8.4 /10 1 Votes
4/5 Goodreads Language English ISBN 0684808323 | 4.3/5 Barnes & Noble Country United States Publication date October 1995 Originally published October 1995 Publisher Simon & Schuster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (hardcover & paperback), eBook, audio cassette, audio CD, Audible Audio Edition, Amazon Kindle Biographies Wiseguy, Bringing Down the House: T, Callus on My Soul, The Secret Life of Bill Clinton, Backstreet Boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas (ISBN 0684808323) is a 1995 non-fiction book by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi that depicts the story of the alliance of Mafia mobsters Lefty Rosenthal and Tony Spilotro and their exploits working in Mafia controlled casinos in Las Vegas.
Contents
Summary
Casino covers the period through the seventies to early eighties when the Mafia controlled certain Las Vegas casinos. Pileggi focuses on the story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, a Chicago bookmaker working for organized crime, and his friend, partner and also Mafia member, Anthony Spilotro. Rosenthal supervises the casino operations, while Spilotro provides protection, security and also masterminds jewelry raids that lead to his crew being nicknamed the Hole in the Wall Gang.
Film version
The book is the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film Casino (1995) directed by Martin Scorsese. The screenplay for Casino was by Pileggi and Scorsese. Although Pileggi had already written the book and wanted it published in advance of the film version, Scorsese persuaded him to forgo the usual chronology and to release the book after the film.
The two main protagonists/antagonists of Rosenthal and Spilotro were portrayed as Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Sharon Stone, playing Rothstein's wife, Ginger, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress (lost to Susan Sarandon).