Partway through the film Casino , director Martin Scorcese asks viewers to realize a startling perspective. After essaying the simple brutality of the glitzy gambling town of Las Vegas and its largely unorthodox methods of operation, he provides us with an aerial shot of the Strip at night.
Lights poke out of the gloom like millions of neon lighthouses on a black night at sea.
The desert, which has heretofore been used to symbolize the evils of Vegas, is invisible. His reputation in the gambling world makes him the perfect candidate to manage the new Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. As a result, when Nicky follows Sam to Vegas, he quickly becomes entangled with the mob, rising to power on the opposite side of the law. The cast is definitely solid, as the example of the two leads shows. Both De Niro and Pesci have had their share of shady roles, and these are certainly two of the darkest and most dynamic.