Casino – A History Lesson
The opulent lights of the Las Vegas Strip may make for a glamorous backdrop to a movie like Casino, but beneath it all lies a brutal system engineered to slowly bleed patrons of their money. The mafia once held sway over the city, but with its ties to organized crime strained or cut altogether, gambling corporations now mint billions annually in a desert town that is constantly reinventing itself. Casino focuses on three key characters and the impact their stories have on Vegas’ future, but the movie is an epic history lesson that covers more than just the current state of the gambling industry.
Unlike other forms of gambling, casinos are designed around noise, light, and excitement to encourage players to spend as much time and money as possible. During a typical visit, visitors are surrounded by other people playing games of chance or skill and often shout encouragement to one another. The atmosphere is loud and partylike, with a variety of drinks available for purchase. Casinos also rely on a psychological strategy to keep gamblers gambling by providing them with perks and incentives, known as comps, to stimulate their spending.
Successful casinos rake in billions of dollars each year for the companies that run them, their investors, and even state and local governments that benefit from the taxes they collect. These profits are derived from the house edge of each game, which is a mathematical probability that ensures that a casino will not lose money over the long term. Casinos also bolster their profits with additional revenue from the rake, a commission taken by each player at table games and card games.
Casinos are also built on a foundation of mathematics, which is why savvy mathematicians have long tried to beat the house. For years, these individuals have hacked into the system by using their knowledge of probability and game theory to exploit its weaknesses. Despite this, the mathematically inclined have found it is very difficult to beat casinos at any game unless they are specifically rigged.
Featuring an outstanding cast of actors including Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, Casino is a lean, mean thriller that never slows down or runs out of steam. The film is arguably Scorsese’s most violent, with scenes of torture, a car bomb, and the murders of both De Niro and Pesci’s real-life counterparts, but these scenes are not gratuitous. They are part of the fabric of these characters’ world and reflect the reality of life in a crime-ridden underworld. While some viewers have complained that Scorsese’s depiction of violence is too harsh, the movie’s realism sets it apart from other movies of its genre.
