Casino movie script

EXT. RESTAURANTPARKING LOT, LAS VEGAS, - DAY

SAM 'ACE' ROTHSTEIN, a tall, lean, immaculatelydressed man

approaches his car, opens the door, and gets inside to turn

on the ignition.

ACE (V.O.)

When you love someone, you've gotta

trust them. There's no other way.

You've got to give them the key to

everything that's yours. Otherwise,

what's the point? And, for a while

I believed that's the kind of love I

had.

Suddenly, the car explodes. Flames, smoke and metal rise

into the sky covering the view of the Las Vegascasinos and

their signs.

Music in:
J.S. Bach - 'St Matthew Passion'.

Ace's body comesflying in - extreme slow motion. His body

twists and turnsthrough the frame like a soul about to tumble

into the flames of damnation.

MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE.

INT. TANGIERSCASINOFLOOR - NIGHT

Vignette of ACEthroughrippling flames, we move in on ACE

ROTHSTEIN overseeing the casino. He lights a cigarette.

ACE (V.O.)

Before I ever ran a casino or got

myself blown up, Ace Rothstein was a

hell of a handicapper, I can tell

you that. I was so good, that whenever

I bet, I couldchange the odds for

every bookmaker in the country. I'm

serious. I had it down so cold that

I was givenparadise on earth. I was

given one of the biggestcasinos in

Las Vegas to run, the Tangiers

INT. SANMARINOITALIAN GROCERY/BACK ROOM, KANSASCITY -

NIGHT:

Vignette of MOBBOSSESsitting at a tablesurrounded by food

and wine like the gods of Olympus.

ACE (V.O.)

by the only kind of guys that can

actually get you that kind of money:

sixty-two million, seven-hundred

thousand dollars. I don't know all

the details.

NICKY (V.O.)

Matter of fact

INT. BAR, LASVEGAS - NIGHT

Vignette of NICKYSANTOROstanding at a bar with DOMINICK

SANTORO, his brother, and FRANK MARINO, his right-hand man.

NICKY (V.O.)

nobody knew all the details, but

it should'a been perfect. I mean, he

had me, Nicky Santoro, his best

friend, watching his ass

INT. NIGHTCLUB - NIGHT

Vignette of GINGERMCKENNA a dazzling thirty-one-year-old

blonde seated by a smallfiery pool.

NICKY (V.O.)

and he had Ginger, the woman he

loved, on his arm. But in the end

INT. TANGIERS SPORTSBOOK/ACE'S OFFICE - NIGHT

ACE looks over the casino he rules.

NICKY (V.O.)

we f***ed it all up. It should'a

been so sweet, too. But it turned

out to be the last time that street

guys like us were ever given anything

that f***in' valuable again.

EXT. LASVEGAS - NIGHT

Aerial shot coming down out of the clouds over the brightly

lit VegasStrip and off into the blackness of the desert

night.

ACE (V.O.)

At that time, Vegas was a place where

millions of suckers flew in every

year on their own nickel, and left

behind about a billion dollars. But

at night, you couldn't see the desert

that surrounds Las Vegas

EXT. DESERT - DAWN

Aerial shot swoopingalong the desert floor, then rising

above the mist to revealmountains in the distance.

ACE (V.O.)

But it's in the desertwhere lots of

the town's problems are solved.

NICKY (V.O.)

Got a lot of holes in the desert,

and a lot of problems are buried in

those holes. Except you gotta do it

right. I mean, you gotta have the

hole already dug before you show up

with a package in the trunk.

Otherwise you're talkin' about a

half-hour or forty-five minutes of

diggin'. And who knows who's gonna

be comin' along in that time? Before

you know it, you gotta dig a few

more holes. You could be there all

f***in' night.

EXT. LASVEGAS STRIP, - NIGHT

TITLE IN:
'THE STRIP', 'LAS VEGAS', 'TEN YEARS EARLIER'

ACE is greeted by a casino exec and walkedthrough the

brightly lit entrance to the Tangiers Casino.

ACE (V.O.)

Who could resist? Anywhere else in

the country, I was a bookie, a

gambler, always lookin' over my

shoulder, hassled by cops, day and

night. But here, I'm 'Mr Sam

Rothstein'. I'm not only legitimate,

but running a casino. And that's

like sellingdreams for cash.

INT. TANGIERSCASINO - NIGHT

We see ACEenter alone. He is greeted by BILLY SHERBERT.

They are joined by top executivesRICHIE and RONNIE in suits

and ties. They walk through the casino, past crowded and

noisy craps tables, spinningroulette wheels, blackjack

tables, poker-faced players at poker tables, and elegant,

cordoned-off, black-tie, baccarat tables.

ACE (V.O.)

I hired an old casino pal, Billy

Sherbert, as my manager and I went

to work.

SHERBERT:

(Introducing the EXECS

to ACE)

And this is Ronnie, who takes

care of the card room