Gambling is a popular pastime and can offer people a sense of thrill when things go their way. However, it can also be dangerous and addictive. Whether you’re a casual player or an expert, it’s important to understand how gambling works and how to protect yourself.
Casino is one of Martin Scorsese’s most brutal movies, but it’s also a compelling drama with believable characters and a gripping story. Despite the violence, it’s not sensationalized for shock value like some films. Instead, the director’s choice to use this level of violence reflects how these events really happened.
The film is based on the book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, written by Nicholas Pileggi. The movie’s nonfiction foundation allows the film to explore the mafia’s relationship with Las Vegas in a way that feels more like an epic history lesson than a Hollywood drama. This is largely due to the fact that Casino is narrated by Sam Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a real-life mobster who ran four casinos for the mafia in Vegas during this time.
Casino is also unique in that it shows how casinos are designed to influence gambling behavior. By eliminating external cues such as daylight and clocks, casinos are able to keep gamblers in a state of euphoria, making hours feel like minutes and encouraging them to spend more money than they intended. This is a common strategy for casinos to boost profits, but it can lead to financial disasters when players lose control of their decisions.