The Story of Tangiers Casino
Scorsese probably is best known for films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), or The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), however, he has often stated Casino as one of his favorite ever productions due to its simplicity in storytelling and clever narrative. Here we will dive deep into Scorsese’s creation explaining both the premise, the impact, and its real-life connections.
Casino’s Plot Explained
- Tangiers Casino is an online betting site that first popped up in 2016. The site brings with it a bunch of games, a nice platform, and some decent bonus terms. Unfortunately, these are somewhat offset by some slow banking speeds as well as high minimum withdrawals and low max withdrawals.
- The 'Tangiers' casino is fictional. The story is based upon the history of the Stardust casino, a fact well documented in the Las Vegas history books. Martin Scorsese discreetly documents this fact via the soundtrack, in which the song 'Stardust' is heard three different times.
The screenplay of ‘Casino’ was based on the 1995 non-fiction book ‘Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas’ by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the script with Scorsese. The film’s main character arc is centered on Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (De Niro) a Jewish-American gambler who is offered the chance to oversee the day-to-day operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The premise is regularly likened to Scorsese’s other gangster classic, 1990s Goodfellas (also starring De Niro and Pesci).
Mafia associate Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, a sports handicapper is sent by the Chicago Outfit to run the Tangiers Casino and oversee skimming operations as well as numerous other extortion related operations. Alongside Sam is his childhood friend and mob enforcer Nicky Santaro (Pesci), his younger brother Dominick and Nicky’s childhood friend, Frankie Marino. These 3 act as Sam’s protectors and enforcers.
Tangiers Casino have a neat line when it comes to offering Classic Pokies, Table Games and Video Poker, with all game play proving to be particularly slick. The real jewel in the crown are the new pokie releases and it’s clear that this online casino want to provide a modern gaming experience which matches any other provider.
Sam quickly begins to increase the casino’s profits which are skimmed by the mafia before taxes are paid. After meeting fellow hustler and former hostess Ginger Mckenna (Sharon Stone) they quickly fall in love, marrying and having a daughter soon after. Due to Ginger’s previous relationship, things soon take a turn for the worse. Sam has Nicky and his crew beat up con-artist Lester Diamond after they catch him conning Ginger out of $25,000. Ginger soon turns to alcohol and quickly develops a problematic drug dependency.
Things Take a Turn for the Worst
Sam begins to bring himself into the public eye. He becomes a local talk show host boosting his profile much to the displeasure of the Chicago bosses. Inside men arrange for Sam’s gaming license to be denied, jeopardizing his position thus souring his relationship with Nicky as he believes his reckless behavior towards police and the Nevada Gaming Board is to blame.
The Midwest Mafia bosses place careless Kansas City underboss Artie Piscano in charge of all cash transactions. He regularly rants about the cash costs in the grocery store, this in turn leads him to be monitored by the FBI and has now wired his store. Secretly he has written everything he knows of the Las Vegas skimming operation in a private notebook.
After Ginger and Sam fall out and seek a divorce, Ginger goes to collect her things from Sam’s deposit box. Nicky acting as security for the deposit box starts and affair with Ginger leading to Sam disowning Ginger and renouncing Nicky as a friend. After obtaining the contents of the deposit box, Ginger is soon arrested by the FBI as a witness after drunkenly crashing her car into Sam’s (which is parked in the driveway).
After a man on the inside confesses to the authorities, the FBI launches their operation to put a stop to the mafia’s control of the casino. Artie dies of a heart attack while a search warrant is carried out in his home. The FBI approach Sam asking for help by showing him photos of Nicky and Ginger together, but he turns them down. The Mafia bosses are soon arrested and put on trial resulting in a slew of murders, orchestrated by them to prevent anyone from testifying against them.
Sam barely escapes death by a car bomb suspecting Nicky to be the culprit. Amid the chaos, Ginger dies from a drug overdose and Nicky has now made himself the main target of the bosses after they grow tired of his ongoing legal issues. They order Frankie and his crew to ambush Nicky and Dominick, they are taken to an Indiana cornfield where they are brutally beaten and Buried Alive.
With the mob now out of Licensing fronts, Tangiers Casino Las Vegas and many others are purchased by big corporations then demolished to make way for larger Hotel-Casinos to the anger of Sam. He retires to San Diego and returns to being a sports handicapper. Famously in his own words, ending up “right back where I started”.
Casino’s Impact and Real-Life Connections
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Casino initially received mostly positive reviews from critics, however, it was a fair reduction on the attention received by Goodfellas 5 years prior. ‘Casino’ is now regarded as one of the best Vegas related movies on par with Ocean’s Eleven (2001). The film’s critical profile has increased in years since its release with critics many years later calling it a much more acclaimed and mature work than the thematically similar Goodfellas.
Tangiers casino is based on the real-life Stardust Hotel, one of the real casinos run by Frank Rosenthal (Sam in Casino). Frank did also have his own television show, suitably named ‘The Frank Rosenthal Show’. The show was filmed at the Stardust Hotel and played host to guests including Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope. Chicago Outfit, who are the main gang focus of the film is perhaps best known for their connection to boss Al Capone.
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Tangiers Casino Review
Tangiers is a Bitcoin-friendly online casino. It comes in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, and is managed by a team with years of experience, which also shows in the overall good customer support, both on and off the site. Here’s a quick overview of its main features to save you some time, including a feedback section for your own review down below.
Bonuses
Tangiers is rich in promotions, which is immediately clear from their 5-tiered welcome package. It offers match bonuses and free spins, which are credited on signup. Be sure to click on the Bonus rules link in the footer to read their promotional terms in detail, where you’ll also find that upon bonus activation your real money will be played first and it will also be locked for wagering requirements like any winnings from the bonus.
Among other promotions, you’ll find reload bonuses, bitcoin-specific offers, table game deals and free spins giveaways. The more competitive players may be pleased to see them also feature various tourneys and VIP showdowns, with prize pools that they claim to be credited in cash into your casino account.
Speaking of VIP perks, Tangiers also has a loyalty program that rewards for activity, featuring tailor-made deals and other premium initiatives over five tiers.
Software
Tangiers is a white label casino with several other skin sites like this out there, and it features games from vendors like Betsoft, Habanero, Microgaming, EGT, Vivo Gaming, Rival, ViG, and Pragmatic Play. There’s no download needed for play, and the casino also works just fine on phones and tablets, without seemingly any disadvantages compared to the desktop site.
The lobby functionality is rather basic, but not without essential game categories, a search bar and additional filters that let you sort the content by provider, popularity and release date, among other options. Also, most of the games are readily available for play in demo, so you can get a feel of the casino first, without risk or registration.
Games
With the above in mind, there are lots of video slots to pick from, with one or more new titles being added on a biweekly basis. Unfortunately, there’s no separate section with a list of progressive jackpot games, although there are many, including 7 Monkeys, Chilli Heat, Hot Safari, and Wolf Gold, all by Pragmatic Play.
Both RNG and live croupier table and card games are in the mix as well, from ViG and other vendors, featuring roulette, blackjack and poker, including single- and multi-hand video poker.
Security
Tangiers Casino is operated by Celicorp Limited, which is licensed by the Government of Curacao.
Banking
Tangiers Casino accepts a variety of payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, ecoPayz, paysafecard, and Flexepin. And as noted above, bitcoins are accepted here as well. Also note that the minimum deposit amount is €25, whereas cashouts are processed in 3-7 business days. The exact fees and timeframes are mentioned in the cashier.
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Customer Support
The customer support works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are contactable via live chat (must be logged in) and email. The staff is also active on the forums, which is a good proof that they take customer experience seriously.