Casino (film)

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Casino

Theatrical movie poster
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Produced by Barbara De Fina
Written by Nicholas Pileggi
Martin Scorsese
Starring Robert De Niro
Joe Pesci
Sharon Stone
Frank Vincent
Don Rickles
Pasquale Cajano
James Woods
Kevin Pollak
Alan King
Cinematography Robert Richardson
Editing by Thelma Schoonmaker
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) November 22, 1995
Running time 178 min.
Country USA USA
Language English
Budget $52,000,000
IMDb profile

Casino is a 1995 film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. Robert De Niro stars as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a top gambling handicapper who is called by the Mob to oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The story is based on Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for The Mob from the 1970s until the early 1980s.

Joe Pesci plays Nicky Santoro, based on the real-life Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, an intimidating enforcer and psychopath. Santoro is sent by the Chicago Outfit to Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and that the casinos and mobsters in Vegas are kept in line. Sharon Stone plays Rothstein's wife, the self-obsessed, spoiled, devious and sly Ginger, a role that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

When it was released, Casino had the most uses of the word "fuck" (422) in a feature length film [1], but was surpassed two years later by the film Nil by Mouth [2] though it remains the highest number of uses of the word in an American fictional film.

Contents

Robert De Niro as Sam "Ace" Rothstein.
Robert De Niro as Sam "Ace" Rothstein.

The film begins with Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a sports handicapper for the mob, being entrusted by the four mob bosses of the Chicago Mafia and the Kansas City Mafia (Remo Gaggi, Vincent Borelli, Americo Capelli and Vinny Forlano) to oversee the management of the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas while they illegally skim the casino profits. The bosses send his boyhood friend, Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro (Joe Pesci) who is famous for his reckless and violent temper, to Vegas to "protect" Sam and the casino.

Later on, Sam meets and falls in love with an attractive hustler named Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone). Three months later, Sam proposes to Ginger, who claims to care for him but not enough to marry him. Sam eventually persuades her, and they have a daughter together named Amy.

Sam and Ginger.
Sam and Ginger.

Nicky's recklessness has got him barred from every casino in Las Vegas by being listed in the Black Book, barring him from any legally entering any casino. Nicky starts working for himself in Vegas, starting his own crew and jewelery business with his brother Dominick (Philip Suriano) and his right-hand man Frank Marino (Frank Vincent), although he is in reality stealing the jewelery and selling it to various dealers.

Sam is interviewed by a reporter concerning the running of the Tangiers' hotel. After hinting he runs the casino under the cover of the legal casino chairman, Phillip Green, Sam is forced to apply for a gaming license. The application is rejected as a favour to the county-commisioner, whom Sam had enraged earlier by firing his in-law.


Ginger's drug and alcohol addiction worsen after Sam learns she is financially aiding her former lover Lester Diamond (James Woods). Nicky arranges for Lester to be beaten up on his way to his car, prompting Ginger to turn against Sam. By way of revenge and to escape Sam, she and Lester take Amy and flee. Nicky persuades Ginger over the phone to return but Sam refuses to forgive her as she cannot admit to her cocaine use. Following a violent argument, Ginger leaves Sam and begins an affair with Nicky.

Back in the casino, the bosses learn that the suitcases of money delivered by Nance are getting lighter, since Nance's men have begun stealing more than usual for themselves. With Nance unable to stop them, the bosses put Artie Piscano (Vinny Vella), the Underboss of Kansas City, in charge of overseeing the operations, although his loud complaints are enough to allow the FBI, who had placed bugs in Piscano's grocery, to start an investigation. Worse, Piscano frustrated about not being reimbursed starts keeping precise records of the expenses, despite Borelli warning him not to.

Nicky and Ginger have their argument.
Nicky and Ginger have their argument.

Sam and Ginger's relationship hits a climax after Ginger ties Amy to her bed. Furious, Sam threatens to kill her prompting Ginger to turn to Nicky for assistance. However, Nicky, aghast at Ginger's mental state, refuses to help her and throws her bodily from his restaurant. Ginger drives to Sam's house in a fit of rage the following morning to collect her share of Sam's possessions. She is arrested by the FBI for aiding and abetting the Mob, through both Sam and Nicky.

Nicky is beaten along with his brother
Nicky is beaten along with his brother

Ginger's arrest and Piscano's big mouth start the crumbling of the casino empire. FBI agents storm Nicky's shop and the casino, getting as much information as they can. They also visit Sam with photographic studies of Nicky and Ginger kissing, which Sam doesn't want to look at. The bosses are arrested and taken to court, where they hold a meeting during a recess in a back room to decide which witnesses should be eliminated to stop them from ratting on them. Ginger sinks deeper into drug addiction, and eventually dies from an overdose, alone.

Nicky and his brother hold a meeting in an Indiana cornfield, but their own crew turns on them, with Marino throwing the first hit, which incapacitates Nicky. Marino apparently collaborated in the killing of the Santoro Brothers because he had enough of their dirty work. As Nicky is helplessly restrained by his crew, he watches in horror as they brutally beat his brother. Nicky is next, and after a severe beating, his crew buries them alive. Sam's narraration states the bosses had enough of Nicky and Dominick, and offered Marino and the gang clemency for executing them.

Sam himself is almost killed by a car bomb, but he escapes in time, knowing that the attempt on his life was not ordered by the bosses, instead suspecting Nicky to be the culprit before his death. The Tangiers Casino, along with more buildings, are shown to be levelled at the end of the film, and replaced with newer and even greedier-looking places. The film ends with Sam returning to his ordinary life as a sports handicapper for the mob.

The Tangiers Casino is based on The Stardust Resort & Casino,[3] which closed forever on November 1, 2006. Snippets of Hoagy Carmichael's composition Stardust in the soundtrack give a subtle hint as to the casino's true identity. Lester Diamond was reportedly going to be murdered and buried by Nicky and his crew as a favour for Sam in an early draft of the script, but this idea was changed under the fear of a lawsuit by Lenny Marmor, who is still living to this day. Frank Rosenthal is re-named Sam Rothstein for the film. This could be a nod to one of Joe Pesci's previous films, My Cousin Vinny, which features a character named "Stan Rothenstein" (played by Mitchell Whitfield).

  • The majority of the actual events took part in Kansas City, Missouri, even more so than Las Vegas. The film drastically minimizes the Kansas City Connections.
  • The character of Frank Marino (played by Frank Vincent and based on Frank Cullotta) participates in the killing of the Santoro brothers. In reality, Frank Cullotta was not present and played no part in the beating of the Spilotro brothers (on whom the Santoro brothers were based), and only betrayed them by testifying against them about the M & M murders when Anthony Spilotro ordered him killed over the phone, although Cullotta's testimony was not enough to convict Spilotro.
  • The character of John Nance, based on George Vandermark, is murdered in the film with two gunshots to the stomach and one to the head and left in open view. The real George Vandermark was murdered along with his drug addict son, Jeffrey, but his body was never found.
  • In the film, Artie Piscano (based on Carl A. "Tuffy" DeLuna) dies of a heart attack during an FBI raid on his home. In reality, DeLuna was arrested and tried, and is still alive as of 2007.
  • The Tangiers Casino, based on the Stardust Resort & Casino, is shown to be demolished at the end of the movie, whereas in real life, the Stardust Casino was not demolished until March 2007.
  • According to Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal's official website (The man which the film is based on), he never juggled on television, even though Robert De Niro's character does.
  • The character Bernie Blue is murdered by the Las Vegas police during a bungled arrest. In real life, Blitzstein was murdered by local mob members and found dead in his Las Vegas townhome in March 1997.

Actor Role Based on
Robert De Niro Sam "Ace" Rothstein Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal
Joe Pesci Nicky "The Ant" Santoro Tony "The Ant" Spilotro
Sharon Stone Ginger McKenna Rothstein Geraldine McGee Rosenthal
Frank Vincent Frankie Marino Frank Cullotta
Don Rickles Billy Sherbert Robert Stella Senior
Pasquale Cajano Remo Gaggi Joseph Aiuppa
James Woods Lester Diamond Leonard Marmor-McGee
John Bloom Donald "Don" Ward  ???
L. Q. Jones Pat Webb  ???
Kevin Pollak Philip Green Allen Glick
Alan King Andy Stone Allen Dorfman
Bill Allison John Nance George Vandermark
Philip Suriano Dominick Santoro Michael Spilotro
Carl Ciarfalio Tony Dogs Billy McCarthy
Vinny Vella Artie Piscano Carl DeLuna
Nobu Matsuhisa K. K. Ichikawa Akio Kashiwagi
Ffiolliott Le Coque Anna Scott Tamara Rand
Bret McCormick Bernie Blue Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein
Richard Riehle Charlie "Clean Face" Clark William Graham
Dick Smothers Nevada State Senator Harrison Roberts US Senator Harry Reid[citation needed] (D-NV)
Oscar Goodman Himself Himself

This section does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Madonna was strongly considered for the female lead in the film and took the producers to dinner at a well-known "mafia hangout" to help her secure the part. She was passed over for the role in favor of Sharon Stone. Sam Rothstein's lawyer in the film is played by Oscar Goodman, Lefty's real lawyer and mayor of Las Vegas. Ray Liotta was considered for the roles of both Phillp Green and Lester Diamond.


According to an interview on Jay Leno, James Woods said that when his agent told him that Martin Scorsese was interested in possibly working with him, he told his agent to reply back "Anywhere. Anytime. Any part. Any price."

  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Sharon Stone

Casino: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
No cover image exists
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released November 20, 1995
Genre Soundtrack
Label MCA

  1. "Contempt - Theme De Camille" - Georges Delerue
  2. "Angelina/Zooma, Zooma Medley" - Louis Prima
  3. "Hoochie Coochie Man" - Muddy Waters
  4. "Nights in White Satin" - The Moody Blues
  5. "How High The Moon" - Les Paul & Mary Ford
  6. "Hurt" - Timi Yuro
  7. "Ain't Got No Home" - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
  8. "Without You" - Nilsson
  9. "Love Is the Drug" - Roxy Music
  10. "I'm Sorry" - Brenda Lee
  11. "Go Your Own Way" - Fleetwood Mac
  12. "The Thrill Is Gone" - B.B. King
  13. "Love Is Strange" - Mickey & Sylvia
  14. "The 'In' Crowd" - Ramsey Lewis
  15. "Stardust" - Hoagy Carmichael

  1. Walk On The Wild Side - Jimmy Smith
  2. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) - Otis Redding
  3. I Ain't Superstitious - Jeff Beck With Rod Stewart
  4. The Glory Of Love - The Velvetones
  5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Devo
  6. What A Difference A Day Makes - Dinah Washington
  7. Working In A Colemine - Lee Dorsey
  8. House of the Rising Sun - Eric Burdon
  9. Those Were the Days - Cream
  10. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) - Tony Bennett
  11. Slippin' And Slidin' - Little Richard
  12. You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You - Dean Martin
  13. Compared To What - Les McCann & Eddie Harris
  14. Basin Street Blues/When It's Sleepy Time Down South - Louis Prima
  15. Matthaus Passion - Chicago Symphony Orchestra

v • d • e
Films directed by Martin Scorsese
1960s What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963)  • It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964)  • The Big Shave (1967)  • Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)
1970s Street Scenes (1970)  • Boxcar Bertha (1972)  • Mean Streets (1973)  • Italianamerican (1974)  • Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)  • Taxi Driver (1976)  • New York, New York (1977)  • American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978)  • The Last Waltz (1978)
1980s Raging Bull (1980)  • The King of Comedy (1983)  • After Hours (1985)  • The Color of Money (1986)  • The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)  • New York Stories (1989)
1990s Goodfellas (1990)  • Cape Fear (1991)  • The Age of Innocence (1993)  • Casino (1995)  • Kundun (1997)  • My Voyage to Italy (1999)  • Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
2000s Gangs of New York (2002)  • The Blues (2003) • The Aviator (2004)  • No Direction Home (2005)  • The Departed (2006)  • Shine a Light (2008)  • Shutter Island (2009)
Produced You Can Count On Me (2000)  • Nyfes (2004) • The Young Victoria (2008)  • The Wolf of Wall Street (TBA)

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