Casino

This book is really great.Hate to tell that jackass who wrote the olsen casino review but its a non fiction story and it was written long before the movie came out. Anyone interested in the mob or vegas will love this book!

I found this book to be a good read since I like reading about mob history. I always find it interesting to read about the different money making oppurtunities that they create, and in Vegas boy did they find a jackpot! Because I have read other mob books I was familiar with some of the names mentioned in the book and their backgrounds. The movie Casino has been around for 10 yrs. and I refused to watch it until I had read the book, well I rented it as soon as I finised the book and was very pleased with how the movie followed the book. It was good to have all the inside info that the book gave me as watched the movie. If you're into mob stuff I have to believe you will like this book.

This gripping narrative exposes Midwest mob influence in Las Vegas during the 1970-80's. Author Nicholas Pileggi focuses on four major characters. The most prominent was ex-sports handicapper and bookie Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who became an innovative casino manager. Lefty ran the casino at the Stardust Hotel, the location from where the Chicago and Kansas City syndicates skimmed millions in gambling revenues. We also read about Lefty's friend and mob enforcer Tony Spilotro, front man Allen Glick, and Lefty's glamorous but volatile wife Geri. The author describes casino operations, financing by teamster pensions, and gambling executives who knew enough to look the other way. We also see how unchecked greed and ego can destroy casino operators as surely as it does some of their customers. The book's only weakness was that Pileggi seemed to go easy on a couple of the major characters. "Casino" became a 1995 movie of the same name. Pileggi also wrote "Wiseguy," basis for another excellent mob film ("Goodfellas") by Martin Scorsese. "Casino" doesn't quite match "Wiseguy," but it's a highly readable and informative book.

Everything good that has been said about this book is true. It is vivid, engrossing, informative, and EXCELLENT. I love reading about the crime families and this story of Las Vegas was such a good idea. Kudos to Nicholas Pileggi! The movie, of course, was awesome, and it is hard to tell which one is the best in this case. But anyway, read this. You will be mesmerized. It's a magnificent tale.