Stepping into a casino is like stepping into another world – one filled with glittering lights, clinking slot machines and that intoxicating feeling of excitement. Whether it’s from the anticipation of what your next card or spin might reveal or the rush that comes with winning, gambling appeals to an innate sense of thrill and adventure in all of us.
But casinos are about much more than just gambling. They also offer high-end dining options, entertainment and spa and health club facilities that make them desirable destinations for vacations, business meetings and group events. That’s why it’s important for casino marketers to understand that they are appealing to more than just their audiences’ gambling interests.
With Casino, Martin Scorsese offers an epic history lesson of Vegas and lays bare the intricate web of corruption that centered around organized crime in the desert city. From mob ties to politicians, Teamsters unions and even Midwest mafia groups, Casino’s story is a riveting and sobering reminder that not everything in a casino is left up to chance.
While movies like Ocean’s 11 showcase the glamorous side of casino life, Casino presents a more gritty and down-to-earth look at Las Vegas with the help of Robert Di Nero and Sharon Stone. It is a lean, mean thriller that never lags and is gripping to the end, despite its overarching themes of greed, treachery and violence. In fact, the only thing that could have possibly made this movie better was if it had been longer and delved more into the characters’ lives beyond the casino floor.