Casino: the 1995 film by Martin Scorsese is a story about greed, deception, money, power, and murder between two best friends.  A mafia enforcer and a casino executive compete against each other over a gambling empire and over a fast living, fast loving socialite.

Starring Robert De Nero, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone in a performance that earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, Casino is a superb example of the talent and ability of the cast and Martin Scorsese as a director.

But what might surprise you is just how much of the movie is based on true events.  Whilst the film does say at the start that it’s based on a true story, the main cast all play characters based on actual people who were active in Las Vegas at the time.

Taking inspiration from the book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicolas Pileggi, the movie and the book both tell the story of Frank Rosenthal and his fascinating experiences out in Las Vegas with Anthony Spilotro and Geri McGee

In the movie, they become Sam Rothstein, Nicky Santoro and Ginger McKenna, all staying faithful to the people they’re based on and the larger than life events that happened to them.

From Sam’s insistence that every blueberry muffin has an equal number of blueberries to the attempt on his life via car bomb that gives the movie its explosive opening scene, the story is based around people and events that actually happened when the mob tried to get a foothold in Las Vegas in the casinos of the 1970’s.