Northville whose entire 2002-03 hockey year depends on Miller’s decision. If Miller leaves, Tobe will play at MSU. If Miller stays, Tobe will play another year of junior hockey. Tobe verbally committed to MSU in February, but he doesn’t know any more about his status now than he did six months ago.

The sad reality for Spartan fans - maybe good for Tobe - is that Miller’s probably gone. He obviously wants to play pro hockey, otherwise he wouldn’t let this negotiating process drag out so long. Sabres general manager Darcy Regier has publicly said he wants to sign Miller and have him start for Buffalo’s minor-league affiliate next year.

Player wants to leave school, team wants player to leave school. A second-grader could finish off that equation.

All the same, I know Miller loves MSU.

Seeing him get misty-eyed after the Spartans lost to Colorado College in the NCAA Tournament proves he loves the hockey team. Seeing him party the night away at Rick’s American Café shows that he enjoys East Lansing’s social life. Hearing him talk about business exams in the middle of the hockey season verifies that he cares about academics.

But knowing he’s trying to strike a deal with the Sabres proves that he values a professional career and wants the money that comes with it. Who can blame him?

Miller is in a tough public position, although it’s hard to feel bad for someone that will sign a multimillion-dollar contract in the next year.

Personally, I hope he stays. And I hope he’s as stingy with goals next season as he is with words this summer.

James Jahnke is the State News hockey reporter. E-mail him at jahnkeja@msu.edu.