A casino is a place where people come to let their hair down and enjoy some gambling. It’s often decorated in extravagant ways with fancy statues and lights and the sound of coins clinking slots. But it isn’t just the decor that makes casinos so attractive. It’s also the pulsing energy of people talking and laughing over drinks, dancing or watching stage shows and trying their hand at various table games. The atmosphere is almost intoxicating and can make even the most jaded individuals feel alive again.
The reason for this is because casino’s aim to create an environment that encourages patrons to gamble and stay longer for a chance at winning big. To accomplish this, casinos have to provide a wide variety of entertainment, food and other amenities, like top-notch hotels, spas and restaurants. The main attraction, of course, is the games themselves, with each one offering different thrills and the possibility of losing big. Casinos are a place where you can find something for everyone, from the casual player looking to have fun and try their luck at some table games to the high rollers that are there to win it all.
In a world where good luck is everything, the casino provides an opportunity to test yours against the odds and the house. While some may say that it’s all about luck, the reality is that it takes skill and knowledge to beat the odds and make money. Whether you’re in the mood to test your skills at roulette, poker or blackjack, the casino has it all for you.
It was the healthy return on investment from Goodfellas that prompted Universal to sign Scorsese up for Casino, his spiritual sequel. It brought together the stars of that film, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, forming what is widely regarded as a legendary acting duo. But Casino doesn’t simply repeat the story of organized crime in Vegas, it reveals how the mob lost control of a city that was once considered to be their own private hellscape.
While the film focuses on three key characters, it’s really about what happened to the once-mighty Vegas gambling industry as a whole. As with Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls a few years later, Scorsese’s movie presents a vision of the past that’s as much about the era of greed and corruption as it is about the underworld itself.
With a nod to Goodfellas, Scorsese shoots Casino in a style that evokes the sleaze of the period. A sequence featuring a torture-by-vice scene complete with popped eyeballs and a sound-designed baseball bat beating was trimmed to make it more family friendly, but even a PG-13 version of this kind of violence feels intensely resonant. There are no heroes in this picture, just a parade of despicable people mired in treachery, betrayal and avarice, but even though there are no winners here, there is still a sense of jubilation when the movie ends. That’s mostly because of Sharon Stone.