The burglar was a hitman/felon named Vaslos. Bill hired him to kill Aaron (the main character) because he was in love with Aaron's wife (Jan), but she wouldn't leave Aaron to be with him.
Vaslos was supposed to wait inside Aaron's house and kill him after the poker game, but one of Aaron's friends discovered him first, screamed, and changed the outcome.
The person watching was Vaslos's cousin and partner-in-crime.
No its pretty damn good...watch it and then judge it...the twists are clear, but you have to watch the whole movie...clearly it wasn't make strictly for nbc. Every other word Messner says is a curse word. The network basically just get rid of the sound when he curses.