Casino: Difference between revisions

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The film is loosely based on the years between when he started running the casinos, and when he nearly died in a car bombing. Although the film isn't an exact account of what happened in that time (a lot of that is more [[Artistic License]] than [[Did Not Do the Research]]), it does provide a good overview of it.

It also got a lot of criticism for being, basically, ''[[Goodfellas]]'' {{smallcaps|[[Recycled in Space|IN VEGAS!]]}}, largely due to [[Martin Scorsese]] directing it the same way, Nicholas Pileggi adapting again one of his books, and for [[Joe Pesci|some characters]] having a [[Ax Crazy|really]] [[Hair Trigger Temper|close]] [[Cluster F Bomb|resemblance]] to similar characters in the last movie - though, in that respect, [[Reality Is Unrealistic|both men Pesci played really existed and acted even ''worse'' in real life]]. Being both significantly longer and more slowly paced didn't help either.

It also got a lot of criticism for being, basically, ''[[Goodfellas]]'' {{smallcaps|[[Recycled in Space|IN VEGAS!]]}}, largely due to [[Martin Scorsese]] directing it the same way, Nicholas Pileggi adapting again one of his books, and for [[Joe Pesci|some characters]] having a [[Ax Crazy|really]] [[Hair-Trigger Temper|close]] [[Cluster F-Bomb|resemblance]] to similar characters in the last movie - though, in that respect, [[Reality Is Unrealistic|both men Pesci played really existed and acted even ''worse'' in real life]]. Being both significantly longer and more slowly paced didn't help either.

But on its own, it's definitely not bad. Just be prepared for some [[Padding]] at points.

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* [[And Now for Someone Completely Different]]: For a few minutes, the film gives ''Frank'' narration duties.

* [[And That's Terrible]]: The ending tries to paint the corporatisation of Las Vegas as a terrible thing, like the city losing its soul. This is after three hours of showing us people being beaten to death on behalf of old Las Vegas.

* [[Anti Villain]]: Ace. Anywhere else in the country Sam is a bookie hassled by cops, but in Las Vegas all Ace wants to do is to make an honest living by running with efficience a legal casino for his mafia bosses back home in Chicago. But in doing so he is not above using ruthless methods or be an enabler as Nicky does most of the unavoidable dirty dirty work. Still Ace is quite decent compared to other characters

* [[Anti-Villain]]: Ace. Anywhere else in the country Sam is a bookie hassled by cops, but in Las Vegas all Ace wants to do is to make an honest living by running with efficience a legal casino for his mafia bosses back home in Chicago. But in doing so he is not above using ruthless methods or be an enabler as Nicky does most of the unavoidable dirty dirty work. Still Ace is quite decent compared to other characters

* [[Asshole Victim]]: {{spoiler|Ginger getting a deliberate drug overdose.}} {{spoiler|The Santoro brothers}} [[Buried Alive]] by Frank Marino and company.

* [[Ax Crazy]]: Nicky.

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* [[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.

* [[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.

* [[Batter Up]]: The [[No Holds Barred Beatdown|sad, sad fate]] of {{spoiler|[[Hair Trigger Temper|Nicky]] and his brother}}.

* [[Batter Up]]: The [[No Holds Barred Beatdown|sad, sad fate]] of {{spoiler|[[Hair-Trigger Temper|Nicky]] and his brother}}.

* [[Big Fancy House]]: The Rothstein's; it's on a golf course and so Seventies ''it hurts''.

* [[Black Comedy]]: What humour there is in the film is ''very'' dark.

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* [[Chewing the Scenery]]: In the second half of the movie, Ginger degenerates into this. It is ''scary''.

* [[Cliffhanger Copout]]: [[Misery|He didn't get out of the cockadoodie car!]]

* [[Cluster F Bomb]]: The entire movie. In fact, it currently holds the (dubious) honor of having the second most F-Bombs in American movie history. 398, according the [[The Other Wiki]], a classy 2.23 FPM (fucks per minute). This naturally leads to some funny [[Unusual Euphemism|Unusual Euphemisms]] when the film is [[Bowdlerization|edited for television]] and ironically it sometimes adds a new derogatory twist; e.g [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly9lKAaL8zQ ''You Jew money lover you!'']

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: The entire movie. In fact, it currently holds the (dubious) honor of having the second most F-Bombs in American movie history. 398, according the [[The Other Wiki]], a classy 2.23 FPM (fucks per minute). This naturally leads to some funny [[Unusual Euphemism|Unusual Euphemisms]] when the film is [[Bowdlerization|edited for television]] and ironically it sometimes adds a new derogatory twist; e.g [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly9lKAaL8zQ ''You Jew money lover you!'']

** '''FUCK ME!? FUCK ME, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!? FUCK MY MOTHER!?'''

* [[Consummate Professional]]: [[Meaningful Name|Ace]]. The reason he gets promoted to manager; he is a money machine that "sleeps and breaths gambling", works 18 hours a day and cannot abide sub-par competence.

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'''Nicky''' Got a lot of holes in the desert... and a lot of problems are buried in those holes. Except you gotta do it right. I mean, you gotta have the hole already dug before you show up with a package in the trunk. Otherwise, you're talking about a half hour or 45 minutes of diggin'. And who knows who`s gonna be comin' along in that time? Before you know it, you gotta dig a few more holes. You could be there all fuckin' night. }}

** In the end, Nicky provides {{spoiler|a graphical self-demonstration too}}

* [[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]].

* [[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.

* [[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.}}

** 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]]:

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

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

* [[~~Everythings~~ 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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* [[Going Commando]]: The senator's hooker.

* [[Gold Digger]]: Ginger. Discussed. Sam thinks he can [[Defied Trope|defy it and change her]]. {{spoiler|He can not}}

* [[Hair Trigger Temper]]: Nicky Santoro's spectacular temper is a fatal liability which is pivotal to the plot. One of Joe Pesci's best performances.

* [[Hair-Trigger Temper]]: Nicky Santoro's spectacular temper is a fatal liability which is pivotal to the plot. One of Joe Pesci's best performances.

* [[Hollywood History]]:

** For one thing, a lot what happened in the film actually happened outside of Vegas. Given that the film is named ''Casino'' and plays the Vegas aesthetic for all it's worth, it's understandable that the filmmakers wanted to keep the action around there. And the movie does allude to things happening elsewhere, such as the mob bosses based in Kansas City.

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** The mob bosses get outraged over the idea that some is skimming off the top of the money that ''they'' are skimming off the top of the profits of the casino -- essentially, that someone is daring to steal the money that they are stealing from someone else. Although told that this is just part of the business ("If you hire a guy to steal for you, he's gonna steal a little for himself"), their anger (and greed) ends up partially triggering the downfall of everyone.

* [[Idiot Ball]]: One of the mobsters (Piscano) keeps immensely detailed ledgers of every single illegal transaction that occurs in his house, thus enabling the feds to build a watertight case against him and his associates. The narrators lampshade how incredibly dumb this is.

* [[Interactive Narrator]]: Nicky, who also {{spoiler|gets [[Killed Mid Sentence]]}}

* [[Interactive Narrator]]: Nicky, who also {{spoiler|gets [[Killed Mid-Sentence]]}}

* [[Irony]]:

** Phillip Green, the man the mobsters arranged to be their 'squeaky clean' front man, turns out to be a crook who cheated his partner in a real estate deal, thus bringing a lot of unwanted police attention on them.

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** In the pursuit of his own criminal endeavors, Nicky seriously undermines Rothstein's efforts to run the casino. Unlike the typical Load, Nicky is actually very good at what he does; strong-arming people and pulling heists. It's the fact that he wants to be the Boss of Las Vegas that screws Ace over. For his part, Nicky doesn't really care about how it affects Ace or even his bosses. Overlaps with [[Poisonous Friend]].

** Piscano, the underboss of Kansas City. "A total disaster, this guy could fuck up a cup of coffee". He is supposed to keep the scheme under control but the guy is disgruntled and just talks and complains about the skimming operation all the time... inside his bugged place, to the FBI's rejoice. Oh and he also feels he is been fleeced so he starts an expenses report book. {{spoiler|The FBI founds it and it's a blueprint with everybody`s names, addresses, dates, everything. Piscano basically sunk the whole world.}}

* [[Loophole Abuse]]: Ace's criminal record makes him inelegible for a gambling license, but the only thing he has to do is to ''apply for one''. The state law says that he can work in a casino while the application is being processed, so after a while he changes his nominal job; rinse and repeat. Since his corporation is pouring a lot of money into Las Vegas [[Screw the Rules I Have Money|the authorities have no reason to be inquisitive or do things by the book]] ... Sam gives them reasons later, [[Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught|though]].

* [[Loophole Abuse]]: Ace's criminal record makes him inelegible for a gambling license, but the only thing he has to do is to ''apply for one''. The state law says that he can work in a casino while the application is being processed, so after a while he changes his nominal job; rinse and repeat. Since his corporation is pouring a lot of money into Las Vegas [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|the authorities have no reason to be inquisitive or do things by the book]] ... Sam gives them reasons later, [[Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught|though]].

* [[Love Redeems]]: Brutally proved by the fact ''no one'' really loves each other and it's a ''disaster''. As Ace narrates as the first lines of the film:

{{quote| '''Ace:''' When you love someone, you've gotta trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point? And for a while, I believed, that's the kind of love I had. }}

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** Nicky also seems to be manipulating Ginger in order to get his hands on the millions in jewelery that Ace has entrusted to her.

** For that matter, Ginger isn't adverse to this trope either, being quite willing to turn on the waterworks and the puppy eyes whenever Ace confronts her about anything. The more their marriage breaks down the more savvy he is about this.

* [[May December Romance]]: Possibly Ginger and Ace (he's forty when he proposes), ''definitely'' Ginger and Diamond (who's known her since she was ''fourteen'').

* [[May-December Romance]]: Possibly Ginger and Ace (he's forty when he proposes), ''definitely'' Ginger and Diamond (who's known her since she was ''fourteen'').

* [[Melodrama]]: The opening titles, and the last third of the film seem to do this most.

* [[Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot]]: The FBI bugs Piscano's place looking for information about some obscure homicide, they instead find the Casino scheme. Lampshaded by the narration.

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* [[Rule of Glamorous]]

* [[Scoundrel Code]]: Ace Rothstein talks about his soon-to-be wife Ginger following "the Hustlers' Code", which boils down to making sure that she pays off everyone who is in a position to help her carry out her profession as a high-class prostitute, so they have an incentive to do so.

* [[Screw the Rules I Have Connections]]: The reason the incompetent employee Ward is on Sam's payroll. Discussed and ultimately subverted

* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections]]: The reason the incompetent employee Ward is on Sam's payroll. Discussed and ultimately subverted

* [[Shock and Awe]]: The casino uses a stun gun to simulate a heart attack on a casino cheater and get him back to the back room for some [[Fingore|disincentivizing]].

* [[Shoot Him He Has a Wallet]]: A cop shoots {{spoiler|Bernie Blue}} thinking his sub sandwich wrapped in tinfoil was a gun.

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

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

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

* [[What the Hell Hero|What the Hell, Villain?]]

* [[What the Hell, Hero?|What the Hell, Villain?]]

** 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.}}