A casino is a place where people can gamble and play a variety of games of chance. The word casino is actually derived from the Italian term for ‘clubhouse’, and it seems to have been used as early as the 16th century to describe small, social clubs for Italians that would meet in a private space to enjoy games of chance and free drinks. Today, casinos have evolved into a more lavish concept that includes dining options, stage shows and dramatic scenery. But they still house a wide variety of gambling activities.
In the mob-run casinos of Reno and Las Vegas, organized crime figures invested hefty amounts of cash in their operations. But these mobsters weren’t just providing the bankroll; they got personally involved, took sole or partial ownership of casinos and even rigged slot machine payouts to their benefit. Federal crackdowns on any hint of mob involvement eventually forced legitimate businessmen like Donald Trump and the Hilton hotel chain to take over many casino businesses.
While Casino does include a handful of bravura set pieces, Scorsese’s approach is more rueful than exuberant. There’s a sense of nostalgia for the good old days, but also a skepticism about what will replace them. His ambivalence is evident in the movie’s truly hellacious violence, including a torture-by-vice sequence that features popped eyeballs and a sound-designed baseball bat beating (both of which were heavily trimmed to avoid an NC-17 rating). Similarly, the film ends with images of Vegas in disrepair overlaid with sarcastic commentary about how “it never looked better.”