Casino is one of the best movies made in the 1990s and remains hugely popular to this day. Released in 1995 and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone, the film is based on the non-fiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi and centers on the relationship between two friends. One is a mafia enforcer and the other is a casino executive, and the two compete against each other over a gambling empire, fast living and women.
As with many great movies, Casino was based on several true events. It was not exactly a ‘true story’ movie, but several of the events and the plot was inspired by real-life events. In fact, the main characters in the Martin Scorsese-directed film were based on real people. Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein is based on Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro inspired Nicky Santoro, Ginger McKenna is based on Geri McGee and Phillip Green was an inspiration from Allen Glick.
Another true fact is that Rosenthal did not have a gaming licence. Rosenthal managed the Fremont, Hacienda, and Stardust casinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago mob in the 1970s and 1980s, and he did that all without any license. The reason for this was the mob did not want to attract unnecessary attention.
It is hard to imagine something like this happening in this day and age. Licensing is hugely important, even for casinos that operate exclusively online. Such licensing is crucial for the gambling regulators to make sure that everyone is playing by the same rules and that everything is above board. It also enables players to keep their money safe in their account and to withdraw it securely when they wish to, as is the case with sites such as slots.io which lets customers deposit and withdraw in various currencies including Bitcoin – you can find all withdrawal methods here.
As shown in Casino, Rosenthal did survive a car bombing in real life. The reason why he escaped death was due to the fact that there was metal stabilization plate underneath the driver’s seat. Another true event that is portrayed accurately in the film is how Rosenthal’s wife Geri passed away. Geri lost her life due to drug overdose, and Stone’s character McKenna passes away in a motel at the end of the movie. It is one of the darkest and deepest scenes in the film, and it becomes even more difficult when you consider that it is based on real life.
Although this has not been proven, Rosenthal’s ex-wife McGee and Spilotro are alleged to have had an affair. In the film Casino, this is shown in the love triangle between Rothstein, McKenna, and Santoro. The difference is that in the film the repercussions of the digressions of McGee and Spilotro are exaggerated. Another feature of the movie Casino is the number of murders. While some were added to the film for dramatic effect, a few did take place in real life. For example, the killing of a former casino executive at his home in Costa Rica after being hunted down did actually occur.