As we're sure most readers are aware, the 1995 movie Casino was based loosely on the story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and the latter days of the mob's hold on Las Vegas.
The Rosenthal character was played by Robert DeNiro, his wife Geri (Ginger in the movie) by Sharon Stone, and notorious killer Tony "the Ant" Spilotro by Joe Pesci. The producers of the movie recognized Las Vegas as a rich source of real-life characters, however, and indeed recruited generously from the city's entertainers and other professionals, along with an ex-mobster of our aquaintance.
As far as characters who portrayed themselves are concerned, the most notable is probably ex-attorney ex-Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, who represented numerous accused mobsters, including Spilotro, and is the subject of John L. Smith's Of Rats and Men.
Frank Culotta, though not a Las Vegan, was a technical consultant on the film, since he knew Tony Spilotro since they were children and was the Ant's right-hand man in Vegas. In the scene where the hitman is chasing the target through his Las Vegas house, the actor playing the shooter just couldn't get it right. Scorcese said to Frank, subject and co-author of our book Cullotta, "Show him how you did it." (Yes, Cullotta himself had assassinated Jerry Lisner, who'd provided information to the police about crimes that Cullotta and Spilotro had committed.) Frank acted it out so realistically that Scorcese put him in the movie to film that scene.
The scene featuring fellow real-life Vegas mobster and Black Book subject Frankie Citro apparently hit the cutting-room floor.
Singer Frankie Avalon also played himself in the movie, as did "father-of-late-night TV" Steve Allen and his actress wife Jayne Meadows.
Director Martin Scorsese's parents Catherine and Charles both have cameos (the former also was Assistant Property Mistress and helped with the catering), as did his now ex-wife Cathy.
Las Vegas Review-Journal entertainment columnist and author of our book Cult Vegas! Mike Weatherford plays a reporter, as does his former colleague Michael Paskevich, along with ex-Vegas-weatherman-turned-actor Eric Randall.
Through his friendship with De Niro, celebrity sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa landed a role as a wealthy businessman who was a guest at DeNiro's casino, while comedian Don Rickles plays casino manager Billy Sherbert. Dick Smothers of the Smothers Brothers plays Sen. Harry Reid, while comedian Alan King plays Andy Stone, the head of the Teamsters.
Bill Allison, a retired casino host from New York-New York played the part of John Nance, the "bag man" shown throughout the film going into the count room to pick-up the skim, and is shown at the end of the film being shot in Costa Rica. He was originally hired as a consultant for the film given his many years of experience in the casino business, but they liked him so much that they placed him in the film. He has since been in a number of films and TV shows dealing with casinos or Las Vegas.
While the casting was taking place, the producers visited the show Jubilee! at Bally's on the hunt for showgirls. Apparently, they didn't find precisely what they were looking for, but they did recruit legendary company manager "Fluff" LeCoque to play the role of silent casino partner Anna Scott, who once confessed to the current writer that, despite decades of performing in and managing headlining Strip shows, not to mention working her way through five husbands, the highlight of her life to date was being shot in the head by Joe Pesci.
Long before his subsequent fame in "The Sopranos," Las Vegas actor Steve Schirripa had an uncredited cameo as the man in the bar that Pesci stabbed in the neck, repeatedly, with a pen for dissing DeNiro's character.
The jewelry heist that occurs took place in an actual Las Vegas jewelery store and the owner, who plays himself, apparently ad-libbed the line, "I just got a shipment of diamonds from Israel."