A casino is more than just a place to try your luck at a roulette wheel or slot machine. It’s a place where champagne glasses clink, music is blaring and the atmosphere is festive and upbeat. Whether they’re there for the money or just to socialize, everyone at a casino has one thing in common – they’re having a great time!
Beneath the flashing lights, opulence and free cocktails, casinos stand on a foundation of math. Whether it’s a game of blackjack, roulette, or video poker, the odds are that the house will win in the long run. The mathematically determined advantage is known as the house edge, and it’s built into every game that has a house component, including games with a skill element such as poker, where the casino takes a commission from each hand played called the rake.
Casino is often cited as Scorsese’s most violent film, with scenes including the torture of a man using a vice and a baseball bat beating that was so graphic it had to be trimmed to avoid an NC-17 rating. But it’s not just violence for the sake of it – it is used to accurately portray the web of corruption that was the mob’s grip on Las Vegas. While many movies show the opulence, gambling and partying, few give us a glimpse of the real roots of organized crime in Vegas. Luckily, the book Casino was written by a true insider who has woven together the truth with dramatic flair in this movie that shows the darker side of this once-lurid playground.