A casino is a place where people gamble on games of chance. The game of choice is often poker or blackjack, but there are many other options as well, such as roulette, baccarat, and craps. Many casinos also offer slot machines, both the traditional ones with physical spinning reels and the modern video varieties. The house edge varies from game to game, but all of them have statistical odds against the player winning. Casinos have expert mathematicians that analyze the house edge and variance for each game to help them predict how much money they will make over time.

Robert De Niro’s performance as Sam “Ace” Rothstein is a resounding triumph, but he is not the only star of Casino. The always-reliable Joe Pesci adds considerable tension to every scene as a small-time mobster whose menace far exceeds his short and stocky frame. And Sharon Stone both builds upon and inverts her awe-inducing turn as Basic Instinct’s Catherine Tramell with her role as the blonde hustler Ginger McKenna.

The movie’s themes and characters resonate with relevance today, as state governments consider legalizing sports betting. But unlike Goodfellas, Casino does not revel in the glories of the racket; instead it depicts its heartless practitioners with rueful and judicious sympathy. Scorsese’s refusal to draw a line between depiction and endorsement is arguably his most distinctive feature as a filmmaker. This sensibility is evident in his subsequent work, such as The Wolf of Wall Street.