Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas

Casinos are gambling establishments where people can wager money on various games of chance or skill. They also offer a variety of restaurants and retail outlets. They are often visited by groups of people who enjoy socializing, playing a game together, and sharing the experience of the casino environment. While some people may be tempted to cheat or steal in casinos, they are generally protected from such actions by security cameras and other measures.

This Martin Scorsese film was based on the nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese. The movie lays bare the complex web of corruption that was centered in Vegas with tendrils reaching into politicians, Teamsters unions, Chicago mob, and a Midwest mafia based out of Kansas City.

Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci both give outstanding performances. The scenes of their interaction are riveting. While the story takes some liberties with history (Lefty Rosenthal managed more than one casino and did not micro manage every aspect of his operation nor demand that each blueberry muffin contain at least ten blueberries) it is still fascinating to watch how these guys climbed so high only to fall from such great heights due to greed, lust, hubris and all of the other things that make up the human condition.

At almost three hours long this is one of the longest movies that Scorsese has ever made but it never lags or loses steam and is gripping from start to finish. It is a film that any fan of crime drama should see.