The casino is a 1995 American epic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone. The film is based on the nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese.
The two had previously collaborated on Goodfellas. In Casino, De Niro stars as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a Jewish American top gambling handicapper who is called by the Italian Mob to oversee the operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. His character is based on Frank Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont, and Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s. Pesci plays Nicholas “Nicky” Santoro, based on real-life Mob enforcer Anthony Spilotro.
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Nicky is sent to Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and that other gangs are kept away. Sharon Stone plays Ginger McKenna, Ace’s scheming, self-absorbed wife, based on Geri McGee.
The research for Casino began when screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi read a 1980 report from the Las Vegas Sun about a domestic argument between Frank Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Casino for the Chicago Outfit, and his wife Geri McGee, a former topless dancer. The story revealed how Stardust board member Allen Glick was able to buy the casino using Teamster Pension Fund money while skimming money from the casino.
Pileggi wanted to hear more about Rosenthal’s career in Las Vegas so he contacted him through mutual friends and was able to talk with him at length over several months in 1981. Rosenthal did not release his autobiography Casino until 2008; Pileggi used information from it as well as interviews with Rosenthal’s friends and family for Casino.
While living in Las Vegas, Pileggi wrote several books including Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family which was later adapted into a film starring Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci; Casino was also adapted into a film of the same name directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone which was released in 1995. In 1995, both Wiseguy and Casino were adapted into films directed by Martin Scorsese.
The two films are very similar in both plotline and character development; however there are some key differences between them.
In 1982, Pileggi agreed to write a book about Rosenthal’s career with an option for it to be turned into a movie with De Niro attached as producer and star if it were optioned within five years; otherwise Pileggi would retain full creative control over it. By 1986, Martin Scorsese was interested in directing a film based on Pileggi’s book with De Niro producing; however they were unable to obtain funding for it at that time because American banks were unwilling to finance an R-rated film about organized crime due to its controversial subject matter.
In 1991 Goodfellas was released to critical acclaim which eventually led to financing for Casino being approved later that year despite concerns about its script and expense.
Casino was released on November 22nd 1995 to mostly positive critical reception; however its initial release was overshadowed by controversy surrounding its release date which coincided with Thanksgiving Day in the United States resulting in many people opting to spend time with their families rather than going out to see it resulting in lower than expected box office receipts initially. Over time however its reputation has grown and it is now considered not only one of Scorsese’s best films but also one of the greatest films ever made period receiving numerous accolades including five Academy Award nominations with Stone winning Best Actress; it ultimately grossed $116 million against its $52 million budget making it a box office success while becoming one of only four Scorsese films (the others being Taxi Driver 1976 Raging Bull 1980 and The Aviator 2004) not to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars (it did receive nominations for Best Director Best Actor Best Supporting Actor Best Cinematography Best Art Direction).
