Casino: Difference between revisions

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* [[Ax Crazy]]: Nicky.

** As with [[Goodfellas|Tommy DeVito]], was disturbingly based on a real person.

* [[Badass Decay]]: Justified and discussed [[In Universe]]. As Nicky gets more into drugs he begins to lose his edge, and Ace even remarks at one point that it took Nicky three punches to knock somebody out; when he was clean, it would have only taken one.

* [[Badass Decay]]: Justified and discussed [[In-Universe]]. As Nicky gets more into drugs he begins to lose his edge, and Ace even remarks at one point that it took Nicky three punches to knock somebody out; when he was clean, it would have only taken one.

** [[Unreliable Voiceover]]: The three punches don't even knock the guy and is Nicky's brother who has to deliver more blows to make him fall.

* [[Based on a True Story]]: The story takes a few liberties, of course. For example, Artie didn't die of a heart attack while being arrested.

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* [[Crazy Jealous Guy]]: Ace fires a young employee of his just for saying his wife is beautiful

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: ''Casino'' is far more violent and downbeat than ''Goodfellas''. The film has almost no lighter moments, and its killings are far more stomach churning.

* [[Death By Irony]]: Meta example; {{spoiler|Pesci's character is beaten to death by an actor he'd either viciously beaten or killed in ''two'' [[Raging Bull|previous]] [[Goodfellas|movies]].}}

* [[Death by Irony]]: Meta example; {{spoiler|Pesci's character is beaten to death by an actor he'd either viciously beaten or killed in ''two'' [[Raging Bull|previous]] [[Goodfellas|movies]].}}

* [[Determinator]]: Nicky, oh so much.

** According to Ace:

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* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Nicky repeatedly ''stabs a guy in the neck with his own pen'' after the guy tells Ace to 'shove it up his ass' when Ace politely tries to return it to him. Horrific enough by itself, but keep in mind that Nicky [[Hair-Trigger Temper|is not even responding to an insult]] [[Ax Crazy|directed at him]].

* [[Disaster Dominoes]]: "The Feds had all the pieces they needed. Everybody began to tumble, one after the other, like dominoes: Between Piscano complaining on the wire, between Nicky, Ginger, me and my license... We managed to really fuck it all up"

* [[Distracted By the Luxury]]: Basically how Ace gets Ginger to marry him.

* [[Distracted by the Luxury]]: Basically how Ace gets Ginger to marry him.

* [[The Ditz]]:

** Ward, who happens to be the cousin of a Commisioner and has a job in the casino [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|because of that]] {{spoiler|...for a while.}}

** Piscano, ''this guy can fuck up a cup of coffee.''

* [[Do You Trust Me]]:

* [[Do You Trust Me?]]:

** Sam opens an account to his wife and gets asked by a surprised bank manager if he trust his wife, as his deed is very rare in a client.

** Reversed later when Ace asks Ginger, several times "Can I trust you?" . She says yes, {{spoiler|but she is lying.}}

* [[Drugs Are Bad]]: Both Nicky and Ginger suffer hard for their drug use.

* [[The Dragon]]: Nicky, and he evolves into [[Dragon ~~With~~ an Agenda]]

* [[The Dragon]]: Nicky, and he evolves into [[Dragon with an Agenda]]

* [[End of an Age]]: The end of the film showcases the transition of ownership of Las Vegas from the mob bosses to the corporations. Sam makes clear his disgust of the new Las Vegas, which caters to families instead of gamblers.

{{quote| '''Sam:''' The town will never be the same. After the Tangiers, the big corporations took it all over. Today, it looks like Disneyland. And while the kids play cardboard pirates, Mommy and Daddy drop the house payments and Junior's college money on the poker slots. In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it's like checkin' into an airport. And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it's all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number. After the Teamsters got knocked out of the box, the corporations tore down practically every one of the old casinos. And where did the money come from to rebuild the pyramids? Junk bonds...But in the end, I wound up right back where I started. I could still pick winners, and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home. And why mess up a good thing? And that's that.}}

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** The 'old-timers' capos "don't like any fucking around with the other guys` wives".

* [[Everybody Smokes]] / [[Smoking Is Cool]]

* [[Everything's Sparkly ~~With~~ Jewelry]]: A million dollars worth just for Ginger.

* [[Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry]]: A million dollars worth just for Ginger.

* [[Expository Hairstyle Change]]: Ginger's transition from high class hooker to full-time junkie bitch is marked by her trading in her long hair for a truly ugly 80s mop.

* [[Eye Scream]]: The scene with the vise.

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* [[Karmic Death]]: {{spoiler|Nicky, viciously beaten along with his brother and dumped into a hole ''alive'', and Ginger, who's possibly murdered via deliberate drug overdose}}.

* [[Kill Them All]] :

** {{spoiler|At the end, the bosses are facing charges so everyone connected to the skimming operation is taken care of. Some bosses would rather spare a few, but as Remo puts it [[It's the Only Way To Be Sure|"why take a chance?"]].}}

** {{spoiler|At the end, the bosses are facing charges so everyone connected to the skimming operation is taken care of. Some bosses would rather spare a few, but as Remo puts it [[It's the Only Way to Be Sure|"why take a chance?"]].}}

** {{spoiler|Ginger's and Nicky's life mistakes catch up to them, and Piscano dies of a [[Hollywood Heart Attack|Heart attack on the spot]]. Only Ace survives because he is a big earner, too valuable to waste.}}

* [[Lady Drunk]]: Ginger.

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* [[Narrator|Narrators]]: Ace and Nicky, as well as {{spoiler|Nicky's eventual killer}}.

* [[Nepotism]]: Las Vegas apparently runs on this trope. Ace is forced to keep an imbecilic 'local cowboy' hired in a cushy position because his brother-in-law is an influential local civil servant. When he finally gets sick of the guy's incompetence and justifiably fires him, the sky begins to fall in...

* [[Nice to ~~The~~ Waiter]]: Nicky abuses the croupiers, who have to take it stoically.

* [[Nice to the Waiter]]: Nicky abuses the croupiers, who have to take it stoically.

* [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]: {{spoiler|Done to Nicky and Dominick by Frank Marino and company, just before they're both [[Buried Alive]].}}

* [[Nothing but Hits]]:

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* [[Spiritual Successor]]: to ''[[Goodfellas]]'', another Scorsese film about mid-level Mafia men which was also based on real events and starred De Niro and Pesci.

* [[Spiteful Spit]]: Nicky's brother runs a restaurant and he personally adds some... salival flavour to the sandwiches prepared for the cops.

* [[Surveillance As the Plot Demands]]:

* [[Surveillance as the Plot Demands]]:

** Justified, Las Vegas is a virgin territory at first, but Nicky draws so much heat that he manages to attract many kinds of surveillance; wiretapping, lip reading, electronic bugs, car chases, aerial vigilance...

** Nicky is [[Genre Savvy]] and gets away implementing anti-surveillance devices and tactics for a while, but he is bested when the Feds put a wire inside an adjacent wall.

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** Several characters reiterate that an infidelity could end with everyone involved in it dead, including the ones who cover it up, as this is a big no-no for the old timers. Boss Remo downplays all that in the actual question.

{{quote| '''Remo''': Frankie, be straight with me; is the little guy fucking the Jew's wife? Because if he is, that could be a problem.}}

* [[Unwinnable]]: [[Unwinnable By Design|By design]]

* [[Unwinnable]]: [[Unwinnable by Design|By design]]

{{quote| '''Sam :''' It's all been arranged just for us to get your money. That`s the truth about Las Vegas. We're the only winners. The players don't stand a chance. [...] In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing. The longer they play, the more they lose. In the end, we get it all}}

** Later on an incompetent employee is so clueless after a triple jackpot in 20 minutes that he makes Sam wonder if he's just dumb or an accessory to the scam.

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** [[Foregone Conclusion|"But in the end we fucked it all up"]]

* [[Viva Las Vegas]]: Well, yeah.

* [[Villain ~~With~~ Good Publicity]]: Zig-zagged: At first Sam builds an entrepreneurial reputation, is given awards and social recognition, but after a while things go sour and he is surrounded by great media controversy regarding his license problem and his association with Nicky, who is a well-known ruffian that almost lives inside a courthouse by then. As a reaction, Sam starts his own talk-show [[Principles Zealot|to make a stand and defend himself and his image]]. He gets rebued by the wiseguys as this flamboyant crusade draws unwanted attention.

* [[Villain with Good Publicity]]: Zig-zagged: At first Sam builds an entrepreneurial reputation, is given awards and social recognition, but after a while things go sour and he is surrounded by great media controversy regarding his license problem and his association with Nicky, who is a well-known ruffian that almost lives inside a courthouse by then. As a reaction, Sam starts his own talk-show [[Principles Zealot|to make a stand and defend himself and his image]]. He gets rebued by the wiseguys as this flamboyant crusade draws unwanted attention.

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Ace, [[Anti-Villain]]. Nicky, [[Ax Crazy]] [[The Sociopath|sociopath]].

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: '''''EVERYONE'''''. Ace, Nicky, Ginger, the mob bosses, ''everyone''.

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** Sam is admonished by Andy Stone -- on behalf of Remo -- for his extravagant television stunts and his crusade to appeal to the Supreme Court. Nicky reprimands Sam too, as he gets calls from home asking if Sam has gone batshit.

** Nicky gets reprimanded by Sam when the former extorts Sam's banker, who being a square guy is likely going to run for cover to the FBI.

* [[What Happened to ~~The~~ Mouse?]]?;

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]?;

** Lester's fate is never shown, he just kinda disappears after {{spoiler|he attempts to kidnap Ace's daughter}}. In the original script, Lester was supposed to be shot in the desert by Nicky as a favor for Sam.

** Frankie mentions that his lie to Remo about Nicky and Ginger could get him killed if the bosses found out. By the end of the movie, there's no way they haven't found out about the affair. It's never stated if the mob bosses punished Frankie for lying about it though his penance might have been {{spoiler|having to kill Nicky and Dominic himself.}}