With music blaring and coins clinking, casino floors are buzzing places where locals and tourists mingle, socializing over drinks and trying their luck with games of chance. Whether you’re looking to strike it rich or try to claw back what you lost the last time, gambling can be a thrilling experience. But before you head to the casino floor, be sure you have a set amount of money that you are ready to lose – and never go in with any more than you can afford to lose.
Gambling is a dangerous business. Whether it’s due to the allure of a jackpot or the fear of losing your hard-earned money, gamblers often resort to unethical and sometimes illegal tactics to make a quick buck. In fact, casinos are notorious for encouraging this behavior by offering high payouts and limiting the time that you can play in order to maximize profits.
Casino was Martin Scorsese’s return to the mob genre after his break-out hit Goodfellas and it starred Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in a role that arguably completes their trilogy of criminal epics. While it’s easy to see why it was a big hit, it also carries a dark undercurrent of greed, treachery and violence that makes the film a hard one to watch.
Casino’s most memorable scenes come from Sharon Stone, who spikes the movie’s energy as Ginger, a seductive hustler who can “keep a guy awake for two or three days” and whose lust for power is only outmatched by her desire to control others. Like many of the movie’s other characters, she’s a force of nature that, while unstoppable, is also deeply flawed.