Casino is one of Martin Scorsese’s grittiest movies. Unlike other gangster films, it doesn’t glamorize the Mafia lifestyle and doesn’t shy away from depicting violence in all its brutality. The torture, car bombs, beatings, and even the death of Joe Pesci’s character are all vividly and eloquently portrayed by the actors in the film. Yet, Scorsese never uses the violence for shock value or style – rather, the director faithfully portrays what was happening to real people in Las Vegas and in other mafia cities throughout the United States at the time.
Casinos are businesses, and just like any other business they make money by convincing gamblers to spend their hard-earned dollars at the casino for a chance of winning big. The casino makes its profit by a combination of the house edge, or the expected gross profit on all bets, and the rake, which is a percentage of each bet that the casino keeps. The casino’s goal is to encourage gamblers to play longer and risk more, to give them a feeling of excitement, and to make them feel good about their experience even when they lose.
Because of the large amounts of money involved, casinos have many security measures to prevent cheating and stealing by both patrons and staff members. The most obvious measure is security cameras. A more subtle measure is the routines and patterns of casino games, such as how dealers shuffle and deal cards and where betting spots are located on the table. These habits make it easier for security personnel to spot abnormal behavior.