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Casino is the story of Frank Rosenthal,sports betting handicapper.As a young man Rosenthal grew up in the Chicago area,learning the ropes of sports betting.He did not let personal preferences sway his bets.He did his research,and fine tuned his craft.Gambling.He became very succsesful in his pursuits,and caught the attention of alleged crime bosses in the Chicago area.They treated him with respect,and he made alot of money for them, gambling.Rosenthal was not a degenerate, and carried himself in a business like manner.Making money always came first.In the late 1960's the Chicago mob decided to send Rosenthal to Las Vegas.They had a scam going called the "skim".Crooked casino workers would skim money from the count room,and send it to mob bosses from the Midwest.The bosses had a claim to this money because they held influence over the Teamsters Pension Fund,and would approve,or deny loans to organizations looking to build casinos.Rosenthal was hired at the"Stardust" in a low level position,but quickly became the man that was deferred to when a problem came up,because of his knowledge in gambling affairs.In the early 1970's Rosenthal's old friend from Chicago, Anthony Spilotro,moved to Las Vegas.Spilotro was allegedly a Made Man in the Chicago outfit.His style clashed with Rosenthal's.Rosenthal liked to keep an aire of respectability about himself,while Spilotro was a Gangster to his core.Over several years a rift developed between the gambler,and the gangster.When Spilotro first moved to Las Vegas he was told by his mob superiors to watch out for Rosenthal,but soon he developed his own ideas about running his own mob in Las Vegas.Rosenthal wanted nothing to do with that,knowing nothing but trouble would follow.Spilotro then seduced Rosenthal's wife Geri.Frank found this out,but could do nothing to his old friend,except tell his bosses in Chicago,which could mean problems for Spilotro.In 1983 someone put a bomb under Rosenthal's car which blew up.Frank survived,and thought his old friend was responsible.The FBI came down on the "skim" in the casino,and inditments were handed down against the Chicago mob bosses,which subsequently sent most of the Chicago mob leadership to prison for lenghty terms.In 1986 Spilotro was called to a meeting at a farm in Indiana where he was beaten to death and buried alive along with his brother Michael.Rosenthal's wife Geri left him, and died shortly after of a drug over dose.Rosenthal made amends with any surviving mob leaders,and was allowed to continue running his gambling interests.He traveled around, and setteled in Florida.A movie was made from this book with the same title starring Robert DeNiro,as "Ace" Rothstein,Rosenthal,and Joe Pesci,as Nicky Santoro,Spilotro.Nicholas Pillegi did a fine job writing this story.It keeps you fasinated from page one until the last page.A great read for any organized crime fan.HIGHLY RECOMMNENDED!Read full review
I liked the movie so much that I opted to buy the book. As an advid reader of Pileggi's, Casino doesn't fall short. Then again why should it, after all look who authored it. If you loved the movie you won't be disappointed with the book. The only comparison is that the book is raw and goes into so much more detail and is factual. The movie on the otherhand is a more "glamorized" Hollywood version based on events of the book, yet still entertaining. Highly recommended.
A must read!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
interesting reading.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
It's exactly what he wanted
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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