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.
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 could change the odds...
for every bookmaker in the country.
I'm serious, I had it down so cold...
that I was given paradise on earth.
I was given one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas to run, the Tangiers...
by the only kind of guys that can actually get you that kind of money...
$62,700,000.
I don't know all the details.
Nobody knew all the details, but it should've been perfect.
I mean, he had me, Nicky Santoro, his best friend, watching his ass...
and he had, Ginger, the woman he loved, on his arm.
But in the end, we fucked it all up.
It should've been so sweet too.
But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us...
were ever given anything that fuckin' valuable again.
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.
But it's in the desert where lots of the town's problems are solved.
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 talking about a half hour or 45 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 fuckin' night.
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. Rothstein.
I'm not only legitimate, but running a casino.
And that's like selling people dreams for cash.
I hired an old casino pal, Billy Sherbert, as my manager, and I went to work.
...the casino manager. And this is Ronnie, who takes care of the card room.
For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your sins.
It's like a morality car wash.
It does for us what Lourdes does for humpbacks and cripples.
And along with making us legit...
comes cash, tons of it.
I mean, what do you think we're doing out here in the middle of the desert?
It's all this money.
This is the end result of all the bright lights...
and the comp trips, of all the champagne...
and free hotel suites, and all the broads and all the booze.
It's all been arranged just for us to get your money.
That's the truth about Las Vegas.
We're the only winners.
The players don't stand a chance.
And their cash flows from the tables...
to our boxes through the cage...
and into the most sacred room in the casino.
The place where they add up all the money...
the holy of holies, the count room.
- Now, this place was off-limits. - Verify 3,000.
Even I couldn't get inside.
But it was my job to keep it filled with cash. That's for sure.
They had so much fuckin' money in there...
you could build a house out of stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
And the best part was that upstairs...
- the board of directors didn't know what the fuck was going on. - Five thousand.
I mean, to them everything looked on the up-and-up.
Right? Wrong.
Verify 5,000.
- The guys inside the counting room... - Five thousand.
Were all slipped in there to skim the joint dry.
They'd do short counts, they'd lose fill slips.
They'd even take cash right out of the drop boxes.
And it was up to this guy right here...
standin' in front of about two million dollars...
to skim the cash off the top without anybody gettin' wise...
- the IRS or anybody. - Verify 200.
Now, notice how in the count room nobody ever seems to see anything.
Somehow, somebody's always lookin' the other way.
Now, look at these guys. They look busy, right?
They're countin' money. Who wants to bother them?
I mean, God forbid they should make a mistake and forget to steal.
Meanwhile, you're in and you're out.
Past the jag-off guard who gets an extra C-note a week...
just to watch the door.
It's routine. Business as usual: In, out, hello, good-bye.
And that's all there is to it.
Just another fat fuck walkin' out of the casino with a suitcase.
Now that suitcase was goin' straight to one place:
Right to Kansas City, which was as close...
to Las Vegas as the Midwest bosses could go...
without gettin' themselves arrested.
That suitcase was all...
the bosses ever wanted.
- And they wanted it every month. - Hey, John, how was your ride?
Now this old Mormon fuck here...
he had to fly in with suitcases once a month, nice and easy.
- Somethin' smells good. - Yeah, they made us somethin' to eat.
The bosses would come from all over the place:
Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee...
all over the Midwest.
And they would meet in the back of this produce market in Kansas City.
I mean, nobody even knew it.
One of the guys made his mother do all the cookin'.
- Do you ever see that guy Jerry Steriano? - Jerry Steriano?
Now, these old greaseballs might not look it...
but believe me...
these are the guys who secretly control Las Vegas.
Mama, that man's here again.
Because they control the Teamsters Union.
And that's where you had to go if you wanted to borrow money to buy a casino.
- Would you put in shrimp? - I would.
Here you are, gentlemen.
Nobody got a Teamsters' loan unless the guys in this room...
knew they were gonna get their little suitcases.
Guys like this antique over here, out of Detroit.
Or especially guys like Remo Gaggi, the outfit's top boss.
You got a round figure on it?
- Definitely the most important guy in this room. - About 20 pounds.
- That's around 700,000. - Uh-huh, good.
I know it's a little early for Las Vegas...
But I do want to welcome the ladies and gentlemen of the gaming industry.
As far as the world was concerned...
Andy Stone, the head of the Teamsters' Pension Fund...
- was a legitimate guy. - This is a very auspicious occasion.
- A powerful man. - Philip, if you would rise.
He even played golf with the president.
On behalf of the Teamsters' Pension Fund...
- it is my pleasure to present to you... - But Andy also took orders.
And when he was told to give a pension fund loan to Philip Green...
this check for $62,700,000...
for the new Tangiers.
He did what he was told.
Now, here was the perfect front man.
What the fuck else could he be? He didn't know too much.
He didn't want to know too much...
especially that the bosses made the Teamsters lend him the money.
He wanted to believe the Teamsters...
gave him all that fuckin' money 'cause he was smart.
I know full well how much competition we have in this great city.
And where they got Green from?
Who the fuck knows?
All I know is that Green was an Arizona real estate hustler...
who barely had enough gas money...
to come and pick up his own fuckin' check.
And of course it was the bosses' man...
Andy Stone, who gave all the orders.
Not the chairman of the fuckin' board, Philip Green.
I understand. I understand.
Now all they needed was...
somebody they could trust to run the casino.
And who better than Ace? I mean, he was already in Vegas a couple years...
and he had the fuckin' place clocked.
But typical Ace, give him a shot at runnin' a casino...
and he tries to talk you out of it.
I don't know if I could do this even if I wanted to.
The Gaming Commission would never give me a license.
I have at least two dozen gambling and bookmaking pinches on me.
You don't have to have a license to work in a casino.
All you gotta do is apply for one.
The state law says that you can work in a casino...
while they're processing your application.
They got a ten-year backlog.
What happens when they do find out?
Why would they want to find out?
We're puttin' a hundred million into this desert. Why would they want to lock us out?
They'll never find out. All you gotta do is keep changing your job title.
Like, uh, from Casino Executive to Food and Beverage Chairman.
They take your application, they put it at the bottom of the pile.
I know guys been workin' there for 30 years, don't have a license.
It's a tough proposition, Andy.
You know if I did it, I'd have to run it my way.
You got it.
I'm serious, no interference.
Nobody's gonna interfere with your running the casino.
I guarantee it.
And that's how they got Ace to take over.
They wanted him because Ace ate, slept and breathed gambling.
They worked out a real cute job title too...
Tangiers Public Relations Director.
But the only thing he ever directed was the casino.
He made his first bet when he was 15 years old, and he always made money.
But he didn't bet like you or me.
You know, havin' some fun with it, shit like that.
Where the hell did you learn how to deal?
He bet like a fuckin' brain surgeon.
Place the checks properly.
- That's the way you do it. - Yes, sir.
He had to know everything, this guy.
He'd find out the kind of inside stuff nobody else knew...
and that's what he'd put his money on.
Even back home, years ago...
when we were first hangin' out...
he'd know if the quarterback was on coke...
I'll take Columbia for 20.
- If his girlfriend was knocked up. - Twenty dimes on Columbia.
He'd get the wind velocity so he could judge the field goals.
He even figured out the different bounce...
you got off the different kinds of wood they used...
on college basketball courts, you know?
He'd be workin' on this shit day and night.
There was nothing about a game he was gonna bet that he didn't know.
Ace got down at six. Get me down at six.
Season after season...
the prick was the only guaranteed winner I ever knew.
But he was so serious about it all...
that I don't think he ever enjoyed himself.
But that's just the way he was.
But back then, the bosses didn't give a fuck...
about whether he enjoyed himself or not.
To them, he was a cash register.
All they had to do was ring the bell and take money.
Especially Remo...
who was a fuckin' degenerate gambler who always lost...
Cazzo!
All those fuckin' sweeps.
- Unless Ace made his bets. - Enough now!
Ace made more money for them on a weekend...
than I could do heisting joints for a month.
Whatever Ace picked up on the street, he told Remo.
I mean, fixed fights, doped horses...
crooked fuckin' zebras, locked-in point spreads.
He told fuckin' Remo everything.
And to tell you the truth, I don't blame him.
- Hey! - Keepin' Remo happy with money...
was the greatest insurance policy in the world.
Son of a bitch!
How the hell did you get Oklahoma-Michigan?
Nobody ever had Oklahoma-Mi... How the hell'd you do it?
Well, that's why they paid so well.
You see? Never tells me nothin'.
What do we got on for next week?
Well, it's a little too early. I'd say Thursday would be good. Is that all right?
- Okay, you'll come by the house? - I'll come by.
7:00. Good job, my boy. Keep it up? Okay, Ace?
Hey, Nick. Vien acca.
- I'll be right out. - T'aggia parla.
Nicky, see that guy? Keep a good eye on him.
He's makin' a lot of money for us.
And he's gonna continue makin' a lot of money for us, so keep a good eye on him.
Not like your fuckin' friends out there that... without brains.
- Okay? - All right.
- Mi raccomando. - Yeah. Want me to take this for you?
So now, on top of everything else...
I gotta make sure nobody fucks around with the golden Jew.
Chase, couple of shooters for the ladies.
Yeah, we made a great pair.
I made book and Nicky made sure we always collected.
The old men loved us, and why not?
- They all made money with us. - They payin'?
- How did Nicky collect? - They pay every week, like they're supposed to.
- Don't ask. - And where the fuck is the money? I don't see any money.
- Hi, Melissa, Heidi. - Hi, Sam.
Who's this guy?
- Get the fuck out of here. It was nine. I laid nine. - It was eight.
Ace, tell him the line on the Bear game.
- Eight. - If he don't know, nobody knows.
- Told you it was eight. - How come I laid nine?
'Cause you're a jag-off.
- Excuse me. - What?
- Is this yours? Your pen? - Yeah, that's my pen. Why?
No, it's a nice pen. I just didn't know whose it was.
I thought it was yours. I didn't want it to get lost.
Well, thank you. Why don't you take that fuckin' pen...
and shove it up your ass, you fuckin' jag-off.
- Well, I was just offering you the... - This fuckin' assho...
Look out, Joe. Look out.
What's that? You hear a little girl, Frankie?
Hear a little girl, Ace? Is that a little fuckin' girl?
What happened to the fuckin' tough guy...
- told my friend to stick it up his fuckin' ass?
Nicky, take it easy. Nicky, Nicky.
While I was trying to figure out why the guy was saying...
what he was saying, Nicky just hit him.
No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on.
You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat.
You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun.
And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him...
because he'll keep coming back and back...
until one of you is dead.
Listen, with me protectin' Ace...
he made a fortune for the bosses.
I mean, that's what got him to Vegas.
He was a money machine.
A tremendous earner for these guys.
As soon as he took over, he doubled the fuckin' drop.
With Ace, the casino never saw so much money.
And the bosses, they couldn't be happier.
In Vegas, I had to keep a few juiced-in local cowboys working.
They were close to the, you know, good old boys.
I mean, without us, these guys, they'd still be shoveling mule shit.
Ward, you've got to keep a cleaner space.
If you need Mr. Clean, page him, all right?
Won't happen again, Sam.
- Mr. Rothstein. - Mr. Rothstein. Won't happen again, Mr. Rothstein.
Is this guy just another dumb fucking white man, or what? What's the story?
- You need this guy. - Can't get rid of him?
He's juiced in. He's the County Commissioner's cousin.
I wouldn't give the bum a mop job.
But still, I had no choice. I had to take care of them.
These yokels ran the state.
Thank you very much, Senator.
- They passed the laws, they owned the courts. - Hi, Ace. Hey, I need a room.
- I had dozens of politicians and state officials... - The Cedar Room.
Coming through that place every week.
- Help the Senator, get him whatever he wants. - Certainly.
Why not make him happy?
...the Presidential Suite.
For politicians like our State Senator up there, everything was on the house.
These guys won their comp life when they got elected...
so, hey, why not take advantage of it.
Still, the politicians came cheap. We could handle them.
It's a whale like K.K. Ichikawa...
who plays $30,000 a hand in baccarat...
that's the one you really gotta watch.
He plays fast and big and he has the cash and the credit...
to turn out your lights.
About a year ago he cleaned out a couple of casinos in the Cayman Islands.
Downstairs he takes us for two million...
and upstairs he takes free soap, shampoo and towels.
Another billionaire cheapskate who loved his free rooms...
free private jets and two million of our money.
But we got him back.
I had our pilot tell him the plane was on the fritz.
I don't know what the hell went wrong. I'm awfully sorry.
I can't understand it. These mechanical things, you know they happen.
Hey, but better here than up there, you know what I mean.
Then he missed the commercial flights connecting with Japan.
I can't believe that there's a convention; there's no room.
We got him back with a whole floor of rooms to himself.
- I'm sorry you missed your plane. - Glad to get to know you.
Oh, no. No gambling.
And once he was back, he played small.
He bet 1,000 a hand, instead of his usual 30,000 a hand.
...to the bank with a natural lead over a five.
But I knew the trick with whales like Ichikawa...
was that they can't bet small for long.
He didn't think of it as winning 10,000...
he thought of it as losing 90,000.
So, he upped his bets.
Until he dropped his winnings back and gave up a million of his own cash.
In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing...
and keep them coming back.
The longer they play, the more they lose.
In the end, we get it all.
In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else.
Six. All right, who's gonna give me that?
Since the players are looking to beat the casino...
Each and every roll, all right.
- The dealers are watching the players... - Six.
- Fake a six. - The boxmen are watching the dealers.
The floormen are watching the boxmen...
the pit bosses are watching the floormen...
the shift bosses are watching the pit bosses...
the casino manager is watching the shift bosses...
I'm watching the casino manager...
and the eye in the sky is watching us all.
Plus, we had a dozen guys up there...
most of them ex-cheats, who knew every trick in the house.
Yes!
- Very nice. - I told you I was hot tonight.
Lookin' good. Lookin' good.
Let's go. This is for Ginger. Come on.
Let me have a hundred on your hard ten.
Hundred on your hard ten. Thank you.
Here we go now. Yeeeow!
- Oh, I'm sorry. - The dice...
Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
- Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. - You were great.
Thanks. Take care, Steve. Take chances, drive fast.
This hundred is for you, love. Thanks for your time.
- Come on. - What's the matter?
What do you mean? I made a lot of money for you, I want my cut.
What money? I've seen you stealing from me.
What money? Look at the stack of chips.
- I want my half. - I've been watching you all night.
- I want my money. - Your bag is full of fucking chips.
- I didn't steal anything from you. - Get lost!
Get lost? Get lost? Yes! Yes!
- Well, how about that? - Come on!
What a move.
I fell in love right there.
But in Vegas, for a girl like Ginger, love costs money.
I'm gonna go powder my nose.
- Ginger's mission in life was money. - I'll be right back.
- See you, Ginger. - Okay, thank you for asking.
She was a queen around the casino.
She brought in high rollers...
and helped them spread around a lot of money.
- Hello. - Hey, Ginger. How you doing?
Great, and I have something for you. You got me covered?
- And you do. Thank you very much. - Take care of yourself.
- I got some lucky pills for you, Andy. - Oh, yeah.
Who didn't want Ginger? She was one of the best known...
best liked and most respected hustlers in town.
Smart hustlers like her could keep a guy awake...
for two or three days before sending him home broke...
to the little woman and his bank examiners.
Any change?
Oh, I hit a few games on the way back.
But that was all bullshit. She just pocketed the cash.
- How you doin' tonight? - Good.
- How are you? - Uh, beat.
- Ginger had the hustlers code. - Take one for you.
- Thank you. - She knew how to take care of people.
And that's what Vegas is all about.
- Sixty-eight hundred. - Thanks.
- It's kickback city. - Have a good night.
Thank you. You too.
- She took care of the dealers... - Hey, Mitch.
Pit bosses, floor managers...
but, mostly, she took care of the valet parkers...
the guys who could get you anything and take care of anything.
Ginger took care of the parkers...
because they took care of the security guards...
- who took care of the metro cops, who let her operate. - I need that stuff tonight.
- No problem. - You are a doll.
The valet parking job was such a money-maker...
they had to pay off the hotel manager just to get the concession.
But one thing I just could never understand...
was that she could have everything under control...
except for her old pimp boyfriend, Lester Diamond.
Gin, you know I got other people in this, they got partners.
I want you to understand that I am looking out for you...
in this thing, okay?
You're gonna get yours back, and you're gonna get back first, okay?
- All right, yeah. - Where you going?
Where are you? You're in that place. Where are you?
- I'm here. - No, you're not.
Where are you? Where are you?
I'm always here for you.
- You're my woman. - I know.
The Ginger I knew wouldn't even look at this creep.
- Good luck. - Yeah.
He was a moocher, a card cheat...
a country club golf hustler, a scumbag.
- Chasing dentists for a few bucks. - Careful.
The guy was always broke. He always had a story.
And somehow she could never turn him down.
The way Ginger saw it, I guess, was that Lester was just an unlucky guy.
Somebody had to take care of him.
But nobody had to take care of Nicky.
If you find any cash in there, we'll whack it up with you.
I mean, he took care of himself only too well.
- That's why every badge... - I folded these things beautifully.
- Back home wanted to nail him. - I would appreciate a little respect.
- Look at me, pal, I gotta live with her. - Jesus Christ.
Even after a little vacation, they hassled him at the airport.
I mean, Frank Marino was there to meet him, but so were the cops.
This time they wanted to pinch him...
- for some diamond burglary in Antwerp. - Will you help me fold these?
They were ready to blame him for anything, no matter where it happened.
- Put your things away. - And they were usually right.
- Hold it, hold it. Here. - Because Nicky enjoyed being a gangster.
- And he didn't give a damn who knew it. - Come on, there we go.
Look at this. Beautiful!
I mean, that's what worried me. 'Cause it turns out, Nicky was about to be sent to Vegas.
- All right, we're clear. - There's more.
There's a couple stuck in there. I know there's more.
- I'm telling you, they're out! - Come on.
Don't get so defensive, it could be stuck in your hair.
What's that? Huh, what's that?
There's no more. Thanks, hon.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on Vegas.
But the bosses didn't send me out there to have a good time.
They sent me out there to make sure that nobody fucked with Ace.
And nobody interfered with the fuckin' skim.
- Hey. - Hey, how you doin'?
Hey, Sammy.
- Boy, look at this place, huh? - Incredible.
Welcome to Vegas.
- Okay, Sammy. - Something, huh?
Ginger.
Holy shit. What've you been doing out here?
Honey, come here.
This is Jennifer and Nick, they're dear friends of mine.
- Hi, Jennifer. - A pleasure.
Okay, Sammy.
After we ate, we left Jennifer and Ginger alone...
and we took a ride to talk.
And then, he hit me with it.
What do you think about me moving out here?
What's the matter? You got a problem with that?
- No, of course not. - You mean, I have your permission?
Sure, you have my permission. But I just gotta tell you...
it's no joke out here, it's no joke.
You gotta keep a low profile.
It's not like back home. Right off the bat, they don't like guys like us.
And this sheriff's a real cowboy.
Even the coppers aren't afraid to bury people out in the desert here.
I don't care. I wanna get away from back home for a while.
I'm tired of that shit back there.
Look at this place. It's made of money.
You know what the best part is? Nobody's gonna know what we're doing.
There's nobody here to see us. Everybody's back home.
Nick, I gotta tell you. I got pinched twice for no reason.
I really gotta be careful.
I'm running a licensed place, everything's legit.
Don't worry about it. I'm not gonna do anything.
I'm especially not gonna involve you in anything.
Ace saw Vegas one way...
- You call this guy and tell him I'm comin'? - Of course.
But I saw it another.
I saw it as untouched.
I mean, they had bookies, pimps...
and drug dealers I could shake down.
Who the fuck were they gonna run to?
So I started gettin' everybody in line.
Best of all, for the first time in my life...
I figured out a way not to lose.
Yeah, he had a foolproof scheme, all right.
It wasn't very scientific, but it worked.
When he won, he collected;
when he lost, he told the bookies to go fuck themselves.
What were they gonna do, muscle Nicky?
- Hey, how you doin'? - How you doin'?
- You got that thing for me? - What thing?
Oh, Nicky. I thought you was layin'.
No, no, I'm takin'. I was takin'.
- You sure? - I'm positive.
- I'm a little confused. - You're a little confused?
Maybe if I stick your fuckin' face through this window...
you'll get unconfused.
- Gimme the fuckin' money. - I'm sorry, Nick.
I didn't mean anything by it.
That's why you had it ready. You thought I was fuckin' layin' it?
- My fuckin' head. - Smarten up.
And now Nicholas Santoro will come up and tell us about our first president.
George Washington was born...
But still, it was nice and quiet for a while.
Ginger and I presented Nicky and Jennifer all over town...
like regular Ozzie and Harriets.
Beautiful, you got a beautiful swing.
Ace got my son, little Nicky, involved in Little League.
Turned out to be one of the other coaches...
was a fuckin' metro intelligence cop.
But it didn't matter. It was all about the kids.
He's gotta realize that everything can't be a home run that he does.
That's exactly what I keep tellin' him...
but that's the kind of kid he is.
And Nicky being Nicky, he made his presence known.
Especially at the casino, where he definitely did not work...
people got the message.
Me, that's why the bosses sent me out here.
They wanted me to make sure none of the other crews robbed the joint.
Like these two fuckin' balloon heads over here.
They were gonna try to bang us out of 200 fuckin' grand...
- yeah, right, I'm sure. - Hey! How are you?
How are you? What are you doing here?
I'm over here now.
- You're over here? - Yeah, I'm over here with them.
We're waiting on Carmine.
Yeah, we're looking for Carmine.
He was here before. He had a suitcase and then he left.
- Carmine left? - Carmine left?
He's gone?
He's not here?
Carmine's out?
I think maybe he went across the street...
or somewhere else or somethin'.
Well, listen, good luck with the joint.
- Ah, thanks, Eddie. - Yeah, lots of luck.
- Yeah, good luck to you too. - Hey, they forgot to sign their papers.
Yeah, they don't need those anymore.
Guys from other crews got away with a warning.
Everybody else, watch out.
Like these yokels here...
who never heard of Nicky or the bosses back home.
'Cause they're the morons who give you the most trouble.
Even after we'd catch them, they'd try sneaking back...
with beards and wigs and fake noses.
You can spot these assholes by watching the way they bet.
Like this guy, he's bettin' lavender chips...
at 500 each with only one little problem...
he's always guessed right.
If he wasn't so fuckin' greedy, he'd have been tougher to spot.
But in the end, they're all greedy.
I saw that the dealer was weak, but he wasn't in on it.
He just wasn't protecting his hand.
He was lifting his hole card way too high.
Now, here's this guy reading the dealer's hole card...
and signaling his buddy at this table.
And that's just what these hustlers look for.
They cruise from casino to casino looking for weak dealers...
the way lions look for weak antelope.
Operator, this is Mr. R.
Get me Armstrong and Friday over at pit two right away.
BJ 19, second base, the beard.
Operator, I need Mr. Happy. Loud.
Man down!
Go get medical. We got a cardiac arrest here.
He's fine, folks. Just give us some room, please.
They never know what hit them.
And if and when they do find out...
that they just got zapped by a cattle prod...
they wish they really did have a heart attack.
Turns out this guy and his fuckin' pals...
they were knocking this place dead for years.
- He's got a wire on him. - Hey, hey, what are you doing?
There it is. That's it.
- Cheater's justice. - Oh, God!
No, no, no!
I wanted everybody to know...
that things were changed around here.
We had to make an example of these pricks...
that the party was over.
I'm just curious. I saw you shuffling your checks...
with your right hand.
- Can you do that with both hands? - No.
- You can't do it with both hands? - No, sir.
Can you do it with your left hand?
Well, I never tried.
- So, you're a righty. - Yeah.
Now you're gonna have to learn with your left hand.
- It's 100, 110, I think. - Yes, it is.
Okay.
Hiya. That's a lot of money to be counting out in public.
Why don't I take him...
over to the office and verify it?
A little privacy. And by the way...
send over a nice bottle of champagne on ice.
- Sure will. - Real special.
- By the way, I'm Billy Sherbert, casino manager. - Hi.
- Having a good time? - Yes.
You want to count the money in privacy.
I have a plane to catch to Cleveland. Can I get my winnings?
Look what they did to my hand, man.
All right, I'm gonna give you a choice:
You can either have the money and the hammer or you can walk out of here.
- What do you want? - I just wanna get out of here.
And don't forget to tell your friends what happens if they fuck around here.
- I'm sorry, I made a bad mistake. - You're fuckin' right you made a bad mistake.
'Cause if you come back here, and we catch either one of you...
we're gonna break your heads, and you won't walk out of here.
You see that fuckin' saw? We're gonna use it. You got it?
- Get out of here. - Thank you.
Throw him in the alley and tell the cops he got hit by a car.
Within no time, everything was set in place.
We got rid of the freelance scamsters...
the per was way up, the gods were happy.
And I decided to complicate my life.
For a guy who likes sure things...
I was about to bet the rest of my life on a real long shot.
We're not gettin' any younger.
Don't you think it's time?
Aren't you gettin' tired of all this shit?
What, are you trying to handicap me?
I'm gonna do you one better.
I'm tryin' to marry you.
You wanna marry me?
I'm serious.
I wanna settle down. I want a family.
You got the wrong girl, Sam.
I know I'd be a good father, you'd be a good mother.
You don't know me.
You've known me two, three months.
I'm 43 years old. I don't want to wait.
I know you well enough to know that I really love you.
And I can't think of anybody better to be with.
And I don't feel like waiting anymore.
You know a lot of happily married people, Sam?
'Cause I don't.
Yeah, I know all that.
I care about you, okay.
But I just don't have those kind of feelings for you.
I'm sorry. I'm not in love with you.
- All right, all right. - Understand?
Sam, I'm sorry.
No, I... I...
I mean... I can grow.
As long as there's a mutual respect, that kind of thing can grow.
I'm realistic. I can accept that.
What is love anyway?
It's a mutual respect. It's a devotion.
It's a caring from one person to another.
And if we could set up some kind of foundation...
based on that mutual respect...
I feel eventually you would care enough about me...
that I could live with that.
If it doesn't work out, doesn't play out...
then what happens to me?
You know I'm doing well now, and I'm gonna do even better.
And so whatever happens...
if it doesn't work out between us...
I'm gonna make sure you're okay for the rest of your life.
And if there are kids, especially...
I'll take care of you better than you'd ever imagine.
What are you pitching me?
Just what I said, you'll be set up...
for the rest of your life, that I can promise you.
Want to take a chance?
When I married Ginger, I knew all the stories.
But I didn't give a fuck. I'm Sam Rothstein, I said.
I can change her.
It was typical Ace.
He invited the biggest people in town, and he knew they'd show.
Because he knew they all wanted somethin' from him.
With Ace, nobody ever got a free ride, even Ginger.
With her, he still covered his bets.
They had to have the baby before they could get married.
He even made Jenny and me watch Amy for a few days...
when they went on their honeymoon.
But I didn't mind, we loved the kid.
Can you feel my eyes on you?
Can you feel me look into your heart?
Can you feel me in the pit of your stomach?
Can you feel me in you?
In your heart?
Don't make me come there.
Answer me.
I love you.
But, baby, do you know that I love you too?
- No, Lester. - Do you know that?
This is the best thing I can do for my life right now.
That's right. So it's going to be okay.
Promise?
I wish you all the luck in the world.
You do?
Yeah, I do. It's the best thing you can do right now.
I mean this.
You have real security.
Sweetheart, you're gonna be situated just right, in Vegas.
Come on. This is great for us.
I'm always gonna be here for you.
I ain't going no place.
I'm lookin' at you right now.
I'm seein' you for the very first time, right this minute.
I can feel my heart click.
I see you 14 years old.
I see you the first second I ever saw you.
I see you, long-legged little colt...
stupid braces on your teeth.
- Okay, then. - Every time I ever see you, that's what I see.
Talk to you later.
Bye.
You all right?
Yeah.
Why are you crying?
I'm not crying.
Maybe you shouldn't drink so much.
I'm okay, I just...
You just have to understand.
I've been with Lester since I was a kid.
I just wanted to say good-bye.
I just... I don't...
I think I have a right to do that.
Okay?
It's all right.
That part of your life is over with.
- Right? - Yeah.
You're with me now.
- Yeah. - Right?
Uh-huh.
- You're sure? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- Let's go. Let's go back in. - Okay.
Oh!
Tsk. It's great.
It's great.
It's all my stuff. Oh, my God.
You brought all my stuff!
I can't...
Try it on. It's yours.
You're kidding.
Oh, my God. What is it?
It's chinchilla.
Oh, it's so soft.
Nice, isn't it?
No one's ever been so nice to me.
Oh!
Oh, my God!
So, do you think it's too much...
if I wear these all on the same day?
You do whatever you want.
Do I keep my promises or do I keep my promises?
So wonderful. The jewelry's not so bad either.
We shouldn't keep this in the house. We gotta put it in the bank.
Come on. Can I keep this one in the house?
Pay attention to me.
- What I'm gonna tell you is very important. - Okay.
All this stuff doesn't mean anything.
Money, this doesn't mean anything without trust.
I have to be able to trust you with my life.
With over a million in cash and jewels...
tucked in a bank in Vegas, only for Ginger, she was secure and happy.
She loved that shit.
But a guy in my line of work has to have a lot of payoff cash around.
Crooked cops and kidnappers, they don't take checks.
Need any help with that, Mr. Collins?
So I put two million in cash in a Los Angeles bank...
under the name of Mr. And Mrs. Tom Collins.
This was strictly my shakedown and kidnapping money.
And since I'd either be in jail or locked in a closet...
when I needed the money the most...
I gave Ginger the only key to the cash that could get me back alive.
This is a signature card.
So once she signs those papers, she'll be the only person...
to have total access to the box, no one else, including myself?
That's right. That's the way you wanted it.
Sam, let me ask you a question.
You must really trust your wife.
Yeah, sure I do. Why?
It's good. It's just unusual.
Tell you the truth, so many of my clients don't.
With Ginger and the money in place, I felt covered.
And to play it safe, I switched job titles again...
and made myself Food and Beverage Director.
This way nobody would bother me about a license.
I mean Vegas was like a dream for me.
Trouble was, Nicky was dreaming his own kind of Vegas.
I put money out on the street chargin' three points a week.
- Don't make us come lookin' for you. - Juice to the fuckin' dealers.
You won't have to look for me.
I appreciate it. Thanks, Nicky.
They were degenerate gamblers, coke freaks.
In no time I had half the dealers in the Tangiers in my pocket.
Then, I started bustin' out high-stakes poker players.
It was so obvious.
- All of Nicky's half-assed mechanics were signal-happy. - I'm gonna open for 500.
Signaling back and forth.
Why you cryin' with two loaves of bread under your arm?
Nicky thought nobody was watching him. But he was wrong.
And I didn't want any of those agents near my place.
- Four aces. - I can't believe this.
If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck.
I wished to God Nicky and his whole crew would just get lost.
What am I gonna do? Go back home and start a war?
Nicky's a made guy, and I'm not. I can't do that.
Be careful. Gaming agents are all over the place.
So I'm lucky. I'm not allowed to get lucky in this place?
You've been lucky all week. They're looking to nail you.
Ace was so fuckin' worried about his casino...
he forgot what we were doin' out here in the first place.
A million times I wanted to yell in his fuckin' ear...
"This is Las Vegas.
We're supposed to be out here robbin'...
you dumb fuckin' hebe. "
I don't give a shit who he's connected to.
Tell him to take his fuckin' feet off the table.
What's he think this is, a goddamned sawdust joint?
Sir, would you mind taking your feet off the table?
Yeah, I would mind. I'm having a bad night.
Fuckin' asshole won't budge.
Call security.
- How are you? - Good. How are you?
Wanna do me a favor? Take your feet off the table and put your shoes back on.
Fuck you!
I want you to exit this guy off the premises...
and use his head to open the fucking door.
Sir, you're gonna have to leave. Wanna come with us outside?
Bullshit. I ain't goin' anywhere with you.
- Bullshit. You're outta here. - Fuck you!
You know who you're fucking with? Do you?
You fucking faggot! Do you know who you're fucking with?
Leave me alone!
- Come on! - You guys are killing me!
Sure enough, an hour later, I get the call.
Ace, what happened over there? Did you know that guy was with me?
No, I didn't know that. But you know what he did?
I walked over to him politely, and he tells me to fuck myself.
- Then he called me a faggot. - What?
- I threw that cocksucker out. - Hey, come here.
You called my friend a faggot? You tell him to fuck himself?
- Is that what you did? Tell him to go fuck himself?
Come here. Come here.
You go over there. You apologize.
You better hope he lets you back in.
If you get outta line again, I'll smash your head so hard...
you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on.
Fuckin' hick. Sammy, listen.
This guy obviously doesn't know who he was talking to.
He doesn't know that we're dear friends.
I mean, he's already very sorry.
But if you could do me a favor and let him back in...
I swear he'll never get out of line again.
If he does it again, he's out for good.
I don't care what it is, I'll never let him in the place again.
I'm sorry about this, really.
All right, Ace? Thanks, pal.
You took your boots off? You put your feet on the table?
You shit-kickin', stinky-horse-manure-smellin' motherfucker, you!
You fuck me up over there, I'll stick you in the desert.
- Go over and apologize. - Nicky, I'm sorry.
You know, Ace could be a very touchy guy.
Especially when he got bigger in town.
Like when he hired that Jonathan and David and their tigers away from the Palace...
by building them a new stage and giving them a Rolls-Royce.
But I'll tell you, he knew how to bring in the crowds.
He knew all the fuckin' angles.
He brought over the whole "Femme Fatale" show from Paris...
but he forgot how lazy them European dancing broads can get.
He had to weigh 'em in once a week to make sure they didn't blow up like balloons.
She's still eight pounds over.
- What's the reason for this? - Mr. Rothstein, sir.
Never mind the "sir. " Why is she eight pounds over?
I'm trying to use respect.
Mr. Rothstein is good enough for you.
Well, sometimes when you put that pressure point on them...
All you do is give me answers. Just give me the right answer.
I guess she's frightened. If she doesn't lose weight she may get fired.
That's right, she will get fired. Send her back to Paris...
- It's been our policy... - Just stop everything!
- This woman's an institution. - That's the problem. She's lazy.
Hey, I gotta give the guy credit.
I mean, he does the most obvious thing.
This is the only town in the country where a bookie joint is legit.
So why not take advantage, right?
So, he took bookie joints off the street...
and then opened them up inside the casino.
Within a few years by doing all of this...
he had every casino on the strip trying to copy off of him.
Between my innovations...
and Nicky's dedication to his job...
I soon had the best operation on the strip.
You gotta watch yourself. There's a lot of heat on you already.
Why? Somebody's complainin'?
I'm hearing things from security.
The sheriff's lookin' to put you in the Black Book.
That Black Book is a bunch of bullshit.
They got two names from the whole country...
and one of 'em is still Al Capone.
If they put you in that book, you're gonna be in trouble.
You will not be able to walk into a casino.
I'm trying to make a living, that's all.
I'm just tellin' you. Don't say I didn't warn you.
All right.
Mrs. Rothstein, straight ahead. Very nice.
Thank you.
For his hard work and dedication...
and the new life blood he has instilled in Las Vegas...
Sam has established himself as an indispensable member...
of the gaming community.
As the head of the Tangiers Gaming Corporation...
it's my pleasure to welcome Sam Rothstein...
to the Vegas Valley Country Club.
Back home, they would've put me in jail for what I'm doing.
But out here, they're giving me awards.
It is with great pleasure that I accept this certificate of appreciation...
for charitable donations to greater Las Vegas.
Congratulations, sweetheart.
Sam raised more than we've ever raised before.
But my greatest pleasure was watching my wife, Ginger, work the room.
- They all loved her. How could you not love her?
She could be the most charming woman you ever saw.
People loved to be around her.
You've got to bring Amy to Sasha's birthday party.
We'd love to have you there.
- Yes, okay. - Great.
She made everybody feel good.
Congratulations, Sam.
Oh, thanks.
- Hello, Mrs. Rothstein. How are you? - Hi.
You're one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen.
You're a lucky man, Mr. Rothstein.
Thank you. Thanks for that compliment.
He was a young kid from the casino.
Nice kid. Bright boy.
What balls on this fuckin' kid! The next day I fired him.
Ginger had that effect on people. I think she even encouraged them.
Do you wanna see this one? Ahhhh!
Daddy gave me all this jewelry because he loves me so much.
- But as much as they loved her... - Oh, fabulous!
They didn't know what really moved her.
Look at this. Look at this. Daddy gave me this...
And with Ginger happy, I was able to concentrate on what I knew best.
Loose machines are right back over there.
What are they doin' back there? You can't even see 'em there.
- Okay, I'll... - What about the progressives with the high jackpots?
- Well... - These are our best machines. They bring all the action.
- No wonder the drop is off. - Yeah, okay.
- The action is in the front. Bring 'em up front. - All right, I will.
Listen to me very carefully. There are three ways of doing things around here:
The right way, the wrong way and the way that I do it.
- You understand? - I do understand that. I'll get right on it.
- And thank you. - Don't thank me. Just do it.
You're the slots manager. I shouldn't have to tell you this.
Dang, you are right, Mr. Rothstein. I am so sorry.
So I ended up working... what, 18-hour days.
Ginger was the one who wound up enjoying the best of Vegas.
Come with me, please. I have a better table for you.
What did you say to that fucking jerk, anyway?
I told him I was Mrs. Sam Rothstein.
Well, you might as well get something out of it.
Well, it wasn't long...
before what I was afraid was gonna happen happened.
Nicky managed to get himself banned from every casino in Las Vegas.
And from then on, I couldn't be seen talking to him anywhere in Vegas or near it.
What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
"He will be ejected from any casino in Las Vegas.
And the casinos can be fined as much as $100,000...
every time he shows up. "
- You believe this shit? - Yeah, I believe it. You got banned.
"Because of notorious and unsavory reputation... "
Motherfucker!
Is there any way around this?
No, there's no way.
Let's say, for instance...
I wanna go in a restaurant, which happens to be in the casino...
to get one of those sandwiches I like?
Forget it. You can't even set foot in the parking lot.
That's how serious it is.
In other words, I'm fucked?
In so many words, yes.
It just didn't sink into his head about the Black Book and what it meant.
Not being able to go into a casino is one thing...
but being in this book etched your name into the brains of every cop and FBI agent.
I mean, you're listed in there with Al Capone. But Nicky didn't care.
I gotta do something. They ain't gettin' rid of me.
They're not gettin' rid of me. I'm stayin' here.
Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em.
So, once they pulled that shit...
I started doin' my own things nobody ever thought of doin'.
To keep an eye on things, I brought in my kid brother, Dominick, and some desperados...
and started knockin' over high-rollers, casino bosses...
bookmakers... anybody right here in town.
I had a good fuckin' crew goin' for me, I'll tell you that.
I had Sal Fusco, a great second-story guy.
Jack Hardy. He worked for a safe company before he did a six-year bit.
And then there was Bernie Blue. This guy can bypass any alarm for me.
It was like old times.
And I opened up my own jewelry store too, the "Gold Rush. "
Sometimes I used to go along on a heist, just for the fun of it.
But I didn't like the people I was rippin' off looking at me...
so I used to turn their fuckin' pictures around.
- What's takin' so long? - This is a motherfucker!
- It's working. - Learn how to open these things so you don't have to take 'em.
Some of these stones got a lot of niggers in them.
Tell Pepe if he's switching stones on us, he better take a camel back to Nigeria.
Yeah?
- They're in Penthouse K. - Check in alone?
- They checked in alone. - Are they out now?
- Yes. Don't worry. - All right. Thanks.
He had tipsters all over town. Bellmen.
- But you got to hurry. - Yeah, okay.
- Valet parkers. - They're just checking in now.
Okay, I'll tell him.
- Pit bosses. - Room 1230 at the Scirocco.
- 1230. Right. - Secretaries.
- Mint condition coins. - Mint condition? All right.
And they all got a piece of the score.
Car's coming.
They were very careful.
They always bypassed the alarms, or else...
if not, they'd drill enough holes to knock through the walls with a sledgehammer.
Nicky was grabbing everything he could.
Nobody out there was expecting a guy like him.
For Nicky, Las Vegas was the fucking wild west.
I just got a shipment of diamonds from Israel.
What the fuck they expect from me? I had to earn, didn't I?
You know, this diamond has flaws in it.
- There's no flaws. - I'm doing this for 25 years.
You better clean your loupe, because there's no flaws.
Whenever we got local merch...
we'd usually send it to Palm Springs or Arizona, L.A.
I had a couple of sand niggers out there. You know, Arabs.
What, are you gonna have a fucking meeting here?
I know his language.
Forty thousand dollars. The whole package.
Twenty thousand. That's my final offer.
He suddenly talks English. Let's talk Turkey here. Twenty-five thousand.
I actually turned my bedroom into a bank vault...
where I kept the choice stuff.
I couldn't leave it at the Gold Rush...
in case we got raided by the cops...
or if my crew got cute.
I had the only key. Jennifer didn't give a fuck.
She used to fall asleep on the couch watching TV.
This stuff was all mine. I didn't send any of this back home.
Actually, I couldn't, because I wasn't even supposed to be doin' it.
The bosses were making so much fucking money with the casinos...
that they didn't want anybody makin' any waves for them.
You gave all the guys in your crew a piece of that?
- I took care of everybody. - Yeah?
That's why there was no real organized street stuff in Vegas before I came here.
But how much cash could I bury in my closet?
You have to understand, and I'm sure you do...
that in a venture of this kind...
you have to be prepared to take some kind of loss.
So I put some of the money into legitimate deals with Charlie Clark, Ace's banker.
You will try to push it through, won't you, Mr. Clark?
- Yes. - I'm giving you 50,000 cash.
Then I put some more money into legitimate places, like my restaurant.
- Is that the last one? - Yeah.
I had my kid brother, Dominick, run it for me.
Fuckers.
- Here you go, guys. - All right.
- Thanks a lot. - Yeah. Enjoy. Have a good time.
Choke on it, motherfucker.
- Hey, Dom. - How ya doin'?
Yeah, Nicky loved restaurants. He was a real restaurant buff.
And over the years, he always made money with it.
In Vegas, he had the Leaning Tower. It was a very popular spot.
He had politicians, showgirls and movie stars hanging out all over the place.
That show over at the Flamingo gets better and better.
By the way, Sammy said, whenever you have a minute, give him a call.
- Made a messenger out of you too, huh? - Anything for a buck.
- He does it to everybody. Enjoy your dinner. - Thanks.
But I gotta tell you, the thing Nicky liked most was the showgirls, naturally.
I mean, to them, Nicky was the movie star.
- You walk past me? - Hey, this is Shelly.
- Hey, Shelly. How are you? - Hi.
- And this is Stacy. - Stacy.
- This is Nick. Wanna have dinner? - Pleasure.
Let's check the kitchen first. Excuse us one second.
Come on. I'll show you. I fly stuff in fresh every day.
I get bread from back home. I get fish from California.
And you can always tell a great kitchen like ours because of the milk-fed veal.
That's the secret. See, milk-fed veal is pure white.
Out here they got that pink veal. Slide over, honey.
Now, pink veal, you can pound that shit for two days.
It'll never, ever get tender. You know what I mean?
I left here with the money. Got muscled on the street.
A couple guys, I owe them. So I gave them the money.
- That's what I did. - Yeah?
- Yeah. - You call yourself a man?
You know you're a lyin' lowlife, motherfuckin' gamblin' degenerate prick?
You know that's what you are? Two small kids at home.
I gave you money to pay the fuckin' rent...
and buy groceries, put the heat on.
Your wife called Frankie and told him the fuckin' heat's off.
And you didn't gamble that fuckin' money?
- No? You didn't? - I didn't...
Don't fuck with me, Al! Don't make a fuck outta me.
You wanna embarrass me and make a fool outta me? You didn't gamble?
Tell me you gambled the fuckin' money...
I'll give you the fuckin' money to put the fuckin' heat on!
Did you gamble? Huh?
Fuckin' degenerate.
Fuckin' kids at home.
Here. Get the fuck outta here.
- Thanks, Nick. - Yeah, thanks.
Let me find out you fucked up. I'll leave you where I find you.
How many of these you gonna eat?
- Two. - Two?
But around 6:30 in the morning, when he finished his day...
no matter where he was or what he was doing...
he always went home to make breakfast for his son, Nicky boy.
I know you like this. A little butter, right?
- Not a lot. You know why, right? - Yeah.
- Why? - 'Cause it clogs up your heart.
What a smart kid you are. Okay, eat.
Every couple of weeks, I used to send Marino...
back to the bosses with a piece of what I made.
Not a bit piece, but what did they know?
They were 1,500 miles away, and I don't know anybody who can see that far.
Their drop was a truck stop garage...
where Remo and the guys used to hang out and count their millions.
- Remo. - Hey, Frankie.
The cops knew, but they didn't give a fuck.
Nicky sends his warmest regards.
I knew how to keep the bosses happy.
Whenever they gave me little jobs to do...
I would carry things out to a "T."
Like the time Tony Dogs, who's supposed to be the new maniac tough guy in town...
shot up one of Remo's bars.
Here's a fuckin' guy kills two of Remo's guys...
and a poor fuckin' waitress who was just workin' on her night off, of all things.
I mean, this guy's just beggin' to be made an example of.
Frankie, I want the names of all the other people he had with him.
And I don't care what you have to do to 'em to get 'em, understand?
- I'll take care of it, Remo. - And mow 'em down.
To be truthful with you, I had to admire this guy.
He was one of the toughest Irishmen I ever met.
This son of a bitch was tough.
For two days and two fuckin' nights we beat the shit outta this guy.
We even stuck ice picks in his balls.
- Better give me a name soon, or I'm gonna give him yours, Frank. - Thanks a lot.
- But he never talked. - I know you would've ratted by now.
In the end, I had to put his fuckin' head in a vise.
Dogs, Dogs, can you hear me, Dogs?
Listen to me, Anthony. I got your head in a vise.
I'll squash your fuckin' head like a grapefruit if you don't give me a name.
Don't make me have to do this. Please. Come on!
Don't make me be a bad guy. Come on.
Fuck you!
This motherfucker. You believe this? Two fuckin' days and nights.
Fuck me? Fuck me? You motherfucker!
Fuck my mother? Is that what you're tellin' me?
You motherfucker, you! Huh?
- Oh, God! - Give me the fuckin' name!
Charlie M.
- Charlie M.? - Charlie M.
You make me pop your fuckin' eye outta your head...
to protect that piece of shit, Charlie M.?
You dumb motherfucker!
Kill me, you fuck! Kill me!
You motherfucker, you!
Frankie, do him a fuckin' favor.
The word got around that finally...
there was a real gangster in town.
Nicky was the new boss of Las Vegas.
Charlie M.
Four reels, sevens, across three $15,000 jackpots.
Do you have any idea what the odds are?
It's gotta be in the millions, maybe more.
Three fuckin' jackpots in 20 minutes! Why didn't you call me?
It happened so quick. Three guys won. I didn't have a chance.
- You didn't see the scam? - There's no way to determine that.
Yes, there is. They won!
It's a casino. People gotta win sometimes.
Ward, you're pissing me off. Now you're insulting my intelligence.
You know goddamn well somebody had to get into those machines and set those fuckin' reels.
The probability on one machine is a million and a half to one.
On three machines in a row, it's in the billions.
What's the matter with you?
Didn't you see you were being set up on the second win?
I think you're overreacting.
Listen, you fuckin' yokel. I've been carrying your ass ever since I got here.
- Get your ass outta here. - You're firing me?
I'm firing you. No, I'm not firing...
- You might regret this. - I'll regret it if I keep you.
This is not the way to treat people.
If you didn't know, you're too fuckin' dumb.
If you did know, you were in on it.
Either way, you're out. Get out. Come on. Let's go.
The guy's history as far as I'm concerned.
But you can't fire him. His brother-in-law is County Commissioner.
Everybody with cowboy boots is a fuckin' county commissioner or related to a commissioner.
This is his state. His uncle's chief judge.
His brother-in-law runs the county commission.
You're in the finances, you're upstairs.
But you are not on the floor. You don't see what's going on.
I've got thousands of players. I've got 500 dealers.
They're all looking to rob me blind 24 hours a day.
I have to let them know I'm watching all the details all the time.
There is not one single thing I will not catch.
- Look at yours. Look at that. - Huh?
Look at this. There's nothing.
Look how many blueberries your muffin has.
What are you talking about?
If you don't do it yourself, it never gets done.
Where are you going?
From now on, I want you to put an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin.
An equal amount of blueberries in each muffin.
Do you know how long that's going to take?
I don't care how long it takes. Put an equal amount in each muffin.
Just a little. That a girl.
Oh, boy, look. You wanna go to Mommy?
Wanna come to Mommy? It's all right, sweetheart.
I need to talk to you. I need some money.
- What do you need? - Got her?
Well, I need a lot. I need more than usual.
Why don't you take it out of your account?
I would, you know, Sam, it's just that...
Well, I need more than that. I need $25,000.
Twenty-five thousand? For yourself?
- Yeah. - Why do you need that much?
What's the difference? I just need it.
Well, I gotta ask you. That's a lot of money.
You're not asking for a box of popcorn.
We don't have to turn this into a big deal.
Okay? We don't have to have a fight.
It's important to me. Just something I wanted to do.
Who's fighting? I mean, tell me what it's for.
Why can't you tell me what it's for? Huh?
Well, you know what? Now I want you to tell me.
My wife comes to me and asks me for 25,000. What do you want, a coat?
- No. - If you want a coat, you got it.
It's not the money. It's just, why do you want it? Am I not entitled to ask that?
Sam, I've been independent my whole life. I never had to ask anybody for anything.
- Now you're making me beg. - What are you talking about?
And you're embarrassing me. Why do you want to make me feel so bad?
You're asking me for 25,000. I'm not out to make you feel bad.
I want to just be able to trust you.
You know, it's about trust.
I have to be able to trust you with my life.
Do you understand?
Can I trust you?
Answer me. Can I trust you?
You can trust me.
Good. So then you could tell me what the money is for.
Yeah, she's leaving the bank now.
All right, I'm gonna follow her.
What is that?
I know that look. What does that look mean?
It means I got the money.
Yes, you're way up on top now.
How are you doin', Les? It's Lester, right?
Sam.
From my recollection, aren't you the card shark...
the golf hustler, the pimp from Beverly Hills?
If I'm wrong, please correct me.
'Cause I never knew you to be a heist man.
But if you are, you know what?
Here, take mine too.
Go ahead. Take it. 'Cause you already have hers.
She's my wife. Look at me.
You did know that, didn't you? You knew that she's my wife?
- Hey, look at me. - Yeah, I know that.
You know, yeah?
But if you ever come back again, ever...
to take her money, next time bring a pistol.
That way you got a chance.
Be a man. Don't be a fucking pimp.
Now, you wanna do me a favor? Get outta here.
I wanna be alone with my wife. Get up and get outta here.
And you want to be free.
Why, you feel that you are too good...
much too good for a nobody like me.
- Fuckin' piece of shit. - That's fuckin' bullshit.
Well, darling, I guess it's best...
that we should part.
Remember when you called him that night and said good-bye?
He didn't say, "Don't get married. I'll be right down. "
- He didn't say that to you, did he? - No, he didn't.
No. Instead, what did he say?
"Fuck him. Take him for everything he's got. "
Come here. I want to show you something.
The second letter came right after I gave you your start.
No! No! No!
No! Make 'em stop it!
No! No!
It's not his fault! It's my fault!
No!
- Fuck! Fuck! - Piece of shit.
Do it yourself, you chickenshit cocksucker!
He's such a prick!
He had some guy from the hotel beat him up.
He didn't want to do it himself.
Oh, no, he didn't want to get his own hands dirty.
So why did he have to do that, huh?
Tell me.
- I know it wasn't a nice thing to do... - No shit.
You gotta understand it. He doesn't know if this guy is shaking you down...
No. No. I told him all about this guy before we ever got married.
- This is no fucking surprise. - Oh, you did? I didn't know that.
He's just a friend of mine I was trying to help. So what?
You know, the first time I ever saw you guys together...
I never saw him so happy.
I mean, I know he's a crazy Jew fuck and everything...
but I never seen him act like that with anybody else.
I think he's crazy about you. I mean, he really loves you.
Come on. I went into this with my eyes open, you know.
I knew the bottom could drop out at any time.
You don't think I'm gonna go into a situation like this...
if I don't think I'm gonna get covered on the back end.
- Sure, I can see that. - Right?
So I put aside some jewelry for me. A lot of jewelry.
You mean like a lot of expensive jewelry? About how much?
You want to steal it?
No. I'm just curious. I was wondering...
how much he would put into a thing like that.
I'm told it's worth about a million dollars, maybe more.
Well, there you go. What does that tell you?
A million dollars in jewelry.
Does that tell you the guy is crazy about you?
I should've never married him. He's a Gemini.
Triple Gemini. Duality.
Gemini is the snake, you know. You can't trust a snake.
I mean it.
I know what you mean. Listen, Ginger.
You know, this is probably not... I don't have the answers anyway.
- This is probably not what you want to hear... - I do.
'Cause you're a little upset, and I understand that.
But I think you should try to make the best of it now. Go slow. See what happens.
He could've killed him! Okay? He could've killed him. He didn't have to hit him.
It's not like I'm sleeping with the guy.
He makes me sneak around to see my own friends. What is that all about?
I guess it's 'cause he loves you so much, he's jealous and worried.
He gives a fuck what I do.
Look, I'll try to find out what the hell is going on.
- When I see him, I'll talk to him. - Okay.
- All right? - Yeah.
Thanks. Thanks for putting up with me.
Take it easy with this shit. This can only make matters worse.
You're a beautiful girl. I've seen a lot of girls get shot to hell from this.
You're so nice.
Come on, now. I don't wanna see you unhappy.
Thanks.
- Thank you. - It's all right.
Mr. Rothstein, County Commissioner Pat Webb is here to see you.
- Give me a minute. - Okay. Just a minute.
Mr. Webb, can I get you anything?
Uh, no. No, thank you, little lady.
Okay, send him in. Then call me four minutes after.
- Mr. Rothstein, I'm Pat Webb. - How do you do?
- Hey, it is a pleasure. - I heard a lot about you.
Oh, thank you, sir. Hey, house is doin' well.
Hey, all that money is rollin' in.
I appreciate you takin' the time to see a poor civil servant.
- Why don't you have a seat, hmm? - Oh, thank you, sir.
I come here personally to kind of smooth over...
any fracas about a certain matter.
See, uh, maybe you didn't know it...
but Don Ward is a very well-liked man in this town.
He's got lots of friends. Nice family and their money go back many, many years.
Now friends vote. Family and money votes.
That's important to me and you.
And if you'll think about our little problem along them lines...
and you'll forgive me for sayin' it...
maybe he did not deserve to be fired.
I'm sorry, but he knew about our getting hit...
on three big machines in a row, and he did nothing about it.
That means, either he was in on it or he was too dumb to see what was goin' on.
Either way, I cannot have a man like that working here.
Before we point the dirty end of the stick at old Don...
we better be sure we can prove them charges.
Believe me, if I could prove it, he would be under arrest.
Are, uh...
Are we certain that you want the Gaming Control Board...
eyeballing your record and your gangster pals like Nicky Santoro.
I think you're way out of line talking to me like that.
What you're saying is libelous, and you're in no position to challenge my expertise.
I went way out of my way to be very helpful to that kid.
He's weak. He's incompetent. He jeopardizes the whole place.
There's not much more I can do for him.
You have got me there.
Old Don is as useless as tits on a boar.
But he is my brother-in-law...
and I would look on it as a personal favor...
if you'd think some more on hirin' him back.
I can't do that.
I appreciate the fact that he's your brother-in-law...
and I do want to help you and I like to do favors.
I know who you are, but I cannot do that.
Well, could there be any position...
farther down the trough?
I'm sorry. I can't do anything.
He's too incompetent, and the bottom line is, he cannot be trusted.
Okay. Thanks.
Well... you know, that's it. I'm sorry.
Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand...
the way it works out here.
You're all just our guests.
But you act like you're at home.
Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home.
But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor.
- Thank you for your time. - No problem.
- Sorry. - You bet.
What happened to my pills?
Huh?
Isn't it bad enough you're drinking too much? You're taking my pills too?
I didn't take your pills.
Look, for my ulcer, I take a half a one of these.
And that's when I have extreme pain.
I had a three-month supply. What did you do with 'em?
You didn't have to beat him up.
What?
I was just trying to help him.
Like I'm sleeping with the guy.
Yeah, how do I know?
You can't make me stop caring about people.
What? What?
I said, you can't make me...
stop caring about people.
Listen... Ginger...
I'm trying to make the best of everything here, you know?
I mean, you're my wife, for Christ's sakes.
I mean, people look up to you in this town.
You know what, Ace? I don't give a shit!
I'm gettin' out of here. I am.
Come over here. You gotta get hold of yourself.
- Okay. Okay. - If not for me, at least for Amy.
Understand? Your drinking's gettin' way out of hand.
I'm gonna get you into a program. They got plenty of good ones.
- I don't need one. - Yes, you do. It's very discreet.
There's no names in the papers.
That's all you care about. You don't care about me.
- Yes, I do. - No, you don't.
How could you say that?
You're a beautiful woman. You're destroying yourself.
You don't need that fuckin' leech living off you.
I know you better than you know yourself.
You're a tiger. You're stronger than I am.
When you set your mind on doing something, you do it better than anybody.
You're gonna do it. Okay? You'll do it.
Oh, God.
Okay.
I'll try. I'll try.
I'll try. I will.
Don't be mad at me, okay?
I will.
No matter what the problems were outside the count room...
it was all worth it.
The cash kept rollin' in...
and the suitcases kept comin' and goin'.
And let me tell you, the fuckin' bottom line here is... cash.
The only problem was that after a while...
the bosses noticed that the suitcases were gettin' a little light.
Wait a minute. You mean to tell me...
that the money we're robbing is being robbed?
Somebody's robbing from us?
We go through all this trouble and somebody's robbing us?
Huh?
Like I said, it's part of the business. It's considered leakage.
Leakage my balls. I want the guy who's robbing us.
Even John Nash... that's the guy who ran the scam...
he knew there wasn't much he could do about it.
You gotta know that a guy who helps you steal...
even if you take care of him real well...
he's gonna steal a little extra for himself.
Makes sense, don't it?
Try and make these hardheaded old greaseballs understand that.
What's the point of skimming if we're being skimmed? It defeats the purpose.
Huh?
They take this money because they're my guys, so give 'em some leeway.
But the bosses never believed in leeway...
so listen to what they do.
They put Artie Piscano, the underboss of K. C...
in charge of making sure nobody skimmed the skim.
- What were you doin'? - I was with my cumma.
- What are you doin' with your cumma? - I gave her a scheff.
The only trouble was, Piscano was a disaster.
This guy could fuck up a cup of coffee.
- What you been doin'? - I'm out there more than I'm here.
And little did anybody know where this would lead.
If they did, they'd would've been better off makin' fuckin' novena.
You gotta go back there and talk to that guy.
- I never got paid my expenses for the last trip. - What expenses?
I'm layin' money outta my own pocket, and I never get anything back.
You gotta go back out there.
From now on, I'm gonna start keepin' records.
No records, Artie. What are you gonna do with records, pay taxes?
I keep layin' out my own fuckin' dough.
What the hell are we doin' over here?
You're goin' to Las Vegas at my expense.
Oh, fuck. I mean, after all...
No matter how many novenas you could make...
nothing was gonna stop what came up next.
- I can't believe you're doing this. - We made a deal.
It turned out Phil Green, Mr. Integrity...
had a partner nobody knew about.
And when she showed up and started demanding money...
- Why are you doing this? - Because you're wrong.
- Yes, you are. - No, I am not wrong.
Green tried to stonewall her.
I will see to it that you do not get away with this.
So, she sued him in court.
The court will now hear the matter of the plaintiff, Anna Scott...
against Tangiers Corporation and its president, Phil Green.
- Oberon on behalf of Mr. Green. - Logan on behalf of Anna Scott.
- Mr. Oberon, you can proceed. - Thank you, Judge.
I believe he was fair, and I'm delighted with the decision.
We got a problem.
It didn't go too well. Green has to open up the books...
has to show how he got the financing.
Hey, that's not good.
She was doin' pretty good with her lawsuit.
But before she could start countin' her money...
the boys back home decided to settle the case out of court.
So they sent me.
Can you comment on the murder of Anna Scott?
- What are you talking about? - She was found last night shot in the head.
Was this just a real estate partnership?
Her lawyer said you were partners.
We were involved in minor real estate deals many years ago.
It was never a partnership.
Did you ever hear of the. 22 Caliber Killer?
Now, instead of the cops only looking at Nicky...
they started looking at Green too.
And he was supposed to be our squeaky-clean front man.
I had to start giving interviews to make sure everybody knew...
the casino was on the up-and-up.
So how often do you really fill in for him?
Green's here about two or three times a month...
and he's busy with real estate deals.
So in Green's absence, then, you're the boss?
I serve at the pleasure of the chairman of the board.
My responsibilities are to run the day-to-day operations.
So day-to-day, then, you're the boss?
Well, in a sense, you could say that I am the boss...
when Mr. Green is away.
You could say that.
Hmm, have you read this?
About Mr. Rothstein.
It says, "The Midwest bookmaker with mob ties...
says that he is the real boss of the $100 million...
Tangiers casino empire. "
Did he really say that?
Why, of course he said that. It's right here.
Has that man even filed for his license yet?
I don't know. We have to check the files.
Without gettin' your shorts in a knot, would you do that?
And kinda check closely, 'cause we may have to kick a kike's ass outta town.
Thank you.
A Gaming Control Board investigation...
of Tangiers executive Sam Rothstein's application...
for a gaming license is underway.
Rothstein, who heads the Tangiers Casino operation and is a boyhood friend...
of Las Vegas mob boss Nicky Santoro...
could lose his ability to work in the casino...
Hello?
- I gotta meet Clean Face. What about the Chez Paris? - You can't.
- You gotta make a reservation. It's all booked up. - No, no.
It's impossible. You gotta make a reservation.
It's very difficult to get in.
I'll use the service entrance. I'll see you at 9:00.
All right.
The battle between State gaming officials and Tangiers Casino boss...
Sam "Ace" Rothstein is heating up.
Tonight, an up-to-the-minute look at Ace Rothstein's attempt to get state licensing...
despite law enforcement allegations of Rothstein's organized crime connections.
Will Sam Rothstein's friendship with alleged organized crime figure Nicky Santoro...
keep Rothstein from running the Tangiers Casino?
And can the integrity of state gaming laws be jeopardized by a boyhood friendship?
- Why don't you take it easy on that stuff? Huh?
Come on. Let me help you down.
We're talking about some stuff.
At 6:00: Will a boyhood friendship unseat Rothstein as the Tangiers Casino boss?
Exclusive on the KBBO special news report.
Go down. Just... go downst-
You can't let this concern you, Ace. Don't worry.
It's just a political witch hunt.
Ace.
Do you want something to drink?
- Charlie, a refill? - Yeah, great.
No. Hey, Mr. Clark. I've been tryin' to reach you.
- You're tougher to get than the president. - Well, I've been busy.
Yeah? At least you could return my phone calls, though.
Listen, Nicky, we talked about this.
And I explained to you that you might have to take some kind of loss.
Yeah.
I think I want my money back.
What are you gonna do, strong-arm me?
- You know, I think you've gotten the wrong impression about me.
I think, in all fairness...
I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do.
Tomorrow morning I'll get up nice and early, take a walk to the bank...
and walk in and see, and, uh, if you don't have my money for me...
I'll crack your fuckin' head wide open in front of everybody.
And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail...
hopefully you'll be comin' out of your coma.
And guess what? I'll split your fuckin' head open again.
'Cause I'm fuckin' stupid. I don't give a fuck about jail.
That's my business. That's what I do.
We know what you do. You fuck people out of money and get away with it.
- You can't talk to me like that. - Hey, you fat Irish prick! You put my money to sleep!
- Get my money, or I'll put your brain to sleep. - Sam!
Never mind Sam. This is personal.
I'll be there in the morning. You can try me, Fatso. You fuckin' try me.
You think he got the point?
What're you doin'? He's a square guy, for chrissakes. He's gonna run to the F.B.I.
That prick's been dodgin' me for three weeks. You're tryin' to tell me what to do.
I'm not tryin' to tell you what to do. You're outta line. Where's your head?
Where's my head? Where's your fuckin' balls?
I'm tryin' to put somethin' big together here. You know what I'm talkin' about.
If you're actin' like this now, can I depend on you?
A lot of things gonna change. If you wanna be there with me, you're gonna have to go my way.
Listen, Nick, understand my situation. I'm responsible for thousands of people.
I got a hundred million a year goin' through the place.
It's all over if I don't get that license.
If it goes bad for me, it's bad for a lot of people.
Forget about your fuckin' license. I plant my own flag, you ain't gonna need a license.
You know, I don't know what it is, Sammy, but the more I talk to you...
the more I feel like you just don't want to go along with me.
- No, I don't want to come along with you. - All right, fine.
I don't want to be involved in anything you're talking about, okay?
I want to run a square joint. I just want my license.
I want everything quiet. That's it!
Quiet like this? "I'm the boss"? That's quiet?
That's taken out of context. I had no control over that.
- Ronnie and Billy will tell you exactly what happened. - Back home that looks bad.
Looks bad? Every time you're on television, I get mentioned. That looks bad.
- What the fuck happened to you? - What happened to me?
- What happened to you? You lost control. - I lost control?
Look at you, you're fuckin' walkin' around like John Barrymore.
A pink robe and a fuckin' cigarette holder? I lost control?
I don't wanna bring this up, but you been treatin' people with disrespect, even your wife.
My wife? What does she have to do with this?
She was upset about a lot of things, especially that whole fuckin' Lester Diamond incident.
You're the shoulder to cry on? Did you her tell about your little role in that situation?
No, that's not the fuckin' point.
- The point is, she's upset, and you've got a problem. - I would appreciate it...
if you stay out of my personal life.
- You wouldn't like it if I did it to you. - She came to talk to me.
What was I supposed to do? Throw her out?
- Stay away from her. It's none of your business. - It's none of my business?
A week ago it was. Now it's none of my business. When you need me, you need me.
The way you need me to vouch for you as a citizen.
I'm gonna have to straighten out what you did with this guy.
This guy is gonna run to the F.B.I. Now.
Your head's bigger than your casino.
I knew what he wanted. Nicky wanted to take over.
He wanted to go after Gaggi, the skim, everything and everybody.
Plus, he had stopped asking permission from back home for every little thing.
A casino boss and his wife were killed. The bulls questioned Nicky.
A dealer from the Sirocco. They questioned Nicky.
A bunch of stool pigeons wound up in the trunks of their cars. They questioned Nicky.
A lawyer.
They questioned Nicky.
When some guys that didn't pay their shylocks began disappearing...
Nicky's name was in every one of those newspapers.
Nicky was questioned in two dozen murders, but they always had to let him go.
There were never any witnesses.
The coppers blamed me for everything that went wrong.
Watch yourself. You're gonna get runned over, there.
If a guy fuckin' tripped over a banana peel, they'd bring me in for it.
Come on, be nice, huh?
And the bosses were no better. They complained because things don't run smooth.
In my line of work, things don't run so smooth. I'm sorry.
I'm dealin' with degenerate animals out here.
But the bosses, what do they give a fuck?
They're sittin' on their asses drinkin' anisette.
I'm the guy in the trenches.
Fuckin' bosses think it's a fuckin' free lunch out here.
Frankie, they found a guy's head in the desert.
You know about that?
- Yeah, I heard. Yeah. - Yeah.
Everybody's talkin'. They're makin' a big deal out of it. It's in all the papers.
What are you gonna do?
And I mean, that's no good. You gotta tell him to take care of things a little better.
I'll tell him, Remo.
Fuckin' bosses; they're smokin' their Di Nobilis...
and they're eatin' trippa and fuckin' suffritte, you know, fried pigs' guts.
If I want to talk private, I gotta go to a bus stop.
- What do they care long as I keep sendin' money back? - They're complainin'.
Let 'em complain. I'm the one who's here. I do all the work.
- Somebody don't like it, fuck 'em. - It's up to you.
They want a fuckin' war? I'm ready.
All I gotta do is take care of five of those guys. The rest will fall into place.
Peekaboo, you fucks, you.
I see you, you motherfuckers.
Nicky was not only bringing heat on himself but on me too.
The F.B.I. Watched every move he made, but he didn't care. He just didn't care.
If they're gonna watch me, I'm gonna watch 'em right back.
I spent a few bucks. Top dollar. Who gives a shit?
I got the latest anti-buggin' equipment from the same places that sell to the fuckin' C.I.A.
I had special police frequency radios, F.B.I. De-scramblers, cameras that see in the dark.
And because of that, the miserable sons of bitches never caught me doin' anything.
I got my job on the line, and this guy's havin' the time of his life.
He has every cop in the state watchin' him, and he's out playin' golf.
And at the worst possible time for me.
I had my license hearing coming up, and I didn't want to leave anything to chance.
I mean, if I can't work in Vegas, where am I gonna go?
You've been very open with us. I mean, your books and papers.
That's gonna mean something when you go before the commission.
- All I ask is a fair hearing. - This kind of honesty will guarantee that fair hearing.
All right, well, we'll move on to...
- I wanted to hear something about Kansas City.
What the fuck is this?
Where's this guy gonna land, the fairway?
They're fuckin' agents, Frankie. Look at this.
The Feds were watching Nicky play golf for so long...
they ran out of gas.
Just what I needed, right in front of the Control Board.
A hundred dollars, whoever hits the plane.
And as if things weren't bad enough, in comes Piscano, the Kansas City underboss.
He ran that little grocery store in Kansas City where they bought the suitcases.
Fightin' over those suitcases again. You know what that means, right?
I gotta take another trip to Vegas, and it's gonna cost me another couple grand.
He ran it with his brother-in-law...
but mostly what he did was complain about his trips to Vegas.
You gotta lay down the law, otherwise they're gonna make a fool out of you.
I write it all down. Every fuckin' nickel goes down. Receipts...
- Hey, oh, wha... What's the matter with you? - Everything's here.
- Since when do you talk like that? - I'm sorry.
Nance gives me trouble, I'll tell him I'll take the eyes out of his frickin' head.
- Again. - I said, "frickin' head. "
- That's enough. - I'm sorry.
What happens next? You can't believe it.
Who would believe that the F.B.I. Had a wire in the place...
lookin' for some information about some old homicide...
about some guy who was whacked-out God knows when over God knows what.
What's to prevent him with the suitcases that he could take what he wants?
Fuckin' Nance takes back two suitcases from the Tangiers. What about three or four?
We've got nobody in the room to watch. That's the law.
We can't even go into the count room to watch our money. You believe this bullshit?
Sure, he's got his people in there. They could all be in on it together, those fucks.
I'll find out. If it's Green, I'll bury that bastard.
I never trusted him. They trust that scumbag. I don't.
- I'll hit the two of them with a fuckin' shovel. - Take it easy.
Ma, I'm sorry. They're beatin' me left and right.
- Ma, I'm sorry. I'm all upset. - I know, but that's enough.
You know what they're doin'. I can't take this no more. Back and forth.
- Take it easy. You'll get a heart attack like that. - I know. I'm too upset.
And the damn thing is, they hear all this stuff...
about Las Vegas and the casinos and suitcases...
and that's it.
Everything's comin' outta my pocket. I gotta pay.
Would you believe that such a thing could happen?
I'm in this to make money, not to lose money.
Every F.B.I. Man across the country had their ears open now.
If you want something done right you gotta do it yourself.
I mean, Piscano, this guy basically sunk the whole world.
There are some that are good and some that are bad.
Mr. Chairman, members of the commission...
Mr. Rothstein is pleased to be here today.
When the day finally came, I was ready.
I felt so confident that all I had to do was present my case.
We have documents, one of which is a report by retired F.B.I. Agents...
which completely absolves Mr. Rothstein from any wrongdoing.
- Counselor, before you continue... - I want to have this marked...
This commission is prepared to act on a motion denying the Rothstein application.
- Denying? - Do I hear a motion seconded?
Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
Do I have a vote on the motion?
- Aye. - Aye. Aye.
The ayes have it. This hearing is adjourned.
- You have to be kidding. - Adjourned? What do you mean, "Adjourned"?
Senator, you promised me a hearing. You didn't even look at the F.B.I. Reports.
When you were my guest at the Tangiers Hotel, did you not promise me a fair hearing?
- I was never your guest. - You were never my guest? I never comped you?
- I don't comp you at least three times a month? - I'd like to answer that.
Mr. Rothstein is being very typical to this point. He's lying.
The only time I was at the Tangiers was with Barney Greenstein.
- Was I at that dinner? Tell me, was I at that dinner? - You were wandering.
- Was I at that dinner? Was I? - You were wandering.
- You were... in the... You were in the building. - I was in the building?
You know I was at that dinner, and you swore to me I would have a fair hearing. Did you not?
Did you not? Well, tell me I was at least at the dinner. Allow me that much.
- Give me that much at least! - Yes, you were.
Thanks for not calling me a liar, you son of a bitch. You son of a...
A routine licensing hearing turned into bedlam yesterday...
when the flamboyant Tangiers Casino executive, Sam "Ace" Rothstein...
- What are you runnin' for, Bob? - Accused the state's top gaming officials of corruption.
You promised me when you were getting comped at my hotel.
You were asking me for copies of your bill so you could put 'em on your expense account.
In a wild outburst that followed his gaming license denial...
- Bullshit! Bullshit! - Rothstein followed several...
stunned commissioners into the hallway where he continued his harangue...
until his own lawyers and friends urged him to leave.
You have a past. I have a past. My past is no worse than yours.
But you guys think you have the right to pass judgment!
Long suspected of running the Tangiers without a license...
yesterday's hearing was to determine whether someone with Rothstein's history...
was qualified to officially hold a top gaming post.
Fuckin' hypocrites!
- What the hell's he gonna do now? - I don't know.
What's he doin'? He knows all those guys he yelled at are friends of ours.
What's the matter with him, making all this mess?
Maybe he could run things with another job title. What are we gonna do?
However he runs things, it's gotta be quiet. Let him hide upstairs in the office.
Say he's a janitor. I don't give a shit.
But, please, whatever job he takes, make sure it's something quiet.
Ladies and gentlemen...
the Tangiers Hotel proudly presents the all-new...
Sam Rothstein show, Aces High.
Tonight, taped live from the all-new Sports Book...
we present the premiere showing of Aces High...
with the Sasha Semenoff Orchestra...
and the Sam Rothstein Dancers!
Mr. Rothstein is a professional gambler and the best football handicapper in America;
a man who will take you inside the real Las Vegas as no one has ever done before.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the new entertainment director of the Tangiers Hotel Casino...
Mr. Sam Rothstein.
Welcome to the Sam Rothstein Show. We're very happy to have you here this evening.
The young lady to my left is Trudy, who is...
a lead new dancer in our fabulous show from Paris.
Our first guest this evening...
is Frankie Avalon.
- Keep an eye on him. - I've got a large family.
- How many kids do you have? - I'm very proud to say that we have eight children.
No, no, please. Please.
- That's amazing. - There's nothing to it. It was my pleasure.
Ace, don't do it.
Oh, no, no. Oh, no.
Oh, Jesus.
He's juggling!
Let's not take Commissioner Pat Webb too seriously.
I recently challenged him to a debate on this program, and he declined.
What are you worried about, Pat? You don't have to send me any questions.
You can ask me anything you want.
What the hell is he doin' on television, anyway?
He's on all night, screamin' about how he's gonna take his lawsuit to the Supreme Court.
He really must be crazy. He's gonna go to Washington with this?
He's out of his fuckin' mind.
It's a pity we have such hypocrisy. Some people do what they want.
Other people have to pay through the nose. Such is life.
Andy, go see him. Tell him maybe it's time he should quit.
First of all, what they did was totally unconstitutional.
We're on the list to be heard before the Supreme Court of the United States.
These guys don't give a fuck about the Supreme Court. They want you to walk away.
Walk away? Andy, you can't be serious. How can I walk away? Don't you see what's at stake?
The old man said maybe your friend should give in.
When the old man says "maybe," that's like a papal bull.
Not only should you quit, you should run.
Every time they mention my name in the papers, they mention Nicky too.
How the fuck does that help?
The heat he brought down is murder.
The police department was cooperative. He pissed 'em off. Nobody can make a move anymore.
- What are you proposing? - I don't know. He doesn't listen to me.
Maybe he should get lost for awhile. Would that be so bad?
- They ain't sendin' Nicky nowhere. - If he took a break...
it would give everybody time to maneuver.
I would forget about the maneuver. I would just get out.
I can't do that.
As soon as Andy got home, Nicky heard about our talk.
Next morning, bright and early, I get the call.
Great. You know, I've got to do some shopping. You want to go?
Getting a call from Nicky wasn't easy.
Even the codes didn't work. So we figured out another act.
If a phone's tapped, the Feds can only listen in on the stuff involving crimes.
So on routine calls, they have to click off after a few minutes.
Yeah, I got a sprained fuckin' elbow.
- Yeah. - Meet me at 3:00.
- At Caesar's? - 100 yards down the road.
- Why? - Don't ask questions. Just be there.
Suzy Cream Cheese has the exact same outfit.
I saw something.
Something very cute.
Okay, he's out. It's the ant. Brown unit.
And he's with the bogey. I think it's Frankie.
Nicky started out before me...
because it wasn't that easy for him to get around.
Nicky couldn't even go for a ride without changing cars...
at least six times before he could shake all his tails.
Because of the planes, he had to use underground garages.
Meeting in the middle of the desert always made me nervous.
It's a scary place.
I knew about the holes in the desert, of course.
And everywhere I looked, there could have been a hole.
Normally, my prospects of comin' back alive...
from a meetin' with Nicky were 99 out of 100.
But this time, when I heard him say a couple of hundred yards down the road...
I gave myself 50-50.
Where the fuck you get off talkin' to people behind my back, goin' over my head?
- What people? - What people? What'd you think, I wasn't gonna find out?
I don't even know what you're talkin' about.
You said I'm bringin' heat on you? I gotta listen to people because of your shit?
You're orderin' me out? You better get your own fuckin' army, pal!
I didn't order you or anybody. I told Andy Stone that you had heat, and that was a problem.
- You want me to get out of my own fuckin' town? - Yeah.
Let the bullshit blow over so I can run the casino.
Anything goes wrong with the casino, it's my ass. It's not yours. It's my ass.
I don't know whether you know you have your fuckin' casino because I made that possible!
I'm what counts out here. Not your fuckin' country clubs or your fuckin' TV shows!
And what the fuck are you doin' on TV anyhow?
I get calls from home every day. They think you went batshit!
I'm only on TV because I gotta be able to hang around the casino. You understand.
You could have had the food-and-beverage job without goin' on television!
You wanted to go on TV.
Yeah, I wanted to go on TV. That way I have a forum. I can fight back.
They know they can't fuck around with me like they could if I was an unknown. That's right.
You're makin' a spectacle of yourself.
Me? I wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for you.
Every time I meet somebody, the question is: Do I know you?
- Sure, now you wanna blame your fuckin' license on me. - No, Nicky.
When you asked me if you could come out here...
what did I tell you? Do you remember?
- Back up a fuckin' minute here. - Do you remember what I told you?
I asked you? When the fuck did I ever ask you if I could come out here?
Get this through your head, you Jew motherfucker, you!
You only exist out here because of me! That's the only reason!
Without me, you personally...
Every fuckin' wise guy still around will take a piece of your fuckin' Jew ass!
Then where you gonna go? You're fuckin' warned.
Don't go over my head again, you motherfucker, you!
Well, we got company.
Did you see that?
Dumb Jew motherfucker. Grew up together, and he's actin' like he don't know me.
I know we're supposed to avoid each other, but there's ways to do things.
Fuck him.
To Abraham Lincoln.
- Don't let it bother you. - Does it look like it's botherin' me?
Why do I give a fuck?
That prick. He won't even look over. What's his fuckin' problem?
- Fuckin' Jews stick together, don't they? - They're havin' a good time.
So are we.
Yeah?
- Sam, we got a problem. - What is it?
The little guy. Nobody told him he was eighty-sixed from the joint.
We turned our heads and made out we didn't know who he was.
He's over at the 21 table with his nose wide open.
He took money out of his own kick. His nose is open for about 10,000.
- Now he's really pissed. - Oh, no.
- He wants a 50,000 marker. - Just give him ten.
That's it. I'll be right down.
- He's gonna come up with 10,000, the way you want it. - No, 50,000. I said 50!
Go get it. I don't give a fuck where you get it. Fuckers. They take but don't give back.
How the fuck can you grin? How the fuck can you grin?
You know how much I'm stuck? You give a fuck? Do you?
Give yourself a hand, right across your fuckin' mouth.
Look at this beaut they put in now.
Sherbert send you to rob me now?
Been fuckin' knockin' everybody's dick all night? Been beating the customers?
Huh, jag-off? Hit me.
Take this stiff and pound it up your fuckin' ass.
Hit me again.
Take this one and stick it up your sister's ass. Hit me again.
That's it. Keep lookin' at him. If you had any heart at all, you'd be stealin' for a livin'.
Hit me again! What the fuck you keep lookin' at him for?
You fuckin'... Look at this, 20 fuckin' paints in a row. Hit me again.
You should pay as fast as you collect, you know.
- You gotta get outta here. - Tell this Jew motherfucker to pay that marker off.
I'm here to help you. You're gonna bury us both.
- Just give me the money. Give me the fuckin' money. - I'm gonna okay you ten.
Then you gotta get out before the cops are all over you.
Ten and that's it.
What are you starin' at, you bald-headed Jew prick?
- Come on, come on. Let's get outta here. - Sue me, you Jew fuck!
Get outta here? I got a marker comin'. Deal.
Everything's changed now. You're talking about a divorce.
You're asking for alimony payments and child support, and now custody.
I just want what any divorced woman would get.
She's only sober about two hours a day.
It's usually from 11:00 in the morning 'til 1:00 in the afternoon.
If I gave her her money and her jewels, she's gonna piss it all away in a year.
Where would you be then? Comin' right back to me...
- or findin' some other excuse to come... - We had a deal.
Remember that?
He said if it didn't work out between us, I could get my things, and I could leave.
Look in my eyes.
Look-Look in my eyes. You know me.
Do you see anything that makes you think I would ever let...
someone in your condition take my child away from me?
Do you?
You know that won't happen.
And after all this time...
and as hard as I tried, as much as I wanted...
I could never reach her.
I could never make her love me.
I always felt she should have gone for all that money...
being somebody for the first time in her life...
a home, a kid.
That's not what happened. It didn't work out that way.
- Everything all right? I mean, what could we do?
After a while, we'd just take breathers from each other. Little separations.
At that time, I remember Ginger took Amy to Beverly Hills.
She was gonna spend a week shopping.
- Yes, Mr. Rothstein. - Operator, the Beverly Hotel in Beverly Hills, please.
- Beverly Hotel. - Mrs. Sam Rothstein, please.
Mr. And Mrs. Rothstein have checked out already.
Mr. And Mrs. Rothstein?
Hey, little Dale Evans.
- Yes, they both checked out. - Thank you.
Hello. Yeah.
My wife is with an old friend of hers in L.A.
Some lowlife. A guy named Lester Diamond.
My daughter is with them, and I think they're gonna try and kidnap her.
- Is there anybody you can send? - We'll take care of it.
We got a number and an address.
- Hello. Is this Lester? - Hello.
Who's calling?
This is Sam Rothstein. I want to talk to Ginger. Put her on the phone.
She's not here, Sam.
Listen to me very carefully. I want to talk to Ginger.
I want my kid back. I want her put on a plane immediately.
- I know she's there. Don't fuck around. - Sam, I wouldn't.
You shouldn't do this.
- You understand? Put her on the fuckin' phone.
Sam, I don't know where she is.
So... listen... Can I call you back?
- 702-472-1862. - Mm-hmm. 1862.
- Okay, I'll call you right back. - Right away.
- Right back. - You got it.
Schmuck. All right, I just bought us a few minutes.
You want to get back at this prick? Hmm?
- Okay, you got what? Two million in that box?
Hey, you got a minute? He's got two million in the box, am I right?
You let him keep your jewels.
We take the cash and the only other thing he cares about. Huh? Her majesty.
We go to Europe. You dye your hair.
I don't want to go to Europe. I want to go to see "The Elephant Man. "
We're going to Europe. Let the adults talk. You dye your hair.
You get plastic surgery like we talked about.
You're the mother. How much you think he'll pay to get this kid back?
- I don't want to go to Europe. - Shut your mouth. You know where she gets this?
- You shut up. You want me to come over there?
I'll smack your face. Don't give me your shit!
This has always been a dream, but now we're going.
- Lester, he called you here. He called you right here. - That's who was on the phone.
- I just talked to him. - So he knows where you are.
That means he's sending some guys over here, probably right now.
It means he's sitting by the phone, like a dumbbell...
- waiting for me to call him back. - He's sitting by the phone just waiting for you to call.
What do you think we're gonna do? He's probably got guys outside the fuckin' house!
- This is fuckin' bullshit! This is bullshit! - Get your bag! Let's go!
- Oh, what bullshit? What? You want to talk it over now? - Okay, you done yakkin'?
- Go, go! Get in the car! - Go, go, go.
Just relax. Nobody's killing anybody.
I think he's gonna kill me. - Just relax.
Call me back here in exactly an hour on this phone. I'll see what I can do.
I'm gonna call you back in an hour at this number...
- and you're gonna be there, right? - I'll be here.
Listen, don't do anything else crazy, okay? You all right? Okay.
Bye.
- Just knock it off. You two knock it off. - She started it.
- She started the whole thing. I'm just standing here. - Get in the car.
You're not gonna drive. Don't even think you're gonna drive. I'm gonna drive.
- I'm not gonna drive with some crazy woman. - You're driving me nuts!
Get on the passenger side! And I'm sending this kid to Bolivia in a box!
Can we...
Ginger called me.
Yeah.
- I just told you she called me. - What'd she want?
She was afraid to call you.
- She's with that cocksucker. They got Amy. - That's why I'm here.
She wants to come back, but she's afraid you're gonna whack her out.
- They're gonna kidnap my kid. What do you want? - I know.
Why didn't you come to me? I mean, this is family. It ain't business.
You make calls back home. It makes us look bad out here. You know what I mean?
Back and forth, this one and that one.
In the meantime, she's gone anyway.
Am I right?
What am I going to do with this woman?
- Driving me fuckin' crazy. - I think if you, uh...
assure her that she's gonna be all right, she'll come back.
Driving me fuckin' crazy.
Once you get her here, you think about it.
Wait 'til you get the kid back. She wants to come back.
That's the main thing here.
You want your kid, don't you? Huh?
Hello.
Hi, it's me. Just who you wanted to talk to, right?
Listen, I'm not gonna ask you where you are.
Just, please, put Amy on a plane, any plane, to get her here right away.
- That's all I'm asking. - Do you...
I mean, I don't think she should go by herself.
What do you mean?
What I mean is...
Do you think if I came back...
Do you think you could forgive me?
I gotta tell you, I don't know.
I understand that.
I know I fucked up.
- What about the money? Where's the box? - I gotta tell ya...
I made some mistakes, and I spent some money.
- What's it under? - Pretty serious.
- How serious? - It's under 25.
- It's under 25,000? - Yeah.
- The rest of the two million is still there? - Yeah, I got the rest.
Okay, no big deal. That's okay.
He got his 25.
That I'll live with. Any more, I couldn't.
Okay.
All right, all right. Where are you? I'll send a plane for you right away.
Hi, Sam.
So what'd you do with it?
With what?
With the money.
He needed some clothes.
25,000 for clothes?
He wanted a watch too.
- 25,000 for clothes and a watch? - Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
- Good evening, signora. This way. - Geno.
The good part was I had Amy back.
So we went home, had the housekeeper stay over, put the kid to bed.
I calmed myself down, and we went to dinner.
I tried to keep things nice and civil...
but, hey, 25,000 for three suits?
That doesn't make much sense.
First of all, he's not gonna wear thousand-dollar suits.
Let's say he did, which he won't.
How you gonna get fitted for 25 suits in three days?
I mean, how could you get fitted that fast?
I can't get fitted that fast, and I pay twice as much.
- I bought him a watch too. - Yeah.
But even if you bought him a really nice watch, one that he thought was nice...
He doesn't know what the fuck a good watch is.
- Say you go five, ten, twelve grand... - Yeah.
At the most, which is impossible, for him.
Plus, at the most, three suits, 1,000 apiece. That still leaves what?
- Around 10,000? - Would you knock it off, Sam?
- I'm just trying to figure it out. - There's nothing to figure out.
I'm home. We're working it out.
I've been told before, "We're working it out. "
You think that you're home...
after what you just put me through with Amy, is a favor to me?
So, counting the watch, let's say another 4,000...
for expenses over the weekend...
of which you must have had a good time.
I know he did. That's for sure.
I know that fuckin' piece of shit had a good fuckin' time.
On my money.
You might as well have fucked him, which you probably did anyway.
You're lookin' at me a certain way.
You're teary-eyed, huh?
You're upset. You're a good actress, you know that?
Good fuckin' actress.
You can fuckin' get that pity out of people.
I'm not a john. You understand?
You always thought I was, but I'm not. And I'm not a sucker.
That fuckin' pimp cocksucker.
He's lucky I didn't kill him last time.
Lucky he's fuckin' livin'. If you would have stayed with Amy...
and you would have ran away, he would have been fuckin' dead.
Both of you. Dead. Dead.
No, it isn't right. It isn't fair.
Yes.
He doesn't come home at night. What is the big fuckin' deal?
I go... Listen, I just can't fuckin' take it.
Why should I fuckin' take it? That wasn't the deal.
He acts like I'm the only one around here with a fuckin' past.
He'll never let me live it down.
Well, yes, I have tried. Of course I've tried.
What the fuck do you think I came back here for?
No, I'm not. I want to have him killed.
Yes, I want him killed. I've fuckin' had it.
So are you with me on this?
You want to get rid of me? Here I am.
Go ahead. Get rid of me.
- Hello. - Yes, I do!
I fuckin' hate you! I can't take it anymore!
- Yes, I want to kill you! I hate your fuckin' guts! - You hate my guts?
- I'm sick of being with you! - I want you to come with me now!
Come with me now. Come with me now.
- I want you out. I want you out of here.
- I want you out of here! I want you out of here!
Take your fuckin' bag and get out of here!
I'll go, but I want my money right now!
- You'll get your money! Don't worry. - The arrangement is over.
- No kidding! - And I still get my money.
I need some cash right now! You can't just put me in the street!
You haven't been straight with me ever since I met you!
You never even loved me in the first place!
I need eyes in the back of my head with you, you fuckin' bitch!
How could I love you? You treat me like I'm your fucking dog!
- You're lower than a dog! - Fuck you!
Here! Here! Is this enough money?
Will it last you two fuckin' days? Take it!
- Greedy bitch. Take the fuckin' money. - I'm going to the bank...
- and I'm getting my jewelry too! - It opens at 9:00 a. m.
Don't send your guys down there to stop me! I mean it!
I guarantee you, I will not stop you.
You're not getting rid of me with one fucking suitcase!
Come back tomorrow and get the rest. Just get out of here. Fine!
- I'm taking Amy. - You're not taking Amy.
I am. I'm waking her up right now.
You're stoned. You're a junkie. Get out of here.
- I am not! She's my daughter too! - Get out of here!
Send my lawyers a letter, god-fuckin'- damn you!
You're not getting away with this! You're not gonna cheat me out of my end!
Fucker!
The funny thing was, after all that, I didn't want her to go.
She was the mother of my kid. I loved her.
And later, I realized I didn't want to give her the money...
because if I did, I knew I'd never see her again.
- Oh. Have a good day at school, okay? - Okay.
Okay, angel.
From now on, I have to know where you and Amy are at all times.
Here's a beeper.
I want you to keep it on you.
It's very light.
So I can call you whenever I have to.
Okay?
What are you supposed to do? What do you want to do?
You want to stay the way you are? You can't do that.
Listen, two people don't get along, at some point you gotta call it.
It's none of my business, but I think that's what you gotta do.
You're right. I know.
- I was just... - What? What?
- Nothing. - What were you gonna say?
- I don't... - Tell me what you were gonna say.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
I was thinking maybe you know somebody at the bank...
who could help me get my jewelry out?
There's a lot of money in there.
I'd be willing to take care of anybody who helped me out.
- Let me think about that. - Okay.
Let me see who I got. Gotta get somebody I can trust, you know?
- You know he's never gonna give me my jewelry. - Hmm.
He holds that key so tight, he's probably got it stuck up his ass.
You're right. That's Sammy.
And he's probably got it there too.
He's so fuckin' lucky. I could have buried him.
I could have gone to Europe and taken the baby.
- Then he'd have tracked me down, and he'd have killed me. - No, he wouldn't.
I would have.
- He'd have been right too. Seriously. - Come on.
- You don't take a guy's kid and then take off. - I didn't.
I mean, I did, but then I did exactly what you told me to do, and I came back.
- You did. You're right. You did. I like that. - Exactly what you said.
- That's what I like about you. You did the right thing. - I did what you told me.
- Yes, you did. - Because you always tell me the right thing to do.
Yeah.
He really fucked himself up out here, didn't he?
- He sure did. - Everything went to his head.
- Changed. - Changed.
- He did. He ain't the same person. - No, he's not.
- He really thinks who the fuck he is. - Exactly.
He hates me.
He hates my fuckin' guts.
Come on, come on. You're a toughie. You can take this.
- Don't cry. - I'm not as tough as you think I am.
Yes, you are.
I'm not, and he scares the shit out of me.
- I never know what he's gonna do. - Come on.
- Don't be scared. - I need some help. I do.
I need some help.
You gotta help me.
I need a new sponsor, Nicky.
I do. I need a new sponsor.
- Is that what you want? - Yeah.
- A sponsor? - Yeah.
Okay. Don't worry about it.
Nobody will fuck with you anymore.
- I'll take care of you. Yes, I will. - Take care of me.
- It's what you want, isn't it? - Thank you. Yeah.
- Yeah. Uh-huh. - It's what you want?
That's Ace's wife.
Fantastic.
This is great for the boss.
- Hi. - Hi.
- You didn't answer your beeper. - I threw it away.
You threw it away?
I tried to do this thing. I know that you want me to, but it's just...
I'm driving down the freeway and the fuckin' thing's beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!
I'm in a restaurant, it's embarrassing.
I don't want to do it anymore. Where's Amy?
- I put her to bed. - Oh.
I got your cigarettes.
Oscar wants you to call him.
- So who'd you go to lunch with? - Jennifer.
- Where'd you go? - To the Riviera.
What'd you have?
- I had a salad. - What did Jennifer have?
She had the same.
Okay.
I want you to call Jennifer...
and I want you to tell her to tell you what you had for lunch.
I'm gonna listen in on the other line.
- Why do you want to do that? - You know why.
- Just do it. - Fine.
I just need to get the bowl for my thing.
The line's busy.
There's nobody there.
- Hello. - Hello, Jennifer. It's Sam.
All right. I didn't have lunch with Jennifer.
Okay.
Who were you with?
I was with somebody.
I know you were with somebody. Who was it?
I just hope it's not someone who I think it might be.
I just hope it's not that.
I knew she fucked around.
She did what she did, and I did what I had to do...
but, Jesus, Nicky was the worst thing she could have done.
What if he won't stop?
It could get us both killed.
I can back him off.
She was very convincing when she wanted to be.
And this is how she backed him off.
Hey, Ginger.
Don't forget, if you're challenged...
if he asks anything, deny everything.
You understand? I don't want him bringing beefs back home.
That could really cause a serious problem.
Got to be careful. He's not dumb, you know?
You hear what I'm saying, right?
I know. You don't have to tell me that.
What? Do you think I'm stupid?
Do I think you're stupid? No.
I think you're beautiful. But I gotta go.
By this time, Nicky had things so fucked up on the streets...
that every time Marino went back home, the packages got smaller and smaller.
It got to the point, when he walked into the place...
he didn't know whether he was going to be kissed or killed.
Frankie, I want to ask you something.
It's private.
But I want you to tell me the truth.
Of course, Remo.
I want you to tell me the truth, mind you.
I always tell you the truth, Remo.
Frankie... the little guy...
he wouldn't be fucking the Jew's wife, would he?
Because if he is, it's a problem.
What could I say?
I knew if I gave the wrong answer...
Nicky, Ginger, Ace, all of them could have wound up gettin' killed.
Because there's one thing about these old-timers.
They don't like any fucking around with the other guys' wives.
It's bad for business.
So I lied, even though I knew that by lying to Gaggi...
I could wind up gettin' killed too.
- No, I ain't seen anything like that. - Are you sure?
I'm positive.
Remo, things are very fucked up down there.
I know. That's why I'm asking.
- You see, my main concern is Nicky. - Mm-hmm.
I want to know if he's doing all right, if he's okay.
- He's good. He's fine. - I'm asking you to keep an eye on Nicky.
- Do it for me. - No problem.
I wouldn't want to be jeopardizing anything for our friends. Understand?
- I understand. - Okay.
Frankie, you're a good boy.
Thanks, Remo.
By now, Nicky and his crew had already hit rock bottom.
Vegas really got to him.
The booze, the coke, the broads.
I mean, he got sloppy.
He just wasn't the same Nicky anymore.
- You must have drank too much. - Go fuck yourself.
One night he had to belt a guy three times...
before the guy finally went down.
In the old days, Nicky would have decked him with one shot.
You add this into the mix...
Maybe just Vegas got to all of us.
His crew followed him right over the edge.
They were all tuned up half the time on coke.
They started doing stupid things. The worst was Blue.
- Hey, what do you guys want? - Police! Stay in the car!
He never knew when to keep his mouth shut.
- Drop the gun! - Fuck you!
The cops shot Blue...
- because they thought his hero sandwich was a gun.
- They could have been right, but who knows? - Jesus Christ!
What gun? He's got a fuckin' hero sandwich here.
- What do you want? It's pitch black. - Pitch black!
- It's tinfoil. It looked like a gun! - You fuckin' moron!
- I'll be fillin' out paperwork for the next two months! - What are we gonna do?
- I'm sorry! - You jerk-off!
To get even, Nicky's crew got stoned one night...
and they started shooting up the cops' houses.
It got to the point where they couldn't talk in the Gold Rush anymore...
because the Feds put a wire in the wall.
Even when they talked outside, they had to cover their mouths...
- Shit, he's covering up again. - Because the Feds brought in lip readers.
Nicky found out from a teller who owed him money.
He asked me again about you and the Jew's wife.
Walk, walk, walk. What'd you say?
He asked me again about you and the Jew's wife.
Yeah? What'd you tell him?
I told him I didn't know nothin'.
Jiggs and Tony Gorilla said if you did anything, you're fucked up.
You think he's going home making a beef behind my back?
Nah, you would have heard something.
- What's to stop him? - I know, I know.
I don't trust him anymore, but they'd never okay anything.
Yeah, but they keep asking about it.
Sure they're asking. They earn with the prick.
I got a funny feeling he's gonna start a fuckin' war or something.
I'm not sure yet, but you know what I want you to do?
Who's this guy? Who's this guy?
That ain't nobody.
You know what I want you to do?
Get a couple of guys to dig a hole in the desert, then let them show you where it's at.
- Angelo and Buster. - Yeah, but I'm not sure yet.
- They'll do it. - When I'm ready, I'll say the word.
- Go see the Jew, and you make it disappear. - Yeah.
Just let me know. But you got to be ready.
You know what I'm talkin' about?
Did I say to do anything yet?
I said I'm not sure. I'll let you know. I want to think about it.
Where are these pricks at? Dominick said they're in the motel?
There or in the fuckin' bank. I don't know. All over the joint.
Be right back. I'll be right back.
Rudy.
Any calls for me, just give them to Mr. Sherbert. I'll be right back.
- Sure, Mr. Rothstein. - I'm going home for a few seconds.
He's on his way home.
Oh... okay.
Hello?
Hello? Ginger?
- Help, Daddy! - Amy!
- Amy, open the door! - I can't! I'm tied!
- Dad! - What happened?
- Who did this to you? - Mommy.
I'm gonna get a knife and cut you loose, honey.
- No, please, please! - Okay, Papa will be right back.
- When did this happen, honey? - I don't know.
What time did your mother do this? When did she leave?
I don't know.
- Hello? - Sammy.
- Yeah. Who's this? Nick? - Me.
- Yeah. You okay? - No, I'm not okay.
- How'd you know I was here? - I just wanted to talk to you.
Ginger's missing. She tied Amy up and locked her in her room.
I gotta find her. I don't know where she is.
Well, listen, Ginger's here at the Leaning Tower with me.
She's there with you? She's there with you?
- Yeah, she's here. - I'll be right over.
Uh, all right.
- Comin' over. - Great.
Ace, listen, don't make a scene, all right?
- I want to just talk to that Irish bitch. - She didn't know who to turn to.
She didn't know where to turn. She's trying to save your marriage.
- Nicky, I want to talk to that fuckin' bitch. - Hey.
Be fuckin' nice. Calm.
Be nice. Don't fuck up in here.
- Hi, Sam. - Are you out of your fucking mind?
You tie up our kid and lock the fucking door? Are you out of your mind?
That's our child. Are you out of your fuckin' mind?
It was just for a little while, Sam. The baby-sitter wasn't there.
I ought to fuckin' have you committed. You fuckin' do that again, I'll...
- I was just gonna be out for a little while. - I should have...
- She was asleep. I was gonna be right back... - Listen.
- Before she even woke up. - Listen, you fuckin' cunt. Listen to me.
- Fuck you. I was gonna be back... - Let me tell you something.
- Before she woke up. - Listen to me. Listen carefully.
You ever touch her again, you ever do anything like that again...
I'll fuckin' kill ya, pure and simple.
You hear me? Pure and fuckin' simple.
- Why don't you just let me go, Sam? - I'll fuckin' kill you.
- You fuckin' whore. - I'll sign anything you want me to sign.
I just want the key to my jewelry, and I want you to let me go.
- You want your jewelry? - I want you to let me go.
And let you disgrace me, you fuckin' pig?
Let you disgrace me? Get up and be a mother.
Get in the car and go to the house right now.
Get up and get in the... Get... Get up. Get up!
- Get up. Get up. - I wouldn't do that if I were you.
- I wouldn't do that... - Get up!
- I wouldn't do that... - Get the fuck... Are you threatening me?
I'll fuckin' kill you in this place. Get up and go home.
- I'm going! I'm going! - You...
- Now you need approval from him to go home? - So what?
So who fuckin' blew you in the parking lot before you came in?
- Huh? - You make me sick, you fuckin'...
- Once a fuckin' hooker, always a hooker. - Oh, fuck you!
Fuck you, Sam Rothstein! Fuck you!
Yeah, Billy Sherbert, please.
- Who's this? - Billy, listen, I'll explain later.
- You got a gun at home? Bring it over right away. - Yeah.
- Take it easy. I'll do it. - Okay.
Leave it where it is!
Where is he? Goddamn it, I want that Jew bastard killed!
Calm down. Shh. Hide her car in the back.
There's no reason to hide my car! He already knows!
What did I tell you? Supposin' he goes back home and makes a fuckin' beef?
- I gotta know exactly what you said. Tell me what you said. - Me? I said nothing.
I said, "No, no, no. " Everything he said, I just kept saying no.
I told you this was fuckin' dangerous.
I said, "Ginger, this is a dangerous situation. Be very careful. "
If it's so fucking dangerous, then why don't you kill him?
I'm not gonna kill him. Shut the fuck up.
- Have him killed, and get it over with! - Don't be such a smart-ass!
I know the guy 35 years, I'm gonna fuckin' whack him for you?
Motherfucker.
- I knew this. I knew it. - What about my money?
How the fuck am I gonna get your money now?
You think he's gonna give you fuckin' money? Are you out of your mind?
- Look what you did to this fuckin' guy? - What?
If you would have just kept your fuckin' mouth shut.
What the fuck is the use! I should've never got involved...
Hey! Hey! You motherfucker, you!
Ow! You fuck! You fucker! Get out! Get the fuck out!
- No! No! - Get down there! Take it easy!
I should never have gotten involved with this fucking nut!
You'll fuckin' kill her. Take it easy.
- Get her out of here. Get her out of here.
Let's go. Let's go.
I don't need you! I'll get my own fucking money!
- All right. - I'm going to the F.B.I.! I'm not scared anymore!
- All right. Be careful. - You've fucked with me for the last time!
Okay. Yeah.
Be careful. Come on. Get inside.
- Can you believe that? - Look at this motherfucker.
Whew.
I fucked up, Frankie. I fucked up good this time.
I should never have started with this fuckin' broad.
Take it easy. What could you do?
I mean, she threw herself at you, right?
I'm in a bad fuckin' spot here. You know that?
A bad fuckin' spot.
I'd already left the kid with neighbors...
and I had about a million in cash and jewels...
that I gave to Sherbert to lock up in the hotel.
Put it in the hotel safe, then I want you to come right back.
- She's alone. Take the gun and go into Amy's...
- Wait there for me. Get out here and talk to me!
You fuckin' ignore me, you motherfucker!
I mean it! Come down here right now!
Get down here and talk to me, goddamn it!
Fuck you! Goddamn you, come out here!
I'm going to drive your fucking car through the living room!
You fucking coward! You motherfucker!
- Come out here and talk to me, you fucker! - Will you stop it?
- You're drunk. You're on drugs. - I am not!
- You're going to be sorry if you don't stop it. - Don't you threaten me!
You are not threatening me anymore!
You fuck! You fuck! I'm sick of you!
I am fucking Nicky Santoro! I am! He's my new sponsor!
How about that, you fuckhead!
What are you looking at? Fuck off!
Hey. Go back inside! This is none of your business!
I don't have to take your shit all the time anymore!
I'm going to the F.B.I.! I will go to the police!
- I am not protecting you anymore, you fuck! - Mrs. Rothstein... Shh.
He won't let me inside!
Mr. Rothstein, I'm sorry. We've been getting some complaints about the noise.
- I'm trying to get in my house. He won't let me in. - I understand.
I won't let her in. I'm sorry, Randy, I'm not gonna let her in.
- I'm not gonna let her in the way she's behaving. - Not gonna let me in?
- Who knows what you're gonna do in there. - What am I gonna do?
I've been in the same clothes for two days!
- I want to get a few of my things! Big deal! - Okay.
How about if we just let her in the house to get a few things?
- This is half her house anyway. - I'm afraid to let her in the house.
You aren't afraid, you fucker! - I'm afraid she'll destroy stuff.
- Let me in the house! - Hey, hey, hey!
- Fucker! Fucker! Hold on! Hey! Please!
You ought to be afraid, the way you fuckin' treat me!
- It'll make it easier... - If we let her get her things...
- we'll be out of your hair. - If she calms down, I will let her in the house...
- I am calm! - If she calms down...
I will let her in the house for five minutes...
if you gentlemen will escort her out if she happens to not want to leave.
- Can I go in? Can I go in? - That's not a problem.
- Jeff, would you go in with her? - Yes. Yes. Fine! Fuck you!
You wouldn't believe how mean he's been to me. He's locked up most of my important stuff.
All my papers and things... I have to get them. So don't let him come up here.
I know they're in here in the desk... Fuck.
Just pay attention. He could come up here at any time.
Are you watching for him?
Got 'em.
I don't want her in there more than a few more minutes.
No, it'll just be a couple... We got other things to do too.
I'll hurry her up.
- How's everything else besides this? - Fine. Fine.
- How's your family? - Not bad. In fact, my wife's pregnant again.
- Oh, good. Congratulations. - Thanks. Yeah.
We're kind of happy about that.
I just have to get this one more thing and then we can go.
Shit! Fuck!
Shit! God!
Oh, that pisses me off! Don't worry about it.
And it would be great...
if you guys could just follow me out of here...
because he's been threatening me!
Take care. Thank you.
I can't believe this.
I just need to pick up a little cash inside. Could you come with me?
- Charlie, you've got to stop her. You've got to stop her. - I'm sorry, Sam.
- What can I do? - She's a fuckin' junkie. She's out of her fucking mind!
She has the keys. It's still in both your names.
- Oh! - There's nothing I can do. I'd like to help...
- but I can't. - Legally, she can't take that stuff.
Legally, she can't take that stuff. Half of everything is mine. Ace, listen to me.
- There's nothing I can do. - Half... I'm coming down.
Shit! Goddamn it!
Um, I'm gonna need a bag. If you could just ask the guy for the big bag.
- Go get a bag, man. - Here, here.
- Lady, I can't take it. - No, you can, you can. You've been so nice to me.
- Yes, just hold the top open. All right? And I can...
Oh, God, it's him. You have to stop him.
He said he was gonna kill me. You should just stop him.
Mr. Roth... Mr. Roth... Mr. Rothstein, wait a minute.
Hold on a second. Hey.
- She's driving away. There's nothing we can do.
- There's nothing we can do. - Look, look, look.
You can't stop her for speeding? Look what she's doing.
- There's nothing we can do. She had the keys. - She's on the account.
- Let's pull her over at that Citgo station. - Okay. Let's do it.
- We're placing you under arrest for... - For what?
- We're placing you under arrest for aiding and abetting... - For what?
- We're placing you under arrest for aiding and abetting... - But I'm just trying to leave.
After all the threats and all the bullshit...
it turned out Ginger didn't tell them anything.
- But, by then, the Feds didn't need her anyway. - But it was mine.
- They had all the pieces they needed. - But I didn't do anything.
- Everybody began to tumble, one after the other, like dominoes. - F.B.I.! We have a warrant!
Between Piscano complaining on the wire...
between Nicky, Ginger, me and my license...
- Paradise. We managed to really fuck it all up.
- Mom. - Yeah, someone's at the fuckin' door now.
F.B.I. We have a federal search warrant.
I got wind of the pinches coming down, so I took off.
Who needs to hang around for that bullshit?
- My name is Mark Casper. Special Agent F.B.I. - Yeah?
- Can I make a fuckin' phone call? - Hey, hold it a minute.
You can make a phone call, but you don't have to talk to us like that.
Everybody, out of the room. Over to the alarm.
They got almost everybody else. - This area is seized!
- Get the master account list. - I want all those papers seized regardless of what they are.
Put every box on the table.
Ah, yes. Here we are. Little craps figures.
Green? Don't even ask.
- $30,000 of yours. - No, he didn't. That's why it wasn't valid.
I was being extorted. I'm willing to tell you whatever you want to know.
- I've got nothing to hide here. - Now for the best.
I couldn't believe this shit. Piscano's expense reports took the cake.
- Oh, this is good. Bingo. - He might as well have given them a fuckin' blueprint.
Everybody's names, addresses, dates, everything.
Look at this. Thank you so much, Mr. Piscano. How considerate of you.
- Those are my mother's books. - You're under arrest.
What a fuckin' balloon-head. - What are you guys doing?
- Take it easy. - Wait!
- Wait a minute! He's sick! Oh, God! - Move back.
- I think it's his heart! Oh, God! Is he breathing? - C.P.R. Now!
Poor Artie. He got so upset, he had a heart attack...
and dropped dead right in front of his wife.
- Calm down! - Artie! No, I won't calm down!
- He's my husband! Artie! Artie! - We can't help him if...
And at the end of the day...
they finally came to see me with the pictures.
Why protect a friend who betrayed you like that?
But I didn't want to look at them.
I didn't want to look at the guys who brought them either.
Your Honor, as you can see, my clients are elderly and infirm.
Any incarceration could pose a serious health risk.
When the bosses were arrested, some of them were so old...
they needed doctors at their arraignment.
Pre-trial Services recommends that bail remain as presently set.
- We're going to take a recess. - When it looked like they could get...
25 years to life in prison just for skimmin' a casino...
sick or no fuckin' sick, you knew people were going to get clipped.
So, the day of the arraignment, they had this meeting right in the back of the courthouse.
See, when something like this happens, you know how things are gonna work out.
It's always better with no witnesses. So what about Andy?
He won't talk. Stone is a good kid.
Stand-up guy just like his old man.
That's the way I see it.
I agree. He's solid. He's a fuckin' Marine.
He's okay. He always was. Remo, what do you think?
Look... why take a chance?
At least, that's the way I feel about it.
Call Artie. Tell him, I don't care what...
- he's got to be in my office Thursday morning before 11:00. - It's done.
It's terribly important. I gotta have a conversation with that guy...
As much as they liked him, I mean, he wasn't one of us.
He wasn't Italian. As far as they knew, he could have talked.
Otherwise, Stoney might still be alive.
The first one to skip was John Nance.
He found a nice, warm, secluded place in Costa Rica.
- He thought nobody would find him there.
But then his kid got nabbed by the Feds for drugs.
So, naturally, the bosses were afraid he'd come out of hiding...
just to save his kid and give them all up.
So...
Where you goin', jag-off?
But, anyway, they all had to follow.
Everybody went down.
Fuck you.
Before you knew it...
anybody who knew anything wound up gettin' whacked.
Oh, no! No! No!
After Ginger took off, she wasn't much help to anybody.
She found some pimps, lowlifes, druggies and bikers in L.A.
In a few months, they went through all the money and all the jewels.
After they found her body...
I had a private doctor do another autopsy.
He said they gave her a hot dose.
In the end, all she had left was 3,600 in mint condition coins.
No matter what the Feds or the papers might have said about my car bombing...
it was amateur night, you could tell.
Whoever it was, they put the dynamite under the passenger side.
But what they didn't know, what nobody outside the factory knew...
was that that model car was made with a metal plate under the driver's seat.
It's the only thing that saved my life.
The bombing was never authorized, but I suspect I know who lit the fuse.
- Hey, Nicky. And so did the powers that be.
- How are you? - How you doin'?
It took months for everything to calm down.
But, finally, my guys got out on bail...
and the bosses wanted me to send my brother Dominick out to Vegas.
Always the dollars. Always the fuckin' dollars.
I mean, it was still way too hot for me to even go near Vegas.
So I set up a meeting with the guys way out in the sticks.
I didn't want my brother to get fucked around. I mean, what's right is right.
They don't give a fuck about...
Holy fuckin'!
What the fuck...
Come on, motherfucker!
- Tough guys! You and your fuckin' brother!
- You fuckin' scumbags! No more!
- Frankie! - No more! You see? Watch!
- Frankie! Frankie! You piece of shit! - Fuck you, you motherfucker!
Fuckin' punk, motherfucker! Piece of shit!
No, no, no, no!
Take this motherfucker out!
Frankie, leave the kid alone. He's still breathing.
Leave him alone. Frankie.
All right. Strip him.
No balls. You got no fuckin' balls.
Ah, Dominick. Ah, Dom.
Dominick. Dominick.
Dominick.
Oh, Dominick.
Come on, come on.
- Bury them? - Bury them.
The word was out.
The bosses had enough of Nicky. They had enough.
How much were they gonna take? So they made an example of him and his brother.
- They buried them while they were still breathing.
Mister, you all right? Watch out!
- Mister, you all right? - Yeah.
They had other ideas for me.
We need some help over here!
You sure are lucky, mister.
The town will never be the same.
After the Tangiers, the big corporations took it all over.
Today it looks like Disneyland.
And while the kids play cardboard pirates...
Mommy and Daddy drop the house payments and Junior's college money...
on the poker slots.
In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played.
Today, it's like checkin' into an airport.
And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday.
Today it's all gone. You got a whale show up with four million in a suitcase...
and some 25-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his social security number.
After the Teamsters got knocked out of the box...
the corporations tore down practically every one of the old casinos.
And where did the money come from to rebuild the Pyramids?
Junk bonds.
Still not sure?
Probable. Maybe questionable.
Let me know as soon as you can find out.
But in the end, I wound up right back where I started.
I could still pick winners...
and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home.
And why mess up a good thing?
And that's that.