Casino (1995) Movie Review and True Story

Casino 1995 could be named the best casino movie of all times because of many reasons, but the one that brings authenticity is the fact that the character Sam the Ace is based on the real person – Frank Rosenthal and his life story. The person who made thousands of millions for the crime syndicates all around the USA in the period between 1950 and 1980.

Frank Lawrence Rosenthal – The Real Story

As we already told you, the main character Sam Rothstein is based on Frank Rosenthal’s life. Frank was born in 1929 in a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois. His father was an owner of racing horses which put Frank in an environment where bets and odds are frequently used words.

Until the latest 1950’s he was already part of the Chicago’s finest and slowly became the biggest illegal bookmaker on behalf of the Mafia across the USA. Frank was associated not only with the Chicago most famous mobsters, but also with other crime families especially after he moved in Las Vegas in 1968 to run several casinos for the Chicago Outfit. Casinos like Hacienda, Stardust, Freemont and Marine were one of the Las Vegas Strip most beautiful places to gamble or bet. This is the story of a kid who comes from nothing to take everything and live like a king.

Casino 1995 – Scorsese`s Masterpiece

The movie Casino (1995) is one of the many classic old school gang movies made by the legendary Martin Scorsese. Of course, not all parts of the film are real, at some point, it is a fiction, but we will leave you to decide which parts, simply because the storyline is very authentic for its time.

Apart from the main character Sam “The Ace” Rothstein, there are several more that will make a strong impression and that will be his wife Ginger McKenna and partner in crime and friend Nicky Santoro. Ginger is one super clever lady who knows how to treat people and make them feel special. While Nicky is known for its cruelty and brutality, both masters in their games, they play primary roles in the rise and fall of Sam Rothstein.

As every other Scorsese’s movie, this one won’t disappoint you in any way! The amazing main actors make Casino 1995 a memorable act of modern cinema art. The story tells the secrets of American Mafia before its final fall in 80s thanks to the significant anti-organized crimes actions that the FBI took to eliminate the crime syndicates across the whole USA.

Casino (1995) Movie Quick Overview

Now is the time to overview Casino the movie and its storyline. Analyzing the characters, the scenes and the background story. First, take a look at the ⬇️Casino 1995 movie trailer⬇️ where you will see on what the movie is based, on money, power, hustle, passion and more money! Ladies and gentlemen, at your attention, Casino 1995!

From a Small Player to a Big Boss

Sam Rothstein was born and raised in Chicago and thanks to his intelligence and prediction skills, he was able to make himself a name of a great and profitable gambler. This is how he made his first steps into the crime family’s business. With the time many people, including mob figures, were waiting for his call when it is in concern with any bet. Sam became close with one of the heads of the Chicago’s crime syndicate named Remo Gaggi. He was the man who pushed the Ace and put him in the position he craved for. A position of power, respect and influence.

Meanwhile, his buddies Nicky Santoro, who was cruel and heartless by nature human being, was assigned with the task to keep trouble off Sam. This was simply because the crime families see more benefit from Sam’s skills than anyone else. The Chicago finest decided to offer Sam to be the new manager of their casino in Las Vegas – Tangiers. Sounds like a place where you can find the best roulette bonuses, isn’t it?

For Sam, Las Vegas was like a morality carwash where you can wash all of your sins. A place where he was able to achieve his dreams in the way he wanted them. The whole deal was that Sam runs the casino the way he wants and nobody interferes with that. Well, the results were terrific, the Ace doubled the casino profit, and the bosses were more than happy.

Not long after Sam, Nicky was sent to Vegas to keep an eye on the business there and be the muscle when it’s needed. Or with other words kill, rob, beat, kidnap or torture someone when it’s needed or when the families say so. But of course, his plans were a bit more different and more ambitious than anyone expected.

Short after, the 3rd but most influencing character steps in. Ginger caught the eyes of Sam the Ace at the casino floor while she was hustling another player. He fell in love with her from the very first moment he saw her. The only thing that Ginger was into were the money, the power, the jewellery. She was well known around Vegas because she was capable of persuading anyone do anything, after all, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

She brought many high-stake players to the Tangiers Casino and helped for its success. She knew well how to treat people and most of all staff members. In Casino the movie, you will see how she play games with everybody and leaves them all happy. Because of her qualities, wild and bold spirit, Sam fell in love so deeply that he asked her to marry him, even though she told him straight forward that she does not love him. He was willing to take the risk and built that family based on trust

Friends, Foes, Politics & Plots

Everything was running correctly for about some time, but due to consequences of Nicky’s actions, Sam appeared in a difficult situation.

Nicky Santoro started hustling all drug dealers, bookmakers, prostitutes and all illegal activities in the city. Yeah but that brought a lot of heat over Sam the Ace Rothstein who was known for its friendship with the gangster. The problem was that no matter what Sam does, his names is always mentioned next to Nicky Santoro.

Additionally, the internal casino affairs brought the anger of the local government representatives. Sam Rothstein was always striving to reach perfection in everything he does from his personal life to his job as GM of Tangiers Casino. Unfortunate for Sam, he was kind of “obligated” to hire people promoted by local political powers. He was okay with that if the people we capable of doing what they were hired for. The current Slots Manager was tricked by casino hustlers, in several minutes 3 machines dropped jackpots, which is not possible. The young Slot Manager decided to argue and call Sam incompetent in his job, and that was the thing that crosses the line. He was fired immediately, but later, that actions of the Ace cost him his licence and his career as Casino Manager.

The business was doing good, but Sam’s personal life was going through a hard time especially after he caught Ginger with an “old friend” of hers. She asked him for 25k USD, but she was not willing to tell him why exactly she needs the money, and that raised a lot of questions in Sam regarding her loyalty. Despite everything, Ginger stole the money, but she was also fallowed to the place of her meeting with her friend. Of course, the secret friend was well beaten by Nicky’s guys, while Sam took Ginger at home. This brought a whole new level of issues to Sam because Ginger started abusing alcohol, drugs and everything she can place her hands on.

Keep Your Friend Close & Keep Your Enemies Closer

After the state refused to re-estate his licenses to work as a General Manager, Sam switch position and started one even more dangerous game, leading TV one-man show every night in the casino as an entertainer. During his appearances, he numerous times led the conversation in a direction not very convenient for the crime families and their friends of political interests and power. He was asked several times to stop it, but by this time you will know, Sam the Ace Rothstein is not that kind of man, most of everything he appreciates and values principles.

One night, he got home and found his daughter tide up to the bed while her mother was missing. That took Sam out of control. Meanwhile, she was with his friend Nicky Santoro in his restaurant. Calmly he was able to take Ginger home, but that was the end of their relationship. Several nights after, Ginger kidnapped their daughter with the same “old friend” with the idea to extort Sam and leave the country.

Yes, but no! The Ace used his connections and traced them, but the only thing he did was to call them and ask for his little girl. Ginger panicked that gangsters are coming their way to lack them both and returned willingly to Sam. The thing that Sam never suspected was that she went to Tony to contemplate his murder and take all of his money. Tony refused to do it, but it was evident that he considers it since his friendship with Sam didn’t stop him from sleeping with his wife, Ginger.

Meanwhile, the crime syndicate was already furious at both Nicky Santoro and Sam Rothstein, and their removal was set in motion without them knowing. The FBI was already too deep into the mafia scheme, where both of our main characters play significant roles in the money washing machine of the crime syndicate.

What You Sow Is What You Reap – Cruelty Meets Cruelty

The end of the movie Casino 1995 is not a particularly happy one, but at some point, it’s fair. The story ends soaked in betrayal, power and money. Ginger was found dead laying on the hallway floor of a motel, dead from alcohol abuse and drug overdose. Meanwhile, Nicky was playing the biggest and the cruellest mob boss of Las Vegas and the region. Yes, but he got sloppy and most of all he decided to cross the crime families he worked for.

At the end of the movie cruelty meets cruelty, Nicky Santoro was made to watch how they kill his brother with multiple hits with baseball bats. Nicky was next, then they were both buried into the cornfields by order of the same Chicago bosses that sent him in Vegas at the first place.

Our main character Sam, the Ace Rothstein, did not fall behind in the mafias plan, but we can say that he got lucky. It is unfortunate for some, but he did survive the car bomb assassination attempt. At the end of the movie Casino (1995), Sam the Ace Rothstein went back to his roots of bookmaking and helping other people bet and earn.

Other Famous Casino Movies – Listing

If you are a casino fan and you are looking for more casino movies, he got you covered! For your convenience we decided to gather some of the classical casino movies of all times. Have in mind that in this list you will find only coloured movies and that some of the below mentioned are remakes of old movies. It all depends on the act, the scenario and of course, the director. Here are the top 5 best casino movies of our modern society:

Other Famous Old Gangster Movies

If you like the classy old-fashioned mafia movies like Casino 1995, you will enjoy the following content. It is a fact that many of these movies are again creation of the legendary Martin Scorsese but actors like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, Frank Vincent, Armand Assante, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and many others make these movies so realistic and authentic. Look at the best mafia movies of all times:

Frequently Asked Questions

We reached the very end of our awsome article and we decided to sum up everything we know about the movie Casino (1995). Below you can see the most asked questions by people and our answers to them. We strongly hoped that you enjoyed your time on our page and we dare to advise you to check the rest of our posts! Our team is more than sure that you will find many more interesting pieces of art on our site together with the best roulette casinos for 2024!

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