While Goodfellas is more streamlined, Casino crams the narrative with complexity and draws strong performances from its leads. In particular, Stone and De Niro are both dazzling, and the film is bolstered by the fact that it isn’t afraid to portray a woman who doesn’t always make smart choices. It’s a reminder that, even when we think we have it all together, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
A lot of movies about organized crime have trouble balancing the characters’ professional lives and their turbulent personal ones, but Casino isn’t one of them. The movie takes the time to show how vicious and unstable that lifestyle is, while still letting viewers take in the glitzy images of casinos, neon signs, and gamblers pulling their levers.
Many of the film’s key players were real-life mobster figures: Sam “Ace” Rothstein was inspired by Frank Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont, and Marina casinos for the Chicago Outfit from 1968 to 1981; Nicky Santoro was based on mob enforcer Anthony Spilotro; and Ginger was modeled after former hooker and Las Vegas hustler Geri McKenna. But the story isn’t just about the mob; it’s also a chronicle of how the city that never sleeps got its groove on and turned into a booming tourist attraction. When casinos open in a town, they bring in a large number of people who spend money on hotels, restaurants, shops, and other attractions. This influx of money helps the local economy.