DeNiro plays Rothstein as very wary of his friend he understands the value of having such a violent person in his pocket but is frightened by what could happen if Nicky isn’t reigned in. The friendship between Rothstein and Nicky is just a powder keg waiting to explode. It often gets compared to Goodfellas, but other than the voice-over narration and organized crime elements, it is a very different story. These three figures become involved in an increasingly complicated relationship that threatens to tear them all apart.Ĭasino has all the trappings of Shakespearean tragedy. However, Nicky becomes more interested in criminal ventures for himself and his crew, which leaves him at odds with Rothstein. Meanwhile, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), Rothstein’s childhood friend, is sent out to protect the casino. Rothstein falls in love, and the two get married but with a storm on the horizon. After some time, Rothstein meets Ginger (Sharon Stone), a former sex worker who hustles her way through the casino getting high rollers to drop cash on her. Rothstein agrees and heads out to the city in the desert in 1973 to run the Tangiers. They see him as a great ally to set up in Las Vegas, running a casino and helping them skim some more money off the top. Sam Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) has made a name for himself among the Midwest Mafia bosses for his gambling prowess. The story is also more balanced with its three central cast members in a way that Goodfellas never really did. These people deal with amounts of money that are far beyond what Henry Hill ever got his hands on.

Unlike Goodfellas, Casino feels more epic in scope.

Like Goodfellas, the movie focuses on an outsider to the Italian Cosa Nostra, a Jewish man with a remarkable ability to gamble and win big. Five years later, they told another true story of organized crime and its deleterious effects on people’s lives in Casino.

Written by Martin Scorsese & Nicholas PileggiĪfter the success of Goodfellas, both with audiences and critics, it was reasonably sure Scorsese & author Nicholas Pileggi would collaborate again on something.

Casino the movie real characters