A casino is an establishment for gambling. Most casinos feature slot machines and table games, but some also offer bingo, sports betting, and more. Many also have restaurants and bars. Some casinos are owned by governments, while others are independently operated. In most cases, casinos are located in cities or resorts.
Martin Scorsese dials up the gangster film genre to eleven in Casino, an ode to the mafia life that combines brashness and lurid details with a gripping story of corruption and betrayal. The movie lays bare the intricate web of corruption that centered in Las Vegas, with tendrils reaching into politicians, Teamsters unions, and even the Midwest mob based out of Kansas City. It is, in many ways, more like a documentary than an entertainment film, and the violence (including torture by vice, an attempted car bomb, the death of Sharon Stone, and the murder of Joe Pesci) is real and disturbing.
The movie is a showcase for Robert De Niro, who delivers an unforgettable performance as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, the gambling kingpin who funnels mob money to the Tangiers hotel he all but runs for the mob elders back in New York. But it is also a demonstration of Scorsese’s mastery of the cinematic form, with an implacable sense of narrative purpose and camera movement that drives the action along without pause or reluctance. It is not up to the level of his greatest films, such as Taxi Driver or Raging Bull, but it is a finely crafted and convincing depiction of human tragedy.