casino (the movie)

They had on TV, Casino the other day and my Uncle who was in Vegas at the time, described in more detail what was really going on.

It was really interesting learning about what kinda people these actors played. Some were really a-holes and some were quite nice. Joe Pesci's character royally pissed off the mob and received a dirt nap for his troubles. Also learning the truth why Rothstein (DeNiro) managed to survive the bombing of his caddy.

I'm going to have to rent it and watch it from the begining with my Uncle. It ought to be one hell of a good time.

I believe the reason he survived the bombing was because he had an extra plate of steel under the driver's seat. I believe Cadillac did this because the catalytic converter was also right under the driver's seat. The catalytic converter was supposed to be very hot. I would think a plate of steel would need some kind of insulation due to heat transfer?

I didn't get the reason why the steel was there, but it did save the character, Rothstein's life.

Depending upon the spacing between the converter and the steel, would dictate how much if any insulation was needed. (kinda like a heat sink) You would of had some heat insulation on the inside floorboard. Most likely the spray on type, the normal stuff should have taken care of the rest.

Read the book.

The real name of the man portrayed as Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the motion picture Casino was Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal (June 12, 1929 – October 13, 2008). One can read his obituary in the Las Vegas Review-Journal of 14 October 2008.

His web-site, FrankRosenthal.com survives him.


Oh, and there is an alternate explanation for the plate beneath the Cadillac Eldorado driver's seat:
"Another problem with the 1981 model year was an unexplained balancing problem that affected the vehicle's overall handling. GM corrected this by installing a large, heavy metal plate under the driver's seat. This issue with the vehicle was brought to light in the 1995 movie Casino, where Robert DeNiro's character survives a bomb planted under the driver's seat of his Cadillac Eldorado, and the plate is credited with saving his life after the explosion. This was based on an actual incident that happened to Frank Rosenthal, upon whose life story the film was based."
Ref: Unique Cars and Parts

An excellent movie! I've owned it on DVD for a while and it's definitely worth buying. If I remember right, I bought it at Wallyworld for $9.99.

I like the way Spilotro(Pesci) was put to sleep. He watched his brother be beaten with baseball bats in front of him until he got his. Supposedly they were buried alive in that corn field. Due justice!

its streaming on NetFlix too...

My favorite scene is with the Japanese hi rollers...

Frank Vincent got revenge on Joe Pesci for stomping and stabbing him to death in Goodfellas and beating him up in Raging Bull.

I was in Vegas with my family when they were shooting the film Casino at the Riv. We were staying accross the street at the HO (our first experience with free rooms) and would run over to the Riv every chance we got. We were the quintesential groupies. Cameras were not allowed and you would get thrown out if they thought you were taking pictures. My new camera could shoot indoors without a flash, so of course, i had to try to get some pictures. We saw Deniro from a distance, (he looked so handsome in his cream colored suit). Saw Martin Scorcese (very short) and Don Rickles. Never saw Sharon Stone. I took many pictures on the sly but most of them turned out blurry, because of the haste. I did get some good pictures of the waitresses in their costumes.
We went over at 2 a.m. when they were shooting the scene where the cowboy puts his feet on the poker table. They shot it over and over but not with Deniro. We also watched them shoot many scenes with extras that never made it into the movie. It was a fun experiece and we still talk about it. Of course, it remains one of my favorite movies of all time.