As a whole, Casino is a bleak picture of gambling and the people who engage in it. There are no heroes in the film; everyone is mired in deceit, treachery and avarice. Yet, despite its hellacious violence, including a torture-by-vice scene complete with popped eyeballs and an incredibly well-executed baseball bat beating, Scorsese never resorts to gratuitous cruelty just for the sake of shock value. Rather, he faithfully portrays the reality of how these characters behave.
The movie’s cast is superb, with De Niro giving a masterful performance as the self-assured, cigar-chomping Ace Rothstein. Sharon Stone continues her breakout streak with a role that both builds on and inverts her work in Basic Instinct, exulting in her ability to seduce men (“Smart hustlers like Ginger could keep a guy awake for two or three days”). And Joe Pesci adds tension to every scene as a mobster who knows how to play his cards.
Gambling has been a part of human civilization for millennia. The earliest recorded use of dice dates back to 2300 BC, while the first card game appeared around 800 AD. Since then, there have been many variations on the theme of risk-taking, but all share a common core: they involve playing for money and the expectation of winning.
The casino experience can be improved significantly by focusing on user satisfaction. Providing fast and reliable payouts, creating a streamlined registration process and offering features such as deposit limits and self-exclusion tools can make the difference between a good and bad experience.