Casino ( film ) - wikipedia Casino ( film ) For the 1998 film Ho Kong Fung Wan ( a.k.a. Casino ) about Macau triad leader Broken Tooth Koi, see Wan Kuok - koi. Casino Theatrical release poster Directed by Martin Scorsese Produced by Barbara De Fina Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi Martin Scorsese Based on Casino by Nicholas Pileggi Starring Robert De Niro Sharon Stone Joe Pesci Don Rickles Kevin Pollak James Woods Cinematography Robert Richardson Edited by Thelma Schoonmaker Production company Syalis D.A. Légende Entreprises De Fina / Cappa Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date November 22, 1995 ( 1995 - 11 - 22 ) Running time 178 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $40 -- 50 million Box office $116.1 million Casino is a 1995 American epic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone. It 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 previously collaborated on the hit film Goodfellas ( 1990 ). The film marks the eighth collaboration between director Scorsese and De Niro, following Mean Streets ( 1973 ), Taxi Driver ( 1976 ), New York, New York ( 1977 ), Raging Bull ( 1980 ), The King of Comedy ( 1982 ), Goodfellas ( 1990 ), and Cape Fear ( 1991 ). In Casino, De Niro stars as Sam `` Ace '' Rothstein, a Jewish American gambling handicapper who is called by the Italian Mob to oversee the day - to - day 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, a `` made man '' in 1963 who could give Ace the protection he needed. Nicky is sent to Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and the mobsters in Vegas are kept in line. Sharon Stone plays Ginger McKenna, Ace 's scheming, self - absorbed wife, based on Geri McGee. Casino was released on November 22, 1995, to a mostly positive critical response and was a box - office success. Stone 's performance was unanimously praised, earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Principal photography 4 Release 4.1 Box office 5 Reception 5.1 Critical response 5.2 Awards 6 Soundtrack 6.1 Disc 1 6.2 Disc 2 7 References 7.1 Bibliography 8 External links Plot In 1973, sports handicapper and Mafia associate Sam `` Ace '' Rothstein is sent to Las Vegas to run the Teamsters Union - funded Tangiers Casino on behalf of the Chicago Outfit, which secretly controls the Teamsters, while Philip Green serves as the Mob 's front man. Taking advantage of gaming laws that allow him to work in a casino while his gaming licence is pending, Sam doubles the casino 's profits, which are skimmed by the Mafia before they are reported to income tax agencies. Impressed with his work, Mafia boss Remo Gaggi sends Sam 's childhood friend and mob enforcer Nicholas `` Nicky '' Santoro and his associate Frank `` Frankie '' Marino to protect Sam and the whole operation. Nicky 's volatile temper soon gets him banned from every casino in Las Vegas, so he gathers his own crew and engages in independent shakedowns and burglaries, instead. Sam meets and falls in love with a hustler and former prostitute, Ginger McKenna. They conceive a daughter and marry, but their marriage is proven difficult by Ginger 's covetousness and love for her manipulative former boyfriend, con artist - turned pimp Lester Diamond, who is ordered beaten severely by Sam and Nicky after they catch him conning Ginger out of some money. Ginger subsequently turns to alcohol. Meanwhile, Sam makes an enemy in county commissioner Pat Webb for firing his brother - in - law Don Ward for incompetence. When Sam refuses to reinstate him, Webb pulls Sam 's license from the backlog, forcing him to face a hearing for his gaming license while secretly arranging for the board to deny Sam. Sam blames the incident on Nicky 's recklessness and the two argue furiously in the desert after Sam attempts to tell Nicky to leave Las Vegas. The casino counters begin stealing some money for themselves, prompting the Midwest Mafia bosses to put Artie Piscano of the Kansas City mafia in charge of overseeing the transactions. Piscano is unable to find the thieves, but keeps tabs of everything he knows about Las Vegas in a private notebook, ranting about it in his grocery store. The FBI, investigating a separate crime, wired Piscano 's store, and Piscano 's detailed complaints -- complete with names -- spurs the FBI to begin investigating the casino. Meanwhile, Sam finally seeks divorce from Ginger, tired of her alcoholism. She then kidnaps their daughter, Amy, taking her to Los Angeles, and plans to flee to Europe with Lester. Sam convinces her to come back with Amy, and then scolds her for stealing his money and kidnapping their daughter. After he overhears Ginger talking on the phone about killing him, he kicks her out of the house, but soon relents. Ginger then approaches Nicky for help in getting her valuables from their shared vault in the bank, and the two start an affair. Sam discovers this after finding Amy tied to her bed by Ginger, who is with Nicky at his restaurant. Sam disowns Ginger, and so does Nicky. A furious and drunk Ginger crashes her car into Sam 's driveway, making a scene, and retrieves the key to their deposit box after distracting the attending police. Though she succeeds in taking her share of the money from the bank, she is arrested by the FBI as a material witness. The FBI moves in and closes the casino. Green decides to cooperate with the authorities. Piscano dies of a heart attack upon seeing federal agents discover his notebook. Nicky flees Las Vegas before he can be caught. The FBI approaches Sam for help, but he turns them down. The aging bosses are arrested and put on trial, but decide to eliminate anyone involved in the scheme to stop them from testifying and prolonging their coming sentences, among them three casino executives, Teamsters head Andy Stone, and money courier John Nance. Ginger flees to Los Angeles and ultimately dies of a drug overdose in a motel. Sam himself is almost killed in a car bomb, and suspects Nicky was behind it. Before Sam can take revenge, Nicky and his brother Dominick are ambushed by Frankie and their own crew and savagely beaten and buried alive in a cornfield, the bosses having had enough of Nicky 's behavior and suspecting his role in Sam 's car bombing. With the Mob now out of power, the old casinos are purchased by big corporations and demolished. The corporations build new and gaudier attractions, which Sam laments are not the same as when the Mafia was in control. Sam subsequently retires to San Diego and continues to live as a sports handicapper for the Mob, in his own words, ending up `` right back where I started ''. Cast Robert De Niro as Sam `` Ace '' Rothstein Joe Pesci as Nicholas `` Nicky '' Santoro Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna James Woods as Lester Diamond Frank Vincent as Frankie Marino Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert L.Q. Jones as Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb Kevin Pollak as Philip Green Alan King as Andy Stone Pasquale Cajano as Remo Gaggi John Bloom as Donald `` Don '' Ward Dick Smothers as Nevada State Senator Harrison Roberts Philip Suriano as Dominick Santoro Bill Allison as John Nance Vinny Vella as Artie Piscano Production Development The research for Casino began when screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi read a 1980 report from the Las Vegas Sun about a domestic argument between Frank `` Lefty '' Rosenthal, a casino figure, and his wife Geri McGee, a former topless dancer. This gave him an idea to focus on a new book about the true story of mob infringement in Las Vegas during the 1970s, when filming of Goodfellas was coming to an end ( the screenplay which he co-wrote with Scorsese ). The fictional Tangiers resort reflected the story of the Stardust Resort and Casino, which had been bought by Argent Corporation in 1974 using loans from the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. Argent was owned by Allen Glick, but the casino was believed to be controlled by various organized crime families from the Midwest. Over the next six years, Argent Corporation siphoned off between $7 and $15 million using rigged scales. When exposed by the FBI, this skimming operation was the largest ever exposed. A number of organized crime figures were convicted as a result of the skimming. Pileggi contacted Scorsese about taking the lead of the project, which became known as Casino. Scorsese expressed interest, calling this an `` idea of success, no limits ''. Pileggi was keen to release the book and then concentrate on a film adaptation, but Scorsese encouraged him to `` reverse the order ''. Scorsese and Pileggi collaborated on the script for five months, towards the end of 1994. Real - life characters were reshaped, such as Frank `` Lefty '' Rosenthal, Geri, Anthony Spilotro, and his brother. Some characters were combined, and parts of the story were set in Las Vegas instead of Chicago. A problem emerged when they were forced to refer to Chicago as `` back home '' and use the words `` adapted from a true story '' instead of `` based on a true story ''. They also decided to simplify the script, so that the character of Sam `` Ace '' Rothstein only worked at the Tangiers Casino, in order to show a glimpse of the trials involved in operating a Mafia - run casino hotel without overwhelming the audience. According to Scorsese, the initial opening sequence was to feature the main character, Sam Rothstein, fighting with his estranged wife Ginger on the lawn of their house. The scene was too detailed, so they changed the sequence to show the explosion of Sam 's car and his flying into the air before hovering over the flames in slow motion -- like a soul about to go straight down to hell. Principal photography Filming took place at night in the Riviera casino in Las Vegas, with the nearby defunct Landmark Hotel as the entrance, to replicate the fictional Tangiers. According to the producer Barbara De Fina, there was no point in building a set if the cost were the same to use a real - life one. The opening scene, with Sam 's car exploding, was shot three times ; the third take was used for the film. When first submitted to the MPAA, the film received an NC - 17 rating due to its depictions of violence. Several edits were made in order to reduce the rating to R. Release Box office The film grossed $42 million in North America and $116 million worldwide on a $40 -- 50 million budget. Reception Critical response Upon its release, the film was heavily criticized for its intense violence. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, however their praise was more muted than it had been for the thematically similar Goodfellas, released only five years earlier, with some reviews criticizing Scorsese for retreading familiar territory. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 80 % approval rating based on 61 reviews. On Metacritic, the rating is 73 ( generally favorable reviews ) out of 100 based on 17 reviews. The film 's critical profile has increased in recent years, with several critics expressing that, in retrospect, they feel it to be a more accomplished and artistically mature work than the thematically similar Goodfellas. Awards List of Accolades Award / Festival Recipient ( s ) Result Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award for Best Director Martin Scorsese Nominated Golden Globe Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama Sharon Stone Won Academy Award Best Actress in a Leading Role Sharon Stone Nominated Guys Choice 2016 Guy Movie Hall of Fame Casino Won American Film Institute lists AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movies -- Nominated AFI 's 10 Top 10 -- Nominated Gangster Film Soundtrack Casino : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Soundtrack album by various artists Released November 20, 1995 Genre Rock, soul, funk, R&B, blues, jazz, country, traditional pop Label MCA Producer Robbie Robertson Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic Disc 1 `` Contempt -- Theme De Camille '' by Georges Delerue `` Angelina / Zooma, Zooma Medley '' by Louis Prima `` Hoochie Coochie Man '' by Muddy Waters `` I 'll Take You There '' by The Staple Singers `` Nights in White Satin '' by The Moody Blues `` How High The Moon '' by Les Paul & Mary Ford `` Hurt '' by Timi Yuro `` Ai n't Got No Home '' by Clarence ' Frogman ' Henry `` Without You '' by Nilsson `` Love Is the Drug '' by Roxy Music `` I 'm Sorry '' by Brenda Lee `` Go Your Own Way '' by Fleetwood Mac `` The Thrill Is Gone '' by B.B. King `` Love Is Strange '' by Mickey & Sylvia `` The ' In ' Crowd '' by Ramsey Lewis `` Stardust '' by Hoagy Carmichael Disc 2 `` Walk on the Wild Side '' by Jimmy Smith `` Fa - Fa - Fa - Fa - Fa ( Sad Song ) '' by Otis Redding `` I Ai n't Superstitious '' by Jeff Beck Group `` The Glory of Love '' by The Velvetones `` ( I Ca n't Get No ) Satisfaction '' by Devo `` What a Diff'rence a Day Made '' by Dinah Washington `` Working in the Coal Mine '' by Lee Dorsey `` The House of the Rising Sun '' by The Animals `` Toad '' by Cream `` Who Can I Turn To ( When Nobody Needs Me ) '' by Tony Bennett `` Slippin ' and Slidin ' '' by Little Richard `` You 're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You '' by Dean Martin `` Compared to What '' ( Live ) by Les McCann & Eddie Harris `` Basin Street Blues / When It 's Sleepy Time Down South '' by Louis Prima `` St. Matthew Passion ( Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder ) '' by Johann Sebastian Bach ( Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti ) References ^ Jump up to : Army Archerd ( 1995 - 11 - 13 ). `` Scorsese puts faith in preview auds ''. Variety. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Scott Foundas Chief Film Critic @ foundasonfilm ( 2013 - 05 - 07 ). `` Andrew Garfield to Star in Martin Scorsese 's ' Silence ' ( Exclusive ) ''. Variety. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Casino ( 1995 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. 1996 - 01 - 19. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ Pileggi, Nicholas ( 1995 ). Casino : Love and Honor in Las Vegas ( First ed. ). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0 - 684 - 80832 - 3. ^ Jump up to : Baxter, John. De Niro : A Biography. p. 336. ^ Jump up to : Thompson, David & Christie, Ian. Scorsese on Scorsese. p. 198. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Levitan, Corey ( 2008 - 03 - 02 ). `` Top 10 scandals : gritty city ''. Las Vegas Review - Journal. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 03. Jump up ^ Delugach, Al. `` 5 Mob Figures Guilty in Vegas Skimming Case ''. latimes.com. Retrieved 28 October 2016. ^ Jump up to : Thompson, David & Christie, Ian. Scorsese on Scorsese. pp. 200 -- 204. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Baxter, John. De Niro : A Biography. p. 337. Jump up ^ Bona, Damien Inside Oscar 2 Jump up ^ Dretzka, Gary ( November 9, 1995 ). `` Casino Wins Appeal For R Film Rating ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 21, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Charity, Tom ( July 5, 2016 ) ( 1st pub. 2007 ). The Rough Guide to Film : Marin Scorsese. Penguin. p. 497. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84353 - 408 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Casino ( 1995 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 23, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Casino reviews ''. Metacritic. Retrieved July 10, 2010. Jump up ^ Vargas - Cooper, Natasha ( November 10, 2011 ). `` Martin Scorsese 's Casino ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Golden Globe Awards for ' Sharon Stone ' ''. goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 2016 - 01 - 04. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movies Nominees '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2013 - 04 - 12. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 10 Top 10 Ballot '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2013 - 04 - 12. Jump up ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine ( November 14, 1995 ). `` Casino - Original Soundtrack Songs, Reviews, Credits ''. AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved January 21, 2017. Bibliography Thompson, David ; Christie, Ian ( 1996 ). Scorsese on Scorsese. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978 - 0 - 571 - 22002 - 1. Evans, David ( 2006 ). De Niro : A Biography. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Casino ( film ) Casino on IMDb Casino at the TCM Movie Database Casino at AllMovie Casino at Box Office Mojo Casino at Rotten Tomatoes Casino at Metacritic 1990s portal Film in the United States portal Martin Scorsese filmography Feature films Who 's That Knocking at My Door ( 1967 ) Boxcar Bertha ( 1972 ) Mean Streets ( 1973 ) Alice Does n't Live Here Anymore ( 1974 ) Taxi Driver ( 1976 ) New York, New York ( 1977 ) Raging Bull ( 1980 ) The King of Comedy ( 1982 ) After Hours ( 1985 ) The Color of Money ( 1986 ) The Last Temptation of Christ ( 1988 ) New York Stories ( segment `` Life Lessons '', 1989 ) Goodfellas ( 1990 ) Cape Fear ( 1991 ) The Age of Innocence ( 1993 ) Casino ( 1995 ) Kundun ( 1997 ) Bringing Out the Dead ( 1999 ) Gangs of New York ( 2002 ) The Aviator ( 2004 ) The Departed ( 2006 ) Shutter Island ( 2010 ) Hugo ( 2011 ) The Wolf of Wall Street ( 2013 ) Silence ( 2016 ) The Irishman ( 2019 ) Short films What 's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This ? ( 1963 ) It 's Not Just You, Murray ! ( 1964 ) The Big Shave ( 1967 ) `` Bad '' ( 1987 ) Made in Milan ( 1990 ) The Key to Reserva ( 2007 ) The Audition ( 2015 ) Television `` Mirror, Mirror '' ( Amazing Stories ) ( 1986 ) `` Boardwalk Empire '' ( Boardwalk Empire ) ( 2010 ) Vinyl ( 2016 ) Documentaries Street Scenes ( 1970 ) Italianamerican ( 1974 ) American Boy : A Profile of Steven Prince ( 1978 ) The Last Waltz ( 1978 ) A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies ( 1995 ) My Voyage to Italy ( 1999 ) The Blues : Feel Like Going Home ( 2003 ) No Direction Home ( 2005 ) Shine a Light ( 2008 ) A Letter to Elia ( 2010 ) Public Speaking ( 2010 ) George Harrison : Living in the Material World ( 2011 ) The 50 Year Argument ( 2014 ) Related Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio GND : 4414956 - 6 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Casino_(film)&oldid=806146481 '' Categories : 1995 films English - language films 1990s crime drama films Adultery in films American crime drama films American epic films American films Fiction narrated by a dead person Fictional portrayals of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Films about drugs Films about the Chicago Outfit Films based on actual events Films based on non-fiction books about organized crime Films directed by Martin Scorsese Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe - winning performance Films set in 1973 Films set in 1980 Films set in 1983 Films set in California Films set in Missouri Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Gambling films Universal Pictures films Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter Articles with hAudio microformats Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 20 October 2017, at 00 : 42. 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Question: who are the characters in the movie casino based on
Answer: Frank Rosenthal