It’s happened to all of us: You stride into a twinkly, noisy casino with your wallet filled with cash and plans for a few hours of enjoyable, sensible gambling and maybe two rounds of cocktails. But hours later, you’re back at the ATM with no idea what happened to your money. Casinos use every trick in the book to lure you in and keep you spending. They’re designed to make you feel at home and yet utterly lost.
Casinos are gambling establishments that feature slot machines, table games like poker, blackjack, and roulette, and sometimes entertainment shows or live music. They’re often built in exotic locations around the world and are regulated by their host country’s laws. In most cases, you must be of legal age to gamble in a casino. Casinos also offer a variety of security measures, including cameras and trained staff. They may also enforce a dress code, prohibit minors, and require players to keep their hands visible at all times.
The movie Casino is a somber tale of corruption and greed that is both entertaining and heartbreaking. Martin Scorsese’s film exposes an intricate web of graft that ensnared everyone from politicians to the Teamsters union and the Chicago mob, and centers around an empire that was centered in Las Vegas, where the movie takes place. The movie is based on the investigative non-fiction work by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese. It’s the kind of epic crime drama that doesn’t have space for sympathetic characters, but even when these corrupt players get their comeuppance in the end, you can’t help feeling sorry for them.