Casino was released in 1995, and is based on a non-fiction book by Nicholas Pileggi – Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. The film is directed by Martin Scorcese, and stars Robert De Niro as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro and Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna.
The film is centred around three main characters; ‘Ace’ Rothstein, who is sent to Las Vegas by the Chicago Outfit to run the Tangiers Casino. Nicky Santoro, a mob enforcer and childhood friend of ‘Ace’ who is sent to protect the operation, and Ginger McKenna, an ex-prostitute, who marries ‘Ace’. These characters are all based on real people – the character of ‘Ace’ Rothstein is inspired by the life of Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal, who ran several casinos in Las Vegas for the Outfit in the ’70’s. Nicky Santoro is based on Anthony Spilotro (‘The Ant’), who was an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit. Ginger is loosely based on Geraldine ‘Geri’ McGee, a model and Las Vegas showgirl, who was married to ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal.
“Peek-a-boo, you fucks, you!” Nicky Santoro
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