Casino Movie Based On True Story
Dec 30, 2020 When it comes to epic mob movies director Martin Scorsese outdid himself with Casino. It tells the true story of Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro and how the Chicago Outfit dominated gambling in Las Vegas and is based on the research and eventual book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi. Apr 19, 2017 “Casino” was based upon a real casino boss, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal. He was played by Robert De Niro. Joe Pesci’s character was based on Lefty’s real-life gangster associate, Tony Spilotro. Read more about Frank Rosenthal. The casino is a classic movie released in the year 1995. It’s an epic gangster flick about money, power, greed and murder. The movie directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Nicholas Pileggi, features Robert De Niro (Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein), Joe Pesci (Nicky Santoro), Sharon Stone (Ginger McKenna), and James Woods (Lester Diamond) as the main cast.
- Best True Story Movies Of All Time
- Is Movie Casino Based On True Story
- Top 100 True Story Movies
- True Movies 2017
Casino (1995) is based on the true story of two mobster best friends and a trophy wife who create their own gambling empire. It’s jam-packed full of violence, money, power and greed – and it is no surprise it now viewed as one of the world’s finest gangster films. Here are 10 Casino movie facts you must read.
1. The Real Mobsters
Remember the scene where Nicky (Pesci) visits Ace (De Niro) at his house to talk to Richard Rheil, the banker? Look at the photograph on the counter – as it is a picture of Lefty Rosenthal and Tony Spilotro, who are the real guys De Niro and Pesci are playing.
Best True Story Movies Of All Time
2. Continuity
As Robert De Niro’s character was a chain smoker, he always held his cigarettes the same distance from the lit end so the lengths never appeared to change on film.
3. Juggling
Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal hated the scene where Sam juggles on his TV show, The Frank Rosenthal Show, maintaining that he never juggled and that De Niro’s scene made him look foolish.
4. The Jewellery Store
The Jewellery store owner who is robbed by Nicky’s boys was a real-life Las Vegas jeweller, and his line “I just got a shipment of diamonds from Israel” was not in the script.
5. James Woods
James Wood’s limes were mostly improvised. He was not supposed to speak at Ginger’s wedding scene, but came up with an idea that it would suit Lester’s character to be with a prostitute whilst doing cocaine when talking to Ginger on the phone.
6. Criminal Consultants
Martin Scorsese hired a number of real-life parolees from the same era as consultants. He also worked with F.B.I agents who had busted the same parolees.
7. Three-Hour Movie
Cinemas aren’t overkeen on lengthy movies, as it means less screenings and therefore less money. He was aware that the producers wanted it to be a three hour movie, but he ignored them anyway, saying it is a “fast three hour movie”.
8. Broken Rib
Pesci suffered a broken rib when De Niro threw his character through a glass door in Raging Bull. The injury led to Pesci breaking the same rib once again when filming the Casino scene where he is bundled into the cornfield hole with his dead brother.
9. The Costume Budget
The costume budget for Casino was a whopping $1 million, as Robert De Niro wore 70 different costumes, while Sharon Stone wore 30 vintage and bespoke outfits. The actors were also allowed to keep their costumes afterwards.
10. 7,000 Extras
7,000 extras featured in the Casino movie, from bellboys to strippers – and 120 of them had speaking parts.
Love gangster movies? Check out 10 Goodfellas Facts You Should be Reading.
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By David Amoruso
Hollywood loves gangsters. Not because film makers condone their crimes, but because their stories make them lots of money. It’s difficult to name any other genre that has so many titles based on a true story. Yet, despite this label, the true story often gets twisted to fit the silver screen. That is why Gangsters Inc. shares its knowledge of the facts and truth behind these blockbuster gangster flicks.
When it comes to epic mob movies director Martin Scorsese outdid himself with Casino. It tells the true story of Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro and how the Chicago Outfit dominated gambling in Las Vegas and is based on the research and eventual book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi.
In the movie the names have been changed. Lefty Rosenthal turned into Sam “Ace” Rothstein while Spilotro was now named Nicky Santoro. Thankfully their actions remained the same and the acting of Robert De Niro as Rothstein and Joe Pesci as Santoro is, as you can expect from these two stars, top notch.
Where Scorsese had shown the gritty streets of New York City mob life in Goodfellas, in Casino he upped the ante and showed us the glamorous lives of the men who controlled a billion dollar industry. And, “how [they] messed it all up.”
The true story of Casino was featured in several Gangsters Inc. stories. Most dealing with the individual players or certain incidents more than with the exact plot of the movie. The men responsible for the Las Vegas skim and the money from the Teamsters were bosses Antonino “Joe Batters” Accardo and Joseph Aiuppa, while capo Joseph “The Clown” Lombardo saw to it their orders were carried out as commanded. We have profiled them all.
Spilotro was sent to Vegas to oversee the skim at the casino. He had made a name for himself back in Chicago after learning the ropes from “Mad Sam” DeStefano, one of the most evil mobsters ever to walk the streets of Chi Town.
All in all the violence portrayed in Casino did a good job at showing the capabilities of the group of stone cold killers the real Chicago Outfit had at its disposal. Like when Chicago boss Antonino Accardo needed to send a message to some guys wo burglarized his home.
In the movie Scorsese even cast real mob killer Frank Cullotta to play, essentially, himself as he shoots his way through the final scenes of the movie.
Is Movie Casino Based On True Story
More on Casino:
Top 100 True Story Movies
- The 25th Anniversary of Casino: Looking Back with Nicholas Pileggi and Oscar Goodman
- Mafia hitman Frank Cullotta on movie 'Casino', Tony Spilotro, Killing Informants, Cooperating with FBI
- The lucrative and violent years of Las Vegas mobster Tony Spilotro’s infamous Hole in the Wall gang
- The story behind the documentary: Back Home, Years Ago: The Real Casino
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