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Similar to that, there’s a place where the rules can be broken. A zone that is free from day and night and has everything at a price. One could easily return back home as a millionaire. Nobody can deny that people who go to Vegas, and even those who deal with the mafia often regret their decisions. But that is not the point. The real topic is regarding hope. The existence of either Vegas or the mob is foundational to the optimism most people seem to inculcate in them.
Martin Scorsese’s captivating new film “Casino,” sheds some light on the existing mafia influences in Las Vegas. Scorsese uses the insights he gained from a man who operated four casinos for the mafia. That story is the exact inspiration for the movie plot.
Just like “The Godfather”: it makes the audience eavesdroppers in a secretive atmosphere.
The film starts off with a car explosion in which we see Sam “Ace” Rothstein being lifted up into the sky. The ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of this event are what this film is set to explain. The first hour and so feel like one is watching a documentary – narrated by Rothstein (Robert De Niro) along with others on how the mob extracted millions from the casinos.
It’s an elaborate scheme. For instance, what happens with the 25 per cent of the revenue generated from slot machines? How are the coins changed into cash to be stuffed into a suitcase for the mob back in Kansas City? How much do you even put into the suitcase? “Casino” has all the answers. It also tells how other games as well as food services and souvenir shops can be over-skimmed, and it fully understands the fact that casinos are not fond of getting robbed.
There’s an incident where a man is cheating at blackjack, and a couple of security guys sidle up to him and jab him with a stunning device.
He drops down, and the guards call for emergency services and bring him to a closet-sized space where his hands are restrained and slapped until he confesses to what he did is extremely improper.
Rothstein, who is modelled after the actual character of Frank (Lefty) Rosenthal, begins his journey as a Chicago sports bookmaker, quickly attracting interest from the mob due to his mathematical skills. He gets placed in charge of running casinos because he appears to be an effective businessman who will make certain that the Vegas goose keeps laying its golden eggs. He is a man who avoids unsolicited problems. One day, however, problems come in the shape of a high-class escort by the name of Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone).
Ginger is a stunning woman who Ace sends gifts and the shower is praises. However, the moment he proposes marriage is when things take an unwanted turn for him. She never accepted his offer as Ginger had been in an abusive relationship with a man named Lester Diamond (James Woods) since childhood and wasn’t willing to give up her profession. However, Rothstein makes her an offer she can’t turn down: Her freedom in exchange for an extravagant lifestyle filled with cars, diamonds, fur, a home with a pool, and access to his safety deposit box. She accepts. It’s Ace’s first blunder.
Another blunder was meeting Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) when they were both children living in Chicago. Nicky is a vicious killer and a thief. He visits Vegas, assembles a group, and makes a big deal over his reputation. After he crushes a guy’s head in a vice, word goes out that he’s the mob’s enforcer. It’s not true, but people believe it, and soon enough Nicky’s friend Ace starts appearing with him in photographs that make it to all the newspapers.
Scorsese recounts that it’s his old friend that Nicky Ace has to believe, and it is them that he has cross paths with. Ace begins his career as a mattress salesman, and unsurprisingly with no real contacts in that industry, he does not do well. All these details lend themselves to the feeling and energy of the film. Not only the tacky 1970s era period decor but little moments like when Ace orders the casino cooks to put “exactly the same amount of blueberries in every muffin,” or when g-men circle a golf course, spying on the hoods and their plane runs out of gas, needing an emergency landing right on the green.
Gilettes revelation does full well illustrate the title of the film: ” The men who stare at goats.” And when crucial evidence is obtained because a low level hood kept a record of his expenses. Not to mention the part where Ace has a weekly show on local television – and demonstrates his extraordinary skill of balancing balls.
On the other hand, a now drunk Ginger is approached by Ace who is clearly concerned about their child, and instead of addressing the issue they engage in public quarrels. Furthermore, Ginger turns to Nicky for advice, which quickly escalates into something far more serious. Upon learning that she is cheating, Ace says the one line that delivers everything perfectly “I just hope it is not someone who I think it might be.” The narrator confirms that this was the last time the street boys were given such an opportunity. All the organized crime had to do was conduct things as usual. One thing is for sure, as soon as Ace met Ginger and the mob had everything set up for Nicky to come into town, the pieces were set for them to become the greatest loser in Vegas history. Instead of saying it straight, Nicky exclaims, “We sure did screw up real good.” Scorsese sort of manages to capture the peaceful spirit, the vibe, and nearly the odor of the city perfectly; De Niro and Pesci fit so easily into their parts that one might say they do it unconsciously while Stone’s best performance is as a Los Angeles escort. The rest of the cast includes people like Don Rickles, whose mere existence brings back an era, and his role is to remain expressionless beside the boss and appear very unhappy about the prospects of what might be inflicted upon whoever the boss is chatting with.
Different to most of his Mafia films (“Mean Streets” and “GoodFellas”), Scorsese’s “Casino” pays as much attention to the history aspect as it does to the characters and the plot. The town of Las Vegas is his focus, and he demonstrates how it allowed individuals such as Ace, Ginger, and Nicky to make it big, only to later expel them because the operation of Vegas is too powerful and profitable for anyone to ceasde its functioning. When the Mafia was expelled in the late 1970s, they brought the Teamsters union money with them and the 1980’s brought a new source of funding: junk bonds. Those who floated those may inspire “Casino II.” The big corporations took over, the narrator observes, almost sadly. Today, it works like Disneyland. This takes us back to the insight we started with. In a sense, people need to believe a town like Vegas is run by guys like Ace and Nicky.
In a place where the rules seem to be made to be broken, maybe you too could find a way to break a few. It is somewhat comforting knowing that the Tokyo machine is actually run by an empire of faceless corporations with bond financing and accountants. If you have the gambler mentality, they know all the odds and the house always wins. Who knows what might happen with Ace in charge.
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