The topic of gambling has always attracted a lot of film directors. Undoubtedly, one of the most well-known movies dedicated to this topic is the crime film “Casino” that was directed by famous Martin Scorsese and released in 1995. In order to find out more curious details of the plot and characters of the film “Casino”, read the following article from the Login Casino team.
Who is Sam Rothstein? The film character’s life story
In the movie, Sam “Ace” Rothstein is a professional player and master of the game on the tote. No one better than him knows how to predict the results of matches and competitions. Midwest mafia bosses decided to entrust him with running a casino in Las Vegas. Nicky Santoro, an old friend of Sam, was assigned to help him. For several years, their business flourished until Nicky got too carried away with organized crime and drugs.
Sam falls in love with an elite Las Vegas prostitute – Ginger McKenna. Realizing that she does not love him and knowing about Ginger’s dependence on another man, Sam still decides to marry her and have a child. Moreover, he puts into Ginger’s hands the only key to the bank’s cell with two million dollars in cash – a key that ensures his freedom and security that only she can use.
A few years later, huge problems appear in Sam’s personal life: Ginger becomes addicted to alcohol and rarely is sober; she also takes drugs and is still enslaved by a passion for another man – Lester. However, Sam still loves Ginger, forgives her a lot but it is already impossible to not pay attention to the fact that his wife is ready to betray him at any time. Ginger blackmails her husband with Sam Rothstein’s daughter and constantly makes scandals. Sam divorces her but gives the ex-wife the money that he promised to give her before the marriage.
Nicky is added to the list of people who are forbidden to appear in gambling establishments. And since there are few places in Las Vegas that are somehow not related to the game, Santoro is actually deprived of the opportunity to appear in the city. Not intending to hide, he becomes even more involved in organized crime in Las Vegas, and soon he and Sam will face even more serious problems. The mafia also has problems with the FBI. The FBI carefully monitors all criminals and collects information regarding the members of the mafia. There is a number of serious quarrels between Sam and Nicky. Ginger starts a relationship with Nicky and asks him to kill Sam but he refuses to do that.
At the same time, the FBI, having collected enough information, arrest a number of members of the mafia. In court, preliminary hearings are held over the mafia bosses, after which they decide to kill almost everyone who can know something. As a result, many members of the mafia are killed. Nicky also dies: Santoro and his brother are beaten to death, and then buried alive in a cornfield. Ginger left for Los Angeles, got in touch with drug addicts, spent almost two million dollars in two months, and died because of an overdose of drugs. After Sam survived the assassination attempt and escaped from a car explosion, he returned to where he started – he began to play the tote in San Diego and determine the winners. At present, making bets – is a very popular way to make a lot of money. Familiarize yourself with our tips in sporting betting and change your life for the better.
Who performed Sam Rothstein in ”Casino”?
In the film, the main character was performed by one of the most successful actors Robert De Niro. According to numerous critics’ reviews, he managed to do this very well. The actor, for example, was very attentive to all the details, especially to Sam Rothstein’s suits. The thing is that the character had forty-five suits. And among them, not a single was a boring one (one of the most fascinating suits was a coral jacket worn with a pink shirt and tie). Another important detail, which attracted a lot of people’s attention, was Sam Rothstein’s glasses. If you have some free time and want to find out more about gambling –watch the educational film “Poker Secrets from Poker Champs” featuring poker king Phil Ivey’s useful pieces of advice.
Sam Ace Rothstein: his most famous phrases
One of the things that perfectly characterize the main character of the film is his sayings. Below, we will provide some of them:
- “If you love someone, you must believe this person, it is impossible in a different way. You must give your loved person the keys to everything that you have, otherwise, it is not worthy. And for some time, I thought that I had such love.” This phrase perfectly demonstrates that in his heart, there was a place for true love, and this feeling was highly valued by him.
- “In this place, there are three ways to do everything: how to do it, how not to it and how I do it.” There was a reason why Sam Rothstein achieved success: he had his own way of managing casinos.
- “Hit him with your fist – he will return with a club. Hit him with a knife – he will return with a gun. And if you want to shoot him, it’s better to kill him right away, because he will return until one of you is dead.” The laws of the gambling business were very harsh at that period and Sam perfectly followed them.
- “With more than one million dollars worth of money and jewelry in her bank account, Ginger felt happy and independent. She loved this rubbish. But a person in my profession should always have money at hand. Bribe takers and kidnappers do not accept checks.” Sam Rothstein, Tangiers boss, always tried to control the situation and have a special plan just in case.
- “The golden rule of the casino: let them play as long as possible. Let them come back and play again! The longer the game – the greater the loss. In the end – we get everything!” Rothstein perfectly understood what was necessary to do in order to make gambling establishments very profitable, and he really succeeded in doing this.
Who was the real Sam A Rothstein? The full truth about Sam Rothstein’s wife
The movie is based on real events and the character of Sam Rothstein from “Casino” is inspired by Frank Rosenthal, a well-known personality in the gambling world. He was born in the legendary year and in the legendary city – in 1929 in Chicago.
From childhood, Frank was interested in sports and loved animals, especially racehorses, which is not surprising, since his father owned several trotters (if this topic is also interesting for you – read more info about betting at horse races). Earning his first money by predicting successfully the winner in the races, the young man generously shared part of his income with jockeys, asking them not to be very strict with the animals. For some unknown reason, Rosenthal’s activities have attracted the Chicago police’s attention. Thus, he was arrested a number of times. When one day he came to court, someone advised Frank to answer all provocative questions only one way – according to the fifth amendment to the US Constitution, no one can be forced to testify against himself in any criminal case. During the trial, the young man repeated this phrase thirty-seven times, even when the judge asked if he was left-handed. Since then, friends began to call Frank Rosenthal just “Lefty”.
“Lefty” characterizes the early period of his life as a period of apprenticeship. Closer to forty years, from a student, he turns into a professional – a specialist in gambling and sports sweepstakes. Place of residence, of course, had to be changed: he moved to the North American capital of excitement – Las Vegas.
New adventures in the gambling capital of the world
In Las Vegas, Rosenthal started with the position of the croupier, and soon became a manager in a casino. Then he managed to set a real record, having become the manager of four casinos and three hotels at the same time. The US Department of Justice believes that Rosenthal achieved such success not without the help of good friends from the Chicago syndicate, who earned and laundered huge sums of money in Nevada. However, in any case, Rosenthal really was a revolutionary manager who introduced many innovations. Thanks to him, sports sweepstakes appeared in the casino of Las Vegas. It was Rosenthal who insisted that croupier girls appear at the blackjack tables, thanks to which the profit of the Stardust casino, for example, doubled.
In the late 70s, Rosenthal was also the host of popular talk shows that were broadcast from the Stardust casino and contributed a lot to its popularity. The omnipotent manager associated with the mafia, of course, had ill-wishers. In 1982, a bomb was attached under the bottom of his car. The bomb exploded but the lucky Rosenthal escaped with a leg burn.
In 1976, authorities discovered that Rosenthal, by then the most powerful manager of Las Vegas (GGR net real calculation proved this), had no license to conduct a gambling business. A long streak of investigations and courts began, and as a result, by the end of the 80s, Frank Rosenthal nevertheless lost his job and ended up in the list of people who are forbidden to engage in gambling in Nevada or even just enter the casino. However, the adventurous Rosenthal did not calm down. After moving to Florida, he adopted new technologies and, having registered his website on the Internet, took up his favorite business – sweepstakes, and also became a consultant for several offshore gaming companies.
Curious details of Rosenthal’s personal life
Rosenthal’s wife was a beautiful woman named Jerry McGee, who made a living with her body. In the film “Casino”, she was played by Sharon Stone. Frank did not care much about his wife’s affairs with other men but Jerry’s addiction to drugs and alcohol seriously bothered him. And he was right – a year after the divorce, Jerry died in a motel room, having drunk alcohol and taken too many drugs. Rosenthal buried her at his own expense, having spent a lot of money on examination to prove his innocence in the death of his ex-wife.
Rosenthal died because of a heart attack on October 13, 2008, at the age of 79, at his home in Miami Beach, Florida.
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