“Casino”, a 1995 film by Martin Scorsese about the rise and fall of the mafia’s stranglehold on Las Vegas starring Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone, recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its release in November of 1995. “Casino” is one of the best films ever made about Las Vegas and the first 45 minutes of the film is a both an homage to Sin City and vintage Scorsese.
“Casino” is often referred to “Goodfellas in Vegas” and there’s certainly an element of truth to that assessment. Like every one of Scorsese’s films, he’s telling multiple stories at once while making a social commentary about American greed and violence.
The Gambler's Fallacy. The Gambler's Fallacy is the idea that past behavior influences future behavior. In everyday life, it's a good strategy — there are all kinds of ways that events in the. Apr 19, 2017 “Casino” is one of the all-time great movies about Las Vegas. The film, released in 1995, was inspired by real people and, in large part, actual events. “Casino” is a funny, violent, eye-opening glimpse into the colorful history and culture of Las Vegas casinos, and the film has helped shape how many perceive Sin City, for better or worse.
- Release: November 1995
- Produced by: Barbara De Fina
- Written by: Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
- Distributed by: Universal Pictures
On the surface, “Casino” is a gangster flick set in Vegas, but it’s also about a tragic love story that inevitably leads to the downfall of a gambling empire. “Casino” is both a love letter and cautionary tale about the mafia’s involvement in Las Vegas before corporations took over in the 1980s and turned it into adult Disneyworld.
Scorsese made “Casino” with a budget between $40 million and $50 million, and it earned $116 million at the box office.
Casino: Based on a True Story
Scorsese’s film is directly inspired and based on “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas”, a non-fiction written by Nicholas Pileggi, which focuses on the mafia as silent partners in Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s and early 1980s. Pileggi tells the story about a Chicago bookmaker named Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who was tapped by mafia bosses to run the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas. Lefty’s childhood friend, Anthony Spilotro, is also sent to Vegas to watch Lefty’s back and provide security for the Stardust. In Sin City, Spilotro and his crew quickly rise to power as Las Vegas’ most-notorious crime figure.
Scorsese and Pileggi co-authored the screenplay for “Casino”, but changed the names of all the main figures involved. Lefty Rosenthal becomes Ace Rothstein in the film, while Tony Spilotro becomes Nicky Santoro.
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Casino: Ace Go to Vegas
“Casino” starts in 1973. The teamsters union, which has deep connections to the Chicago mafia, loans $62.7 million to real estate developer Philip Green (Kevin Pollack) to open a new casino in Las Vegas called the Tangiers.
The Italian mafia bosses send a Jewish bookmaker and gambler, Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert DeNiro), to manage the Tangiers. After running into problems as a sports bettor and bookie. Ace is thrilled to operate in Las Vegas were gambling and bookmaking is legalized.
“I was given paradise on Earth,” said Ace in a voiceover. “Las Vegas washes away your sins, like a morality car wash.”
Ace micromanages the Tangiers, which becomes highly profitable. Meanwhile, the mafia secretly takes their cut by skimming profits from the count room.
“In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose. In the end, we get it all.”
While gamblers flock to Las Vegas, criminals and cheaters are also drawn to Sin City for a quick score.
“Since the players are trying to beat the casinos, the dealers are watching the players,” said Ace. “The boxmen are watching the dealers. The floormen are watching the boxmen. The pit bosses are watching the floormen. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I’m watching the casino manager, and the eye in the sky is watching them all.”
When Ace catches a cheater, the security enacts swift and violent “cheaters’ justice” in the back room to deter future cheaters.
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Nicky and Ginger
The mob also sends enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) to keep an eye on Ace and the casino. Most importantly, Santoro ensures the mob can “skim” the profits without any impediments. He’s also a deterrent if any other mobsters from other cities try to cheat or muscle their way in on the Tangiers.
As Nicky succinctly put it, “There’s a lots of holes in the desert, and lot of problems buried in those holes.”
Nicky expands his empire in the shadows of Las Vegas in criminal activities ranging from loansharking to high-end robberies.
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At the heart of casino is a tragic love story between two star-crossed lovers. Ace falls in love with a high-class prostitute and hustler named Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone).
“Ginger had the hustlers’ code,” explained Ace. “She knew how to take care of people. And that’s what Vegas is all about. It’s kick-back city.”
Ginger admitted that she’d never truly love Ace, he thinks otherwise and proceeds with the nuptials. Ginger loves the lavish lifestyle with money, clothes, jewelry, and drugs.
“For a girl like Ginger, love cost a lot of money,” added Ace.
The more that Ace tried to domesticate Ginger, the further they grew apart.
Ginger’s ex-boyfriend/pimp Lester (James Woods) is a low-rent golf hustler from LA that weaves in and out of Ginger’s life, mostly when he’s broke and needs money. When Ginger unsuccessfully tries to run away with Lester, she eventually drifts towards Nicky to protect her.
Ace finally gives up on Ginger after she robbed his “kidnapping” money, or a stash of over $1 million in a safe deposit box at a bank in Los Angeles.
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The Fall, Goodbye Vegas
As the 1970s bleed into the 1980s, cocaine abuse accelerates the lunacy. Ginger grows more uncontrollable. Nicky’s criminals ways get sloppier, which draws more attention from both authorities and the press.
Ace loses his edge as well due to his increasing martial problems. He also runs into issues with local state officials and they deny him a gaming license. Ace hits the airwaves to express his grievances. The blitz of press irked the bosses back home. They were also growing increasingly concerned about Nicky’s cowboy antics. When the monthly “skim” from the Tangiers is reduced from $700,000 at its peak to just a few thousand dollars, the bosses decide it’s time to liquidate their problems.
Nicky and his brother are inevitable whacked in a cornfield somewhere between Vegas and Kansas City.
The mafia also attempt to kill Ace by blowing up his car. However, he catches a lucky break and survives the bombing. Ace realizes his luck in Vegas — in love, life, and with gambling — has run out. He “retires” from the gaming business and relocates to San Diego where he returns to handicapping horse races and betting on sports.
Casino ends with bittersweet soliloquy from Ace over a montage of the modern-day Las Vegas run by beancounters and corporations.
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Casino: 120 Characters and 7,000 Extras
Scorsese likes to cast actors he worked with on previous projects, so it wasn’t a shock to see both Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro return to the screen together.
Scorsese included many old-school Vegas entertainers in “Casino”, including comedian Don Rickles in a straight role as casino manager Billy Sherbert.
Performers such as Frankie Avalon and Jerry Vale appear in “Casino” as himself. Long-time Las Vegas mayor, and former mob lawyer, Oscar Goodman also makes a cameo. Dick Smothers from the Smothers Brothers fame plays a crooked state senator.
| CASINO CAST |
- Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (Robert DeNiro)
- Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci)
- Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone)
- Billy Sherbert (Don Rickles)
- Philip Green (Kevin Pollack)
- Lester Diamond (James Woods)
- Andy Stone (Alan King)
- Frank Marino (Frank Vincent)
- Senator (Dick Smothers)
- Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano)
- Oscar Goodman (as Himself)
- Frankie Avalon (as Himself)
- Jerry Vale (as Himself)
“Casino” earned multiple nominations at the Academy Awards. Sharon Stone earned an Oscars nomination for best actress, but she lost out to Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”). However, Stone won the Golden Globe for her portrayal of Ginger McKenna. Cinephiles often highlight Stone in “Casino” as her greatest on-screen performance.
Scorsese was snubbed at the Oscars, but he earned a nomination for best directing at the Golden Globes.
The costume and wardrobe budget for this film exceeded $1 million.
Casino Easter Eggs and Did You Know?
Scorsese often casts his parents in his films. Catherine Scorsese is most known from her cameos in “Goodfellas” as Joe Pesci’s mother. In “Casino”, she plays Piscano’s mother. It’s her final film role before she passed away in 1997.
The legendary Saul Bass created the opening credits for “Casino”, in addition to “Goodfellas”.
The fictional Tangiers Casino is based on the Stardust Casino, where Lefty Rosenthal managed in the 1970s.
Exteriors for the Tangiers were filmed outside the old Las Vegas Hilton and the Flamingo. Interiors of the Tangiers were filmed inside the Riviera Casino between 2am and 10am. Scorsese cast real dealers, pit bosses, and floor managers to create an air of authenticity to the gambling scenes.
The famous money count scene was filmed on a soundstage in Hollywood. Nevada gaming laws would not allow a film crew inside a real counting room.
Sharon Stone won the role of Ginger, but Scorsese considered other actresses including Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Melanie Griffith, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Rene Russo.
Scorsese knew that the ratings committee would flag the gratuitous usage of the f-bomb (over 420 times) and other violent scenes. He included the “head in the vice” scene and intended to sacrifice it to the MPAA in order to keep the rest of his film intact, but it surprisingly did not get flagged. The vice scene is a true story that appeared in Pileggi’s book when Tony Spilotro tortured someone using a vice to extract information.
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More Sports and Gambling Movies
OG wrote about some of your favorite sports films ad gambling movies.
If you are looking for “Casino” on streaming services, it’s currently not available for free. However, you can rent it on various platforms including Amazon and Apple.
Questioning the Story:
Did Sam Rothstein manage any other casinos besides Tangiers?
Unlike the portrayal in the movie Casino where Sam 'Ace' Rothstein (Robert De Niro) runs only one casino, the Tangiers, in real life Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal ran four casinos simultaneously, including the Stardust, Hacienda, Fremont and Marina for the Chicago mafia. For legal reasons, the Stardust was renamed the Tangiers in the film. -Las Vegas Sun
Did teamsters really fund the Tangiers?Yes. After being pressured by the mob, the Teamsters fund loaned the Argent Corporation, solely owned by Allen Glick, the money to buy the Stardust and other casinos. Mr. Glick was portrayed in the movie Casino by character Philip Green (Kevin Pollak). -Online Nevada Encyclopedia
Did security really crush the hands of a cheater?
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According to Frank Rosenthal himself, yes, this did occur but not under the circumstances portrayed in the movie Casino. The two men who were electronically signaling each other were part of a larger group that had been scamming all the casinos for an extended period of time. The actions taken were meant as a message to the group to deter any of the others from coming back to do the same. -Miami Herald
Did Sam and Ginger have a daughter like in the movie?
The Casino movie true story reveals that Sam and Ginger Rothstein's real-life counterparts, Frank and Geraldine Rosenthal, had a daughter named Stephanie and a son name Steven. Geraldine also had a daughter from a previous relationship with her high school love, Lenny Marmor (James Woods' character in the movie). Robin Marmor was born on December 27, 1957, and was eleven years old when her mother met Frank. She was not depicted in the movie. To learn more about Frank Rosenthal's wife and family, read Nicholas Pileggi's book Casino, which was the basis for the Martin Scorsese movie.
Were the lion performers Sam hired to work at the Tangiers based on Siegfried and Roy?
Indeed they were. When Siegfried and Roy's contract was about to expire with a competing casino, Mr. Rosenthal (Sam) hired them to perform at the Stardust. Part of the agreement was a significantly higher salary, custom dressing room and space for their animals. 'Lido de Paris Starring Siegfried and Roy' was born and so was a friendship that lasted a lifetime. -FrankRosenthal.com
Did Nicky really get banned from every casino in Vegas?Yes. In December 1979, Tony Spilotro, the real-life Nicky Santoro, was blacklisted by the Nevada Gaming Commission, preventing him from entering any casino.
Did the real Nicky Santoro have a son?
Yes. In 1966, Tony and Nancy Spilotro (the real Nicky and Jennifer Santoro) adopted their only son, Vincent. -The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law vs. The Mob
Did Nicky really recruit his brother and other guys from back home to commit heists?
Yes. The pack was referred to as 'The Hole in the Wall Gang' because they cut holes in walls and ceilings to enter their target locations. Included in this group were his brother, Michael Spilotro, Herbert 'Fat Herbie' Blitzstein, Wayne Metecki, Samuel Cusumano, Joseph Cusumano, Ernesto 'Ernie' Davino, 'Crazy Larry' Neumann, Salvatore 'Sonny' Romano, Leonardo 'Leo' Guardino, Joseph Blasko and their leader, Frank Cullotta. Frank Cullotta is portrayed in the movie Casino by actor Frank Vincent, as Nicky Santoro's sidekick Frankie Marino.
Did they really put a rival's head in a vise after he shot up a bar?
Yes. Anthony Spilotro, the basis for Joe Pesci's Nicky Santoro character, caught one of the two men who killed the Scalvo brothers without permission. Frank Cullotta testified in the Operation Family Secrets trial that Spilotro did torture Billy McCarthy. Spilotro told him that McCarthy was beaten and when he refused to name his accomplice, his head was put in a vise and tightened until his eyeball popped out. At that point, he gave them Jimmy Miraglia's name and they slit his throat. -Sun Times
Did Nicky Santoro sleep with Sam Rothstein's wife?
Yes, the real Nicky Santoro, Tony Spilotro, did sleep with Frank Rosenthal's wife, which ultimately played a part in his demise. Nicholas Calabrese testified in the Operation Family Secrets trial in 2007 that mob hit man John Fecarotta told him that Spilotro was targeted for his affair with Rosenthal's wife. -Chicago Tribune
Was Phillip Green's business partner, Anna Scott, murdered in her home?Yes. The real-life Anna Scott, Tamara Rand, was murdered in the kitchen of her San Diego home. She was shot on November 9, 1975 soon after having loan issues with her mob-tied business partner, Allen Glick. -San Diego Reader
Was there really a Gaming Control Board investigation into Sam's attempt to get a gaming license?
Yes. The real Sam, Frank Rosenthal, did have a hearing with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Furthermore, he argued with the chairman, the current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and was denied a gaming license. In 1988, he was officially put in the 'Black Book' (List of Persons Excluded from Licensed Gaming Establishments in the State of Nevada). -Las Vegas Sun
Did FBI agents run out of gas and land their plane on a fairway?
According to the Casino true story, the FBI agents did land their plane on the fairway at the Las Vegas Country Club where the Rosenthals lived. However, it was due to mechanical problems rather than a lack of fuel. -Skimming the Las Vegas Casinos
Did the real Sam 'Ace' Rothstein have his own TV show?
Yes he did. The Frank Rosenthal Show was taped at the Stardust and brought in many big-name guests, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Wayne Newton, Liberace and O.J. Simpson. For those of you who are curious, he claims to have never juggled on the show. -FrankRosenthal.com
Was Sam the best handicapper in America?According to Sports Illustrated, Frank Rosenthal is 'one of the greatest living experts on sports gambling'. -Sports Illustrated article 'The Biggest Game in Town'
Is Sam responsible for putting sports betting into casinos?
Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, the real Sam, is credited with putting sports betting in Las Vegas casinos. In 1976, he set up the first sports book in the Stardust, which featured six large televisions. -USA Today
Did Sam and Ginger really get divorced?
Yes. According to Frank, the real story is that he filed for the divorce and for full custody of their children. Geri did not contest it. Their divorce was finalized on January 16, 1981. -FrankRosenthal.com
Did Ginger really try to run off with their daughter and Lester?
According to Frank Rosenthal (the real Sam Rothstein), his wife and her ex-boyfriend, Lenny Marmor, ran off with his daughter, his son and his money. In the movie, Lenny Marmor is the Lester Diamond character portrayed by James Woods. -FrankRosenthal.com
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Did Artie Piscano die of a heart attack when the FBI found mob records in his home?
No. The Casino movie character Artie Piscano was based on Carl 'Tuffy' DeLuna. The raid on his home happened on February 14, 1979. Unlike what is depicted in the movie, Tuffy did not die of a heart attack during the raid. He was sentenced to prison for his participation in skimming Las Vegas casinos and was released in 1998. He died ten years later on July 21, 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri. -The Chicago Syndicate
Did Sam survive a car bomb assassination attempt?Yes. On October 4, 1982, Frank Rosenthal left Tony Roma's restaurant on East Sahara Avenue and got into his Cadillac which then exploded. Amazingly, he survived with minor burns and injuries. A variety of factors have been attributed to his survival, including a metal plate under the driver's seat, the driver's side door being open at the time of the explosion, and pure luck. -NY Times
Why did Sam's car have a metal plate under the driver's seat?
The 1981 Cadillac Eldorado had a balancing problem that was affecting the car's handling. GM installed the metal plate under the driver's seat to correct the problem. -UniqueCarsandParts.com/au
Did Ginger end up with low lives and drug dealers in Los Angeles?
Yes. The true story behind Geri Rosenthal (Ginger in the movie) reveals that her interaction with these people ultimately led to her untimely death. On November 9, 1982, at the age of 46, she died in an LA motel from a drug overdose of valium, cocaine and whiskey. She is buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Were Nicky Santoro and his brother, Dominick, really killed?Yes, the real-life Spilotro brothers were beaten to death, but not in a cornfield as portrayed in the movie. According to Nicholas Calabrese, a former mob hitman who testified in the Operation Family Secrets trial, the brothers were told they were being promoted in the mob. Anthony Spilotro was to become a 'capo' and his brother, Michael, was to become a 'made member'. They were driven to a mob home in Bensenville, Illinois and were beaten to death in the basement. They were later transported to the cornfield in Enos, Indiana.
-Chicago TribuneIs the real Sam still alive?
Mr. Rosenthal died at the age of 79 after suffering a heart attack at his Miami Beach home on October 13, 2008. -NY Times
Did Sam insist on having an equal number of blueberries in each muffin?
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According to Nicholas Pileggi, author of the book Casino, Frank Rosenthal was extremely meticulous. He did regulate the number of blueberries per muffin, with each muffin containing at least ten blueberries. -NY Times
Casino: Behind the Movie Interviews & Video
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Watch video featuring interviews with Frank Rosenthal, the real Sam Rothstein, portrayed by Robert De Niro in the movie. Also, see footage of Tony Spilotro, the real Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci).
Casino Movie Black 26 Cast
Frank Rosenthal Interview Watch Frank Rosenthal interviews andhistoric video featuring mobster AnthonySpilotro, portrayed by Joe Pesci in themovie Casino. |
Casino Trailer Watch the Casino movie trailerfor the film starring Robert De Niro, JoePesci and Sharon Stone. Directed by MartinScorcese, Casino tells the storyof sports handicapper Frank 'Lefty'Rosenthal in mob-run Las Vegas during the1970's. |