Casino (movie)
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Casino is a 1995 movie directed by Martin Scorsese, based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. Robert DeNiro 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 movie is based on the true story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the mob from the 1970's until the early 1980's.
Joe Pesci plays Nicky Santoro, based on the real-life Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, an enforcer for the Chicago mob. Santoro is sent to Vegas by the bosses 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, Ginger.
Casino follows up on Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas, another fictional movie based on real-life mob events, also based on a book by Pileggi and starring DeNiro and Pesci. Although it is set in the 20th century, Casino is at heart an epic Western movie with strong noir undercurrents.
On November 30, 1988 Rosenthal was listed in the Nevada Gaming Control Board's notorious Black Book. Once his name had been placed in this book he could no longer set foot into any gambling establishment in the State of Nevada. Rosenthal retired to San Diego, California and then to Boca Raton, Florida. In June of 1986, Anthony Spilotro and his brother Michael were found dead, buried in a cornfield near Enos, Indiana. It is believed that the Spilotro brothers were ordered murdered by the Chicago mob bosses after Anthony Spilotro allegedly attempted to kill Rosenthal with a car bomb.
Oscar Goodman, the real-life attorney of both Rosenthal and Spilotro, and the so-called "mouthpiece for the mob", made a cameo appearance in the movie as himself. Goodman is now the mayor of Las Vegas.
External links
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- Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal Official Website (http://www.frankleftyrosenthal.com/)
- Anthony "Tony The Ant" Spilotoro's FBI File (http://foia.fbi.gov/spilotro.htm)