A casino is a place that’s engineered to bleed patrons dry of their hard-earned cash. Underneath the glitz of flashing lights and free drinks, casinos are built on a foundation of math, designed to suck players’ money faster than they can blink. It’s why, for years, mathematically inclined minds have tried to turn the tables by using probability and game theory to skew the odds in their favor.<\/p>\n
While Goodfellas and other mob movies often blur the line between a criminal’s professional life and his personal life, Martin Scorsese’s Casino takes it one step further. Like Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls and other films set in Sin City, this movie isn’t just about mafia members like Henry Hill and James De Niro’s Sam Rothstein; it’s also about the city of Las Vegas and its culture.<\/p>\n
Casino follows the story of a Jewish American gambling expert gambler named Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Niro), who’s hired by the Chicago Outfit to oversee day-to-day operations at the Tangiers. His relationships with Nicky Santoro (Pesci) and streetwise chip hustler Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) are a constant source of conflict, as is his relationship with the casino’s management.<\/p>\n
The film opens with a series of fast cuts that feel as much like a behind-the-scenes look at real casinos as it does a fictional depiction of mafia crime. As the story progresses, Scorsese’s style evolves from this documentary approach to something more conventional. Throughout the movie, his direction is complemented by the performances of his ensemble cast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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