- The Casino movie character Artie Piscano was based on Carl 'Tuffy' DeLuna. The raid on his home happened on February 14, 1979. Unlike what is depicted in the movie, Tuffy did not die of a heart attack during the raid. He was sentenced to prison for his participation in skimming Las Vegas casinos and was released in 1998.
- Misc(Heart attack)-1 Take this pen.-1 Nicky kills pen guy Remos Bar-6 Tony Dogs kills 5 people-5 Frank kills Tony-1 Assasination-1 Nicky kills Anna Scott Death Montage-6 Nicky kills 6 people Hero Sandwich-1 Cops shoot Blue Arrest-1 Artie Piscano has heart attack Hit Montage-7 Mob hitmen kill Andy, Nance and his brother, and 3 mobsters-6.
Gary Jenkins is the producer to the DVD Gangland Wire. Gangland Wire is the documentary of the events that led up to and about operations Strawman I and Strawman II. Gary Jenkins has an insider view of Strawman, not only because he is the producer to Gangland Wire; but because he was an officer in the Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit that was listening to the wire that was recording the Kansas City Mob. If you have never heard of these two operations I am sure that you have seen them on the Big Screen, most famously in the movie CASINO.
Vincent Borelli played by Joseph Rigano
For example, Artie didn't die of a heart attack while being arrested. Batter Up: The sad, sad fate of 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. Book Ends: Ace ends the movie right back where he started. Ginger's and Nicky's life mistakes catch up to them, and Piscano dies of a Heart attack on the spot. Only Ace survives because he is a big earner, too valuable to waste. Kosher Nostra: Sam 'Ace' Rothstein definitely qualifies as an example since he runs a Las Vegas casino. Lady Drunk: Ginger turns into this as her marriage goes downhill.
If you recall in the movie CASINO Joseph Rigano played the role of Vincent Borelli. Vincent was the Kansas City Boss in the movie. Vincent Borelli was based on real life mobster Nicholas Civella. Nick Civella was the Boss of the Kansas City Family and the Kansas City Family reported back to the Chicago Outfit. His Underboss Artie Piscano was played by Vinny Vella. Artie Piscano was based on real life mobster Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna. He was the Underboss to the Kansas City Family. Carl DeLuna was trusted across the country by all the different La Cosa Nostra Families. That is why he was responsible to make sure that each family got there cut of the Las Vegas Skim. In the movie CASINO, Artie Piscano was raided by the FBI and he dies from having a heart attack. Before he dies the FBI finds his notes and was able to bring down the Outfit. The real Carl was raided by the FBI but he did not die on the spot from a heart attack. The FBI did find his notes but they were encrypted. They had to figure out what the notes meant by matching it up to recordings of the gangsters and other evidence.
It all starts around 1971 in an old deteriorating industrial area in Kansas City. An entrepreneur named Marion Trozollo started to buy up all the abandoned building and renovating them for inexpensive spaces for art galleries, shops, eateries, and other family friendly locations. This development was driven by an art colony attracted by the cheap rent offered by Marion Trozollo. This part of town was called the River Quay (pronounced Key).
One potential issue with this renovation was that it’s approximation to another part of town. It was adjacent to the City Market. It was not the shops in the City Market competing with the shops in River Quay as being the problem. The problem was that the City Market was run by the Kansas City Mob and its boss Nick Civella. This thriving development of the River Quay would be too much temptation for the mob to not get a taste of the action.
The River Quay.
A bar was opened up in the River Quay. It was called Poor Freddie’s and it was the second bar to open there. The tavern owner was a man named Freddie Bonadonna. Like Trozollo, Bonadonna could see the great business potential that the River Quay held. He was one of the first to take advantage of the vision being built by Marion Trozollo.
There was another man named Joe Canizaro. He was a developer from the New Orleans area. He has experience from building in the French Quarter of a mix of residential, artist shops, retail, and a bar scene. He was called upon by Marion Trozollo to help fulfill the vision of the River Quay.
In Kansas City there was a desire to build a conference center and a hotel in the downtown area. To fulfill the building of the conference center and hotel a block of seedy bars and strip clubs on 12th Street would have to be torn down. The city invested the money and they tore down these locations on 12th Street. In the demolishing of these businesses it displaced members of the Kansas City Mob who have been running this area up until the tear down. These mobsters needed a place to go to regain their traction in their illegal enterprises. They now had their eye on the River Quay.
A location that was a place for hipsters to hang out was converted into a porno theater called the Old Chelsea Too. This was very out of place compared to the rest of the thriving shops in the River Quay area. Freddie Bonadonna knew that this opening would jeopardize the River Quay development. He wanted to make sure that the area would be kept clean and maintain the family friendly vibe that was so essential to the growth and productivity of this area. This would put him at odds with the Kansas City Family who had always made their living by selling vice.
Other bars started popping up in the area. These bars, like the Old Chelsea Too, were out of place and did not belong in the River Quay. Freddie Bonadonna was desperate in maintaining the integrity of what he started. He would start to play a very dangerous game. He was going to help these mobsters on the surface but behind the scenes do everything that he could to ensure their failure. What makes Freddie Bonadonna think that he can get away with trying to play such a dangerous game? He has an in with the mob. His father was David Bonadonna. A Made guy with the Kansas City mob, working for a man named Willie Cammisano or “Willie the Rat” a Capo in the Civella Family. He earned the name of “Willie the Rat,” because he would stick murder victims in the sewer so that the rats could eat them. Freddie’s father’s connection was a way in to give the perception to the mob that he was sincere with his offer to help. As the old adage goes keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.
Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna
Joe Canizaro bought out Marion Trozollo for the River Quay development. Freddie Bonadonna met with Joe Canizaro. He told Canizaro that he was going to introduce him to some people that were interested in building in the River Quay. You are going to tell them that you back them and support them. Once they leave we are going to do everything that we can to resist them.
Joseph Cammisano was the brother to “Willie the Rat.” He wanted to bring some Go-Go Girls down to the River Quay, but he couldn’t. He could not get a liquor license from a west side councilman. This councilman was a friend to Freddie Bonadonna. Joseph Cammisano was the leader of the other Kansas City mobsters that had their businesses on 12th Street. These gangsters were looking to the leadership of the Civella Family to handle and take care of the politicians and leverage their muscle to gain entry to the River Quay.
With all of the growth of the River Quay parking was scarce. Freddie Bonadonna had been leasing empty lots in the area from the city. It was great foresight on his part and became very lucrative. The city leased these lots cheaply to Bonadonna because they had no use of them and did not see the value in them like Freddie did. Soon enough Freddie Bonadonna was making a couple of thousand dollars each weekend. The Cammisano brothers wanted a cut of this cash money. They started asserting pressure and it was not before long that David Bonadonna was passing messages to his son that he needs to start helping these people and give them their cut. Freddie pleaded to his father that he did not want to help the Cammisano brothers nor did he want them in the River Quay. The father decided to take up for his son.
David Bonadonna went to Willie Cammisano and told him that his son did not want to help him or his brother Joe. Willie told David that he has to help them. David then told Willie that he was not going to force his son to help them establish businesses in the River Quay or give them a cut of the parking lot money. Cammisano told Bonadonna that his son could get hurt. Bonadonna said that if anyone was going to try and hurt his son Freddie they would have to go through him first. This put the two gangsters at odds with each other and forced a sit down with Willie Cammisano, David Bonadonna, and Nick Civella. At the sit down Civella did not broker a deal or offer a judgment to his warring constituents. He told them either to figure it out, or do whatever you have to do. A position Civella would later regret.
On July 22nd, 1976 about 30 days after that meeting with Civella and Cammisano, David Bonadonna was found dead in the trunk of a Mustang with five bullets to the head. Sonny Bowen, a man with a contract on his life for unrelated reasons and Gary Parker, a business partner of Freddie Bonadonna start to plan retribution for the murder of David Bonadonna. Freddie Bonadonna goes into hiding and the 12th Street gangsters started building Las Vegas like bars in the River Quay.
Sonny Bowen went on the attack and shot a Civella soldier named John Amaro or “Johnny Green.” Bowen killed this man in his garage which was also in the same neighborhood of Nick Civella, Carl Civella (Nick Civella’s brother), and Tony Civella (Carl Civella’s son). Mike Rufalo a soldier and confidential informant to the FBI were speaking to Sonny Bowen. Sonny Bowen admitted to Rufalo that he killed “Johnny Green.” He was hoping by telling Rufalo that Rufalo would flip and help Sonny take on the Civella Family. On the day for the wake of John Amaro, Sonny Bowen’s vehicle was seen outside of a bar called Pat O’Brien’s in mid-town Kansas City. On February 22nd, 1977 Bowen was murdered and shot to death in front of everyone. The Civella Family has also believed that Gary Parker also had a role in the murder of John Amaro. Later on August 5th, 1977 Gary Parker died from injuries he received after bomb was placed and exploded underneath his car.
Sonny Bowen Grave
On March 27th, 1977 after everyone from the River Quay went home for the night there was a large explosion. It was Pat O’Brien’s and Judge Roy Bean taverns that have exploded. Where the taverns once stood a 20 foot hole now exists. This is the end of the River Quay. Nick Civella knows that keeping a low key is critical in staying off the radar of the Feds. Now there were multiple murders and a couple of buildings that were blown up and all for what? Parking lot money!
Nick Civella was battling cancer and was heading off to jail for a gambling conviction so he stepped back. His brother Carl “Cork” Civella was going to step in for his brother. His brother got the knick name “Cork” because of his temper. His temper would rise and it would pop off like a cork. Nick Civella and “Willie the Rat” Cammisano were not close, but “Cork” Civella and “Willie the Rat” saw things eye to eye. However there was an order to put on the backburner any murder or acts of violence due to the fact that this would become front page news.
Casino Artie Pisano Heart Attack Rate
Carl Spero a rival gangster was seeing the disarray of the Civella Family; and saw this as an opportunity to take revenge for the murder of his brother Nick who was a Teamster member. He and his other brothers Joe and Michael were trying to take over the Civella Family. They would do anything to taunt or disrupt the Family’s operation. Carl Spero had one of his guys robbed the Brandmeyer & Civella Meat Company. This was easily traced back to Spero. The Spero brothers were all shot at the Virginia Tavern. Michael Spero was killed, Carl Spero was fighting for his life but paralyzed, and Joseph Spero was hit but less seriously wounded. Carl Spero was found shot gunned in the back lying in the street. When the police arrived they asked “Carl do you know who did this?” He said “Yeah.” The police than asked “Are you going to tell us who did it?” Spero said “No.” Both Joseph and Carl would later be killed by bombs that they were making to exact their revenge.
With Kansas City going to hell in a hand basket at the hand of the Civella Family the feds are hearing that “Cork” Civella and Underboss “Tuffy” DeLuna were planning more murders. They were told that the planning would take place at a bar called The Villa Capri. The feds planted a wire in this location. When the feds started listening to what was being picked up by the wire, they heard a lot of disco music. What they don’t hear is anything about the Spero brothers, or anything related to the River Quay or any other murders. What they do hear is them talking about Las Vegas, Teamsters, and skimming.
What the wire started to reveal was that Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna was receiving money that was being skimmed from Las Vegas Casinos that were controlled by the Chicago Outfit. Other crime families had interest in the Las Vegas skim as well. The learned that DeLuna was getting the cash from the casinos, taking the share for Kansas City and sending it back to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. It was “Tuffy’s” job to get the money back to these Families. The feds were expecting to find out information on the mob in Kansas City and instead learn about what the Midwest mobsters were doing in Las Vegas for years. The Las Vegas skim by the La Cosa Nostra has been uncovered.
Paul Scharff and Gary Jenkins at Mob Con 2013 on September 7th. I shared a table with Gary at Mob Con. He was part of the Kansas City Intelligence unit that helped bring down the skim operation portrayed in the movie CASINO.
Gary Jenkins’s Gangland Wire has over two hours’ worth of mob history. Rarely do I get a book or a DVD that I learn something new about the Chicago Outfit, but that was not the case with this DVD. Jenkins’s tell the story of the River Quay and then spends another hour going over the actual wire taps that led to the Strawman Operations. These wire taps were incredible in the information that was uncovered. You hear Joe Agosto reporting back to Kansas City about “Genius.” That was Alan Glick the front man for the Chicago Outfit. His company the Argent Corporation owned the Outfit’s casinos, the Stardust, the Marina, the Hacienda, and the Fremont. He was only a Strawman (clean guy that was a front for the mob), hence the name of the operations that took down the mob in Las Vegas. You get insight to what the Kansas City Family thought about Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and who may have placed a bomb in his car at Tony Roma’s in Las Vegas. Was it Tony Spilotro or the Chicago Outfit? Maybe not. Joey “The Clown” Lombardo calls Morris Shenker, an attorney and casino owner, and tells him that he will not make it to 73. Was Rosenthal a loyal tight lip odds maker running the Outfit’s casinos, or was he confidential informant? If you are mob historian always looking to learn more about mob history or you just enjoy all things mob, Gangland Wire flips the bill for everyone. Get Gangland Wire and get the insider’s view of taking down the Las Cosa Nostra’s hold on Las Vegas!
I have put together some of the articles that I have written that are prevalent for the upcoming election in MARCH!. This is the Republican Nominee election but probably more important than the general election. It is most likely the winner in March will win in November and become sheriff. If you review the articles in the Knowledge Center, you will read all kinds of unbelievable things as it relates to this election.
Freedom of Information Act Appeal to get the remainder of my father’s file. In my efforts to get to the bottom of my father’s murder and what the McHenry County Sheriff’s office has done to me and my family 33 years ago. I filed a FOIA Request (Freedom of Information Act Request) to get my father’s case file. Many documents were withheld from my request. It is my believe the documents are withheld to protect guilty individuals that are known to Sheriff Keith Nygren and Undersheriff Andrew Zinke that covered up who actually killed my father during the original investigation. Start on page 11 to read what sounds like a murder mystery thriller, but this is my true life. It is backed by FBI reports, witness statements, and newspaper articles.
Andrew Zinke for McHenry County Sheriff, Really??? This article is based on my own father’s murder investigation and Undersheriff Andrew Zinke. I talked about how he made his own milestones and failed to meet every single one. How it took me calling NBC News Chicago to get Andrew Zinke to return my phone call about my father’s murder investigation, as he was the lead investigator. I am fighting to get the remainder of my father’s case file. It is my believe that Undersheriff Andrew Zinke and the Sheriff Keith Nygren are hiding and protecting individuals that covered up the true killer of my father during the original investigation.
Andrew Zinke plus Rita Corporation equals ON THE TAKE Brian Goode and his RITA Corporation was a person of interest and focal point for the investigation of the distribution of 30 plus tons of marijuana. Undersheriff Andrew Zinke told Brian Goode of the investigation. Two days later, according to Koziol, (Sgt. Koziol was working on the investigation and filed a complaint against Zinke) Goode gave Zinke’s election campaign a $5,000 donation. The RITA Corporation address is the same address as Andrew Zinke’s campaign headquarters.
McHenry County Deputy Zane Seipler under siege, Again!! Zane Seipler is a whistleblowing deputy that was fired by Keith Nygren after he exposed the sheriff’s office for racial profiling. Nygren was forced to hire Seipler back after he lost an arbitration ruling, a court hearing, an appellate court hearing, and a failed attempt to be heard by the Illinois State Supreme Court. After Seipler was hired back, Nygren fired him again. Zane Seipler is currently fighting to get his job back.
Another McHenry County Deputy under siege, Scott Milliman Scott Milliman was a deputy and former right hand man to Sheriff Keith Nygren. He was fired by the sheriff for whistleblowing that the sheriff allegedly transacted in ticket fixing, bribery, general corruption, fraud in a SBA Loan, and in tapping Milliman himself to kill a McHenry County Judge and a Coroner’s Candidate. Scott Milliman is currently fighting to get his job back.
How Gary Gauger got to DEATH ROW This is the real life, tragic story of Gary Gauger. He was falsely arrested and sent to Death Row by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department for the double murder of his parents. Investigators from the sheriff’s department rigged a false confession so that they could convict him.
McHenry County Ethics Commission, Ethical or NOT!?!? The McHenry County Ethics Commission conducted a hearing of a complaint filed by Cal Skinner that Undersheriff Andrew Zinke used a government computer for a very politically charged email. The hearing was ran over by Zinke’s attorneys Mark Gummerson and Rebecca Lee. The sign up sheet to speak at the hearing went missing but found in the possession of Rebecca Lee. The commission went into secret session, made its decision, and did so without explanation.
First Electric Newspaper v.s. Sheriff Nygren and EEO Officer Donald Leist Pete Gonigam won a Public Access Bureau (Illinois States Attorney) appeal for the release of a 100 page report conducted by the McHenry County Sheriff’s office. The report exonerated Undersheriff Andrew Zinke after he told Brian Goode that he and his RITA Corporation was a the focal point of a drug investigation by the DEA.
Zinke’s middle finger may cost Cal Skinner $5,000 After filing a valid ethics complaint against Undersheriff Andrew Zinke for using a government computer for his campaign, Cal Skinner was to face Zinke’s attorney Mark Gummerson. Gummerson was lobbying for a $5,000 fine against Skinner filing a valid complaint. An act of bulling and intimidation of a McHenry County citizen.
Will McHenry County be Ripped Off by Special Interest in Sheriff Election? I question the interest and the contribution to Undersheriff Andrew Zinke’s campaign from the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 election. I send a letter to the President-Business Manager of the union James M. Sweeney.
IUOE Local 150 and Andrew Zinke. Is this Gangster Money for a Gangster Cop? The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 contributes money to Undersheriff’s Andrew Zinke’s campaign. They have known ties to the Colombo and Gambino Crime Families.
Undersheriff Andrew Zinke Shuts Down Cal Skinner’s Blog SiteUndersheriff Andrew Zinke’s campaign was able to get Cal Skinner’s website, mchenrycountyblog.com shut down by falsely accusing him of stalking and linking to obscene material. Read here on how Zinke’s campaign resorts to breaking the law to silence a citizen’s voice.
Andrew Zinke Fearful to Debate Bill Prim Lies to Get Out of It. Undersheriff Andrew Zinke is so fearful to debate Bill Prim for McHenry County Sheriff that he lies to get out of it. Zinke knows that he would be out matched, outwitted, and the truth of his corrupt character would be revealed to the citizens of McHenry County. Instead of enduring such damage to his campaign he lies to coward out of it.
Is Sheriff Nygren and Undersheriff Zinke Intimidating and Tampering with Federal Witnesses? Is Sheriff Nygren and Undersheriff Zinke intimidating federal witnesses? Or are the deputies fighting back? Donald Leist, the sheriff’s in house lawyer sent a letter to 30 deputies and correctional officers to be interrogated prior to their depositions in a federal case. Would that work anywhere else in the US or just McHerny County?
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Casino Artie Pisano Heart Attack Death
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Casino | |
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Theatrical movie poster | |
Directed by | Martin Scorsese |
Produced by | Barbara De Fina |
Written by | Screenplay: Nicholas Pileggi Martin Scorsese Book: Nicholas Pileggi |
Narrated by | Robert De Niro Joe Pesci Frank Vincent |
Starring | Robert De Niro Joe Pesci Sharon Stone Frank Vincent Don Rickles Pasquale Cajano James Woods Alan King Kevin Pollak |
Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
Editing by | Thelma Schoonmaker |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date(s) | November 22, 1995 |
Running time | 178 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | |
Budget | $52,000,000[citation needed] |
Gross revenue | $116,112,375 |
Casino is a 1995crimedrama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese.
Robert De Niro stars as Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, a top gamblinghandicapper who is called by the Mob to oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. The story is based on Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Haciendacasinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s.
Joe Pesci plays Nicky Santoro, based on the real-life Anthony 'Tony the Ant' Spilotro, an intimidating enforcer and psychopath. Nicky is sent to Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and that the mobsters in Vegas are kept in line. Sharon Stone plays Ace's wife, the self-obsessed and devious Ginger, a role that earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
When released, Casino had the most uses of the word 'fuck' (398) in a feature length film. Casino has been considered a companion piece to Scorsese's earlier film, Goodfellas (1990), which also starred De Niro and Pesci, and was written by Pileggi and Scorsese.
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Plot
Casino is the story of Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, a shrewd Jewish-American sports handicapper. As is often the case with those engaged in such activity, he is regularly harassed by local law enforcement, but is protected by the mob after proving himself as a top earner. Impressed with his work, Rothstein in 1973 is recruited by Midwestmob bosses to manage the new Tangiers Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The bosses have set up the casino to 'skim' profits (stealing a portion of the cash collected from gamers before the income is reported to the authorities), and want someone in charge whom they can trust.
In 1983, as Rothstein gets in his car and turns the ignition, the car explodes. The rest of the story is a flashback, revealing how the mob set up its operation in Las Vegas and chose Rothstein to manage it; how Nicky Santoro came to Vegas and how, eventually, organized crime lost control, never to have a hold on something so valuable again.
The mob's presence in Vegas stems largely from connections with corrupt representatives of the Teamsters. Their chief contact is Andy Stone. With a loan from the union's pension fund and a powerless front man named Philip Green acting as chairman of the board, the Tangiers becomes a reality. Rothstein is not licensed by the gaming authorities of Nevada because of his criminal record. But this is largely circumvented by lax rules that allow casino managers to work while their applications are pending—which, for many, can take years.
Ace, with help from an old friend, Billy Sherbert, is so good at his job that he doubles the amount of money sent back home to his bosses. As he builds the Tangiers into one of the biggest casinos in Vegas, he falls in love with Ginger McKenna, one of the most successful hustlers in town. Her only mission in life is taking money from rich men. She also takes care of her old boyfriend, a small-time pimp named Lester Diamond.
The bosses send Nicholas 'Nicky' Santoro, a mob enforcer and Sam's boyhood friend, to Vegas to protect Ace and the casino from rival gangsters and scammers. Nicky, well-known for his violent temper, makes it clear that he intends to set up his own money-making schemes.
Ace and Ginger have a daughter and get married, but only after Ginger is assured that she will be taken care of financially for the rest of her life. As a sign of his trust in her, Ace gives Ginger the only key to a safe deposit box containing 2 million dollars. However, Ginger stays in contact with Lester, which puts a severe strain on her marriage. At one point Ace has Lester beaten up in front of Ginger, which leads to further resentment (and substance abuse) on her part.
Nicky sets up his own criminal operations in Vegas, including loan sharking, shaking down other criminals and using his Vegas crew to cheat at cards. When the police put him in a Black Book, which bans him from entering any casino in Nevada, Nicky brings in friends from back home and his brother Dominic to commit robberies all over the city. Nicky sets up legitimate businesses such as a restaurant and a jewelry store as a front. He sends trusted lieutenant Frank Marino back home with money to keep the bosses happy.
Rothstein's relationship with Nicky becomes strained because Nicky's activities are starting to draw public attention to Ace's past. In addition, Ginger is increasingly turning to Nicky as a confidante. Ace fires an incompetent employee named Don Ward who is the brother-in-law of Pat Webb, one of the powerful county commissioners. Failing to convince Rothstein to give the employee his job back, the commissioner retaliates by arranging for Ace to be denied a casino license without a fair hearing.
Ace takes a new title as entertainment director and begins appearing on television, challenging the commissioner to a public debate. The bosses do not like the attention Ace is drawing to himself and want him to stop. Ace blames Nicky for causing so much trouble that every activity is now being closely scrutinized. Nicky threatens him in a tense argument in the middle of the Great Basin Desert, damaging their relationship even more.
Meanwhile, the 'skim' is starting to get lighter and lighter and the bosses realize that the people they sent to steal are stealing money from them. They assign Kansas City underboss Artie Piscano to make sure nobody 'skims the skim.' Because of Piscano's incredible ineptitude, he begins keeping records of everything he knows and naming names recklessly in public. This will prove fatal as Piscano's Kansas City store has been bugged by federal investigators.
Ginger again hooks up with Lester Diamond, after having absconded to Los Angeles with her daughter and 2 million dollars in cash. Ace is enraged and threatens her. Ginger complains to Nicky, who agrees to become Ginger's 'sponsor' and the two begin having a secret affair.
Ace comes home to find Ginger gone and their young daughter locked in her room and tied to her bed. He and Ginger argue and she tells Nicky to have Ace killed. When he refuses to kill his friend of more than 30 years, she attacks Nicky and he throws her out of the restaurant.
An out-of-control Ginger creates a scene at home while trying to collect her possessions. Eventually she manages to make off with the 2 million in the safe deposit box, only to be later pinched by a couple of FBI agents. After spending the money within months, Ginger eventually dies of a drug overdose in Los Angeles far away from both her daughter and husband. Sam's voiceover suggests Ginger was purposely given a 'hot dose,' and talks about how he had paid for a second autopsy.
Ultimately, the FBI collects enough information to make other arrests, their case strengthened by Piscano's expense reports. Piscano suffers a fatal heart attack as he realizes the magnitude of his error.
The Tangiers shuts down, and most of Nicky's crew is taken into custody. Nicky, however, manages to escape without being arrested. The bosses are also arrested and taken to court. Andy Stone is murdered so he won't talk. The same fate awaits several other casino executives.
The story then returns to the point in time at which Rothstein's Cadillac Eldorado has been rigged to explode. It is revealed that Ace survived the blast with minor burns due to the presence of a metal plate inserted in the car by GM to correct a design flaw. Ace suspects that it was not the bosses who rigged his car to blow up, but Nicky.
Nicky's crew is eventually released from jail. At a meeting in a cornfield, Nicky and his brother Dominic are viciously pummelled with aluminum baseball bats by fellow mobsters including their friend and right-hand man Frank Marino. Dominic and Nicky are then buried alive.
With the mob facing trial and the Teamsters influence at an end, Las Vegas undergoes a dramatic change. The Tangiers and other famous hotels of the Vegas strip are demolished and replaced by 'family-friendly' resorts, built by corporations using junk bonds. 'In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played,' Rothstein laments. 'Today, it's like checkin' into an airport.'
The final scene shows an aged Rothstein, alone, still making bets, right back where he started.
Cast
Actor | Role | Based on |
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Robert De Niro | Sam 'Ace' Rothstein | Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal |
Joe Pesci | Nicholas 'Nicky' Santoro | Tony 'The Ant' Spilotro |
Sharon Stone | Ginger McKenna Rothstein | Geraldine McGee Rosenthal |
Frank Vincent | Frankie Marino | Frank Cullotta |
Don Rickles | Billy Sherbert | Murray Ehrenberg |
Pasquale Cajano | Remo Gaggi | Joseph Aiuppa |
James Woods | Lester Diamond | Leonard Marmor |
John Bloom | Donald 'Don' Ward | - |
L. Q. Jones | Pat Webb | A Clark County Commissioner |
Kevin Pollak | Philip Green | Allen Glick |
Alan King | Andy Stone | Allen Dorfman |
Bill Allison | John Nance | George Vandermark |
Philip Suriano | Dominick Santoro | Michael Spilotro |
Carl Ciarfalio | Tony Dogs | Billy McCarthy |
Vinny Vella | Artie Piscano | Carl 'Tuffy' DeLuna |
Nobu Matsuhisa | K. K. Ichikawa | Akio Kashiwagi |
Ffiolliott Le Coque | Anna Scott | Tamara Rand |
Bret McCormick | Bernie Blue | Herbert 'Fat Herbie' Blitzstein |
Richard Riehle | Charlie 'Clean Face' Clark | Morris Shenker |
Dick Smothers | Nevada State Senator Harrison Roberts | US Senator Harry Reid[1] (D-NV) |
Oscar Goodman | Himself | Himself |
Frank Twinkle Cullotta | Curly | - |
Steve Buttkiss Vignari | Beeper | Frank Schweihs |
Development
The research for Casino began when Pileggi read a report from the Las Vegas Sun in 1980 about a domestic argument between Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, a casino figure and his wife, Geri McGee, a former topless dancer.[2] This gave him an idea to focus on a new book about the true story of mob infringement in Las Vegas during the 1970s, when filming of Goodfellas (the screenplay which he co-wrote with Scorsese) was coming to an end.[3] Pileggi decided to contact Scorsese about taking the helm of the project which would become known as Casino.[2]Scorsese expressed interest in the project calling this an 'idea of success, no limits'.[4] Although, he was keen to release the book and then concentrate on a film adaption, Scorsese encouraged him to 'reverse the order'.[5]
Screenplay
Scorsese and Pileggi collaborated on the script lasting for a total of five months, towards the end of 1994.[3] Real-life characters such as Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, Geri, Anthony Spilotro and his brother were reshaped. Some characters were combined as well as parts of the story being set in Las Vegas instead of Chicago. A problem emerged when they were forced to refer Chicago as 'back home' and use the words 'adapted from a true story' instead of 'based on a true story'.[4] They also decided to simplify the script, so that the character of Sam 'Ace' Rothstein only worked at the Tangiers Casino to show a glimpse of the trials involved in operating a mafia run casino hotel without overwhelming the audience.[4] According to Scorsese, the initial opening sequence was to feature the main character, Sam Rothstein, fighting with his estranged wife, Ginger, on the lawn on their house. Since the scene was too detailed, they changed the sequence to show the explosion of Sam's car and see him fly into the air before hovering over the flames in slow motion—like a soul about to go straight down in hell.[4]
Principal Photography
Filming took place in The Riviera Casino in Las Vegas to replicate the fictional Tangiers, during the night - which was once as late as 4:00 in the morning. According to the producer Barbara De Fina, there was no point building a set if the same cost was to use a real-life one.[4] The opening scene - Sam's car explosion - was shot three times with the latter one being used for the film from the real life account of Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal of the way he managed to escape.[4] The precise details of the explosion were seen to suggest that you never forget these moments if you know how close you can come to being killed.[4] According to Martin Scorsese, 'we (with Nicholas Pileggi) wanted to show the end of the old way'.[4]
Reception
While the film was heavily criticized for its excessive violence, it garnered a mostly positive critical response. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 83% 'fresh' rating.[6] On Metacritic, the rating is 73 (generally favorable reviews) out of 100 based on 17 reviews.[citation needed]
Awards
Sharon Stone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role as well as a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama. Martin Scorsese was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Director - Motion Picture.
Soundtrack
Casino: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
---|---|
Soundtrack by Various Artists | |
Released | November 20, 1995 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Label | MCA |
Track listing
Disc one
- 'Contempt - Theme De Camille' - Georges Delerue
- 'Angelina/Zooma, Zooma Medley' - Louis Prima
- 'Hoochie Coochie Man' - Muddy Waters
- 'I'll Take You There' - The Staple Singers
- 'Nights in White Satin' - The Moody Blues
- 'How High The Moon' - Les Paul & Mary Ford
- 'Hurt' - Timi Yuro
- 'Ain't Got No Home' - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
- 'Without You' - Nilsson
- 'Love Is the Drug' - Roxy Music
- 'I'm Sorry' - Brenda Lee
- 'Go Your Own Way' - Fleetwood Mac
- 'The Thrill Is Gone' - B.B. King
- 'Love Is Strange' - Mickey & Sylvia
- 'The 'In' Crowd' - Ramsey Lewis
- 'Stardust' - Hoagy Carmichael
Disc two
- 'Walk on the Wild Side' - Jimmy Smith
- 'Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)' - Otis Redding
- 'I Ain't Superstitious' - Jeff Beck Group
- 'The Glory of Love' - The Velvetones
- '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' - Devo
- 'What a Diff'rence a Day Made' - Dinah Washington
- 'Working in the Coal Mine' - Lee Dorsey
- 'House of the Rising Sun' - The Animals
- 'Those Were the Days' - Cream
- 'Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)' - Tony Bennett
- 'Slippin' and Slidin' - Little Richard
- 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You' - Dean Martin
- 'Compared to What' - Les McCann & Eddie Harris
- 'Basin Street Blues/When It's Sleepy Time Down South' - Louis Prima
- 'St. Matthew Passion (Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder)' - Johann Sebastian Bach (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Additional songs in the film
- 'Layla' - Derek and the Dominos (also used prominently in the film's trailers)
- 'Moonglow / theme from Picnic' - Eddie DeLange/Irving Mills
- 'Sing Sing Sing' - Louis Prima
- '7-11 (Mambo #5)' - The Gone All Stars
- 'Long Long While' - The Rolling Stones
- 'Heart of Stone' - The Rolling Stones
- 'Nel blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)' - Domenico Modugno
- 'Takes Two to Tango' - Ray Charles & Betty Carter
- 'Unforgettable' - Dinah Washington
- 'Love Me the Way I Love You' - Jerry Vale
- 'Let's Start All Over' - The Paragons
- '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' - The Rolling Stones
- 'Sweet Virginia' - The Rolling Stones
- 'Stella by Starlight' - Ray Charles
- 'Sweet Dreams' - Emmylou Harris
- 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking' - The Rolling Stones
- 'Toad' - Cream
- 'Gimme Shelter' (live version from the No Security album) - The Rolling Stones
- 'EEE-O Eleven' 1960 Oceans Eleven - Sammy Davis, Jr.
- 'I'll Walk Alone' - Don Cornell
- 'Whip It' - Devo
- 'I'm Confessing That I Love You' - Louis Prima & Keely Smith
- 'Harbor Lights' - The Platters
References
- Notes
- ^Harry Reid is not boring. - By Chris Suellentrop - Slate Magazine
- ^ ab Baxter, John DeNiro: A Biography p.336.
- ^ ab Thompson, David and Christie, Ian Scorsese on Scorsese p.198.
- ^ abcdefgh Thompson, David and Christie, Ian Scorsese on Scorsese pp.200-204.
- ^ Baxter, John DeNiro: A Biography p.337.
- ^Casino Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes.
- Bibliography
- Thompson, David; Chrstie, Ian (1996). Scorsese on Scorsese. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0571220021.
- Evans, David (2006). DeNiro: A Biography.
External links
![Casino artie pisano heart attack today Casino artie pisano heart attack today](/uploads/1/3/4/1/134197173/894098429.jpg)
- Casino at the Internet Movie Database
- Casino at Rotten Tomatoes
- Casino at Metacritic
- Casino at Allmovie
- Casino at Box Office Mojo
- Casino at the TCM Movie Database
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