Casino

Nicky Santoro:
We're supposed to be robbin' this place, you dumb f***in' hebe.

Ace Rothstein:
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.

Nicky Santoro:
Listen to me, Anthony. I got your head in a f***in' vise. I'm gonna squash your f***in' head like a grapefruit if you don't give me a name. Don't make me have to do this, please. Don't make me be a bad guy, come on.

Tony Dogs:
F*** you.

Nicky Santoro:
(to Bernie and Frankie) This motherf***er, you believe this? Two f***ing days and nights?! (to Tony) F*** me? (starts to turn the crank) F*** ME, You motherf***er?! F*** my mother? That's what you f***ing tell me? You motherf***er you, huh?!?!

Bernie Blue:
Oh, god.

Nicky Santoro:
Gimme the f***in' name!

Tony Dogs:
C-Ch-Charlie M.

Nicky Santoro:
Charlie M? Charlie M?! You make me pop your f***ing eye outta your head to protect that piece of sh*t?!?! Charlie M?!?! You dumb motherf***er!!!!

Tony Dogs:
Kill me, you f***. Kill me.

Nicky Santoro:
Kill you, you motherf***er you? Frankie, do him a f***in' favor!

Ace (voice-over):
The word got around that finally there was a real gangster in town. Nicky was the new boss of Las Vegas.

Nicky Santoro:
A lot of holes in the desert, and a lot of problems are buried in those holes. But 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 to forty-five minutes worth of digging. And who knows who's gonna come along in that time? Pretty soon, you gotta dig a few more holes. You could be there all f***in' night.

Nicky Santoro:
The coppers blamed me for every little thing out here, and I mean every little f***in' thing. If a guy f***in' slipped on a f***in' banana peel, they blamed me.

Ace Rothstein:
He was a young kid from the casino. Nice kid, bright boy. What balls on this f***in' kid. The next day I fired him.

Nicky Santoro:
When it looked like they could get twenty-five years to life in prison just for skimming a casino, sick or no f***in' sick you knew people were going to get clipped.

Nicky Santoro:
Where the f*** do you get off talking to people about me behind my back going over my head?

Ace Rothstein:
What people?

Nicky Santoro:
What did you think, I wasn't gonna find out?

Ace Rothstein:
I don't know what you're talking about, Nick.

Nicky Santoro:
No? You said I'm bring heat on you? I gotta listen to people because of your f***in' sh*t? Your ordering me out? You better get your own f***in' army, pal!

Ace Rothstein:
I didn't do anything. I didn't order you or anybody. I just told Andy Stone that you had a lot of heat on you. That's a problem?

Nicky Santoro:
You want me to get out of my own f***in' town?

Ace Rothstein:
Yeah. I just want the bullshit to blow over for a while so I can run the casino. If anything goes wrong with the casino, it's my ass. It's not yours, it's my ass.

Nicky Santoro:
Oh, I don't know if you know this or not, but you only have your f***in' casino because I made that possible! I'm what counts out here. Not your f***in' country clubs, or your f***in' TV shows! And what the f*** are you doing on TV anyhow? You know I get calls from back home every f***in' day? They think you went batshit!

Ace Rothstein:
I only go on TV to get the food and beverage job. You know that.

Nicky Santoro:
You f***in' ass! You could've had the food and beverage job without going on television. You wanted to go on TV!

Ace Rothstein:
Your right. I did want to go on TV. That way I can have a form. I can fight back. I'm known. People see me. They know they can't f*** around with me like they could if I was unknown.

Nicky Santoro:
You made a big f***in' spectacle of yourself.

Ace Rothstein:
Me? I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you. I mean, you brought down so much f***in' heat on me. Everytime I meet somebody, the big question is, "Do I know you?"

Nicky Santoro:
Oh sure. Now you wanna bring your f***in' license on me now. Is that it?

Ace Rothstein:
Nicky, what I tell you when you asked me if you could come out here? Now I knew you were gonna come out no matter what I said, but did I tell you? Do you remember what I told you?

Nicky Santoro:
Wait. Back up one f***in' minute here. Just one minute. I asked you? When the f*** did I ever ask you if I could come out here? Get this through your head...

Ace Rothstein:
You never...

Nicky Santoro:
Get this through your head, you jew motherf***er you: You only exist out here because of ME! That's the only reason! Without me, you personally, and every f***in' wiseguy still around, would be taking a piece of your f***in' jew ass! Then where are you gonna go? You're f***in' warned! Don't ever go over my f***in' head again, you motherf***er you! (leaves)

Ace Rothstein:
Running a casino is like robbing a bank with no cops around. For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your sins. It's like a morality car wash.

Ace Rothstein:
In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.

Ace Rothstein:
Back home, they put me in jail for what I'm doing. Here, they give me awards.

Nicky Santoro:
I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning ill get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see and uh... if you don't have my money for me, I'll... crack your f***in' head wide-open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your f***in' head open again. 'Cause I'm f***in' stupid. I don't give a f*** about jail. That's my business. That's what I do.

Ace Rothstein:
And that's that.

Ace Rothstein:
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 you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he'll keep comin' back and back until one of you is dead.

Ginger:
I should've never married Sam. He's a Gemini, TRIPLE Gemini. Gemini's a snake, you can't trust the snake.

Ginger:
COME OUT AND TALK TO ME, F***ER.

Ace Rothstein:
Would you stop, you're drunk and stoned.

Ginger:
I AM NOT.

Ace Rothstein:
You're going to be sorry.

Ginger:
Don't you threaten me. DON'T YOU THREATEN ME. I am f***ing Nicky Santoro. HE'S MY NEW SPONSOR. How about that. I will go to police and to the FBI. I'M NOT PROTECTING YOU ANYMORE, YOU F***.

Ginger:
We had a deal remember? He said if things didn't work out between us, I could get my stuff and I could leave.

Ace Rothstein:
Look at my eyes, do you see anything in the eyes that makes you think I'm going to let you take my child away from me with your condition?

Nicky Santoro:
This guy could f*** up a cup of coffee.

Nicky Santoro:
Back- Back up, back up a f***in' minute here. One minute. I asked you? When the f*** did I ever ask you if I could come out here? Get this through your head, you...

Ace Rothstein:
You never...

Nicky Santoro:
Get this through your head you Jew motherf***er, you. You only exist out here because of me. That's the only reason. Without me, you, personally, every f***in' wise guy skell around'll take a piece of your f***in' Jew ass. Then where you gonna go? You're f***in' warned. Don't ever go over my f***in' head again. You motherf***er, you.

Ginger:
Take care Steve, take chances and drive fast.

Ace Rothstein:
You f***ing mo-mo, what's the matter with you?

Nicky Santoro:
So in other words - I'm f***ed.

Ace Rothstein:
In so many words, yes.

Nicky Santoro:
If you ever get of line over there again, I'll smash your f***in' head in so hard, you won't be able to put that cowboy hat on. You hear me? F***in' hick.

Nicky Santoro:
For two days and two f***in' nights, we beat the sh*t out of this guy. I mean, we even stuck ice-picks ih his balls.

Nicky Santoro:
Ace don't... listen, don't... don't make a scene, all right?

Ace Rothstein:
I want to just talk. I want to talk to that Irish b*tch.

Nicky Santoro:
She didn't know who to turn to. She... she didn't know where to turn. She was tryin' to save your marriage.

Ace Rothstein:
Yeah? Nicky, I want to talk to that f***in' b*tch.

Nicky Santoro:
Hey, be f***in' nice. Calm. Be nice. Don't f*** up in here,

Nicky Santoro:
You took your boots off? You put your feet on the table? You sh*t-kicking, stinky, horse-manure-smellin' motherf***er you. You f*** me up over there, I'll stick you in the f***in' desert. You understand?

Nicky Santoro:
Go over there and apologize.

Nicky Santoro:
You took your boots off? You put your feet on the table? You sh*t-kicking, stinky, horse-manure-smellin' motherf***er you. You f*** me up over there, I'll stick you in a hole in the f***in' desert.

Nicky Santoro:
What are you staring at, you bald-headed, Jew prick?!?!

Nicky Santoro:
FRANKIE.

Remo Gaggi:
Look, Why take a chance? At least that's the way i feel about it.

Nicky Santoro:
How the f*** can you grin?

Ace Rothstein:
The feds were watching Nicky play golf for so long that they ran out of gas.

Ace Rothstein:
Whoever it was, they put the dynamite under the passenger's 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.

Nicky Santoro:
Peek-a-boo, you f***s, you!

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
[as narrator] Before I ever ran a casino or got myself blown up, Ace Rothstein was a helluva handicapper, I can tell you that. I was so good that when I bet, I can 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 get you that kind of money. Sixty-two million seven hundred thousand dollars. I don't know all the details.

Nicky Santoro:
[as narrator] Matter of fact, nobody knew all the details. But it should have 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 f***ed it all up. It should have been so sweet, too. But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us were ever given anything that f***in' valuable again.

Nicky Santoro:
[as narrator] Keeping Remo happy with money was the strongest insurance policy.

[Sam hands Remo his gambling winnings]

Remo Gaggi:
Son-of-a-b*tch. How the hell did you get Oklahoma-Michigan? Nobody ever had Oklahoma-Mi... How the hell'd you do it?

Sam Rothstein:
Well, that's why they get paid so well.

Remo Gaggi:
You see? (chuckles) Never tells me nothin'! Ace, what do we got on for next week?

Sam Rothstein:
Well, it's a little too early. I'd say Thursday would be good. I'll know by then. Is that all right?

Remo Gaggi:
Thanks a lot, Ace.

Sam departs but Remo motions Nicky to be spoken to in private

Remo Gaggi:
Hey, Nick. Vien acca. 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 f***in' friends out there, that... without brains. Okay?

Nicky Santoro:
All right.

Remo Gammi:
Uh-huh. Mi raccomando.

Nicky Santoro:
[reaching down to touch Gaggi's money, joking with him] Want me to take this for you?

Nicky Santoro:
[as narrator] Now, on top of everything else, I gotta make sure nobody fucks around with the Golden Jew.

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
In Vegas, I had to keep a few juiced-in local cowboys working. They were close to the, you know, good old boys.

Sam Rothstein:
Pay him six hundred a week, tell him to walk around and look smart.

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
I mean, without us, these guys, they'd still be shovelin' mule sh*t.

Sam Rothstein:
What is this mess? Ward, you have to keep a cleaner station. If you need Mr. Clean, just page him, all right?

Don Ward:
It won't happen again, Sam.

Sam Rothstein:
"Mr. Rothstein."

Don Ward:
Mr. Rothstein. It won't happen again, Mr. Rothstein!

Sam and Billy depart slot machine area

Sam Rothstein:
Is this guy just another dumb f***in' white man, or what? What's his story?

Billy Sherbert:
You need this guy.

Sam Rothstein:
I can't get rid of him?

Billy Sherbert:
He's juiced in. He's the County Commissioner's cousin.

Sam Rothstein:
I wouldn't give the bum a mop job.

[A local cowboy with connections to the mob has been gambling in Sam's casino, ignoring the casino's rule against guests putting their feet up on the table.]

Sam Rothstein:
I don't give a sh*t who he's connected to. Tell him to take his f***ing feet off the table. What does he think this is, a goddamn sawdust joint?

Billy Sherbert:
Sir, would you mind taking your feet off the table and put your shoes on, please?

Cowboy:
(sighs) Yeah, I would mind. I'm having a bad night.

[Billy returns to Sam, who is watching from across the room.]

Billy Sherbert:
F***ing a**hole won't budge.

Sam Rothstein:
Call security. [Billy leaves to call casino security; Sam approaches the cowboy himself.] How are you?

Cowboy:
Good. How are you?

Sam Rothstein:
Good. You want to do me a favor? You want to take your feet off the table and put your shoes back on?

Cowboy:
F*** you. [Sam just looks stunned].

Sam Rothstein:
[Pauses, then turns to the arriving security guards] I want you to exit this guy off the premises and I want you to exit him off his feet and use his head to open the f***in door.

Security Guard:
Sir, you're going to have to leave. You mind accompanying us outside?

Cowboy:
Bullshit, I ain't going anywhere with you.

Security Guard:
Bullshit, you're outta here, cowboy! [The senior guard pulls the cowboy's sock-feet off the table]

[Four security guards grab the cowboy and carry him outside, ramming his head into the door to open it as Sam instructed.]

Cowboy:
F*** you! F*** you!

Security Guard:
Yeah?

Cowboy:
Do you know who you're f***ing with?! Huh?!! Do you?!

Security Guard:
Now, move along.

Cowboy:
[to Sam Rothstein] You f***in' f*ggot! Do you know who you're f***ing with?! [to security guards] Leave me alone!

Security Guard:
Here we go.

Cowboy:
You've gotta be kidding me!

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
Sure enough, an hour later, I get a call.

Nicky Santoro:
Ace, what happened over there? I mean, did you know that guy you threw out was with me?

Sam Rothstein:
No, I didn't know that. But you know what he did?

Nicky Santoro:
No.

Sam Rothstein:
He insulted Billy. And then I walked over to him politely, and he tells me to go f*** myself.

Nicky Santoro:
What?!

Sam Rothstein:
Then he called me a f*ggot. So what do you think I do? I threw that cocksucker out.

Nicky Santoro:
What? Ho-- [puts down phone and addresses cowboy] Hey, come here. You called my friend a f*ggot? You tell him to go f*** himself?

Cowboy:
Nicky, I did--

Nicky Santoro:
Is that what you did?

Cowboy:
I did-- I didn't--

Nicky Santoro:
Tell him to go f*** himself? [hits cowboy on the head with the phone] You f***ing hick! F***in', you big f***in' hick, you. Come here. Come here. Get him up. Come here.

Frank Marino:
Get up, Get up.

Nicky Santoro:
Come here. Come here. You go over there right now and you apologize. You better hope he lets you back in. If you ever get out of line over there again, I'll smash your f***in' head so hard, you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on. You hear me? F***ing hick. [resumes phone conversation] Sammy, listen. This guy obviously doesn't know who he was talking to. You understand? 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 to you he'll never get out of line again. I promise you that.

Sam Rothstein:
If he does it again, he's out for good. I don't care what it is, Nick, I'm gonna ha-- I'll never let him in the place again.

Nicky Santoro:
I'm sorry about this. Really. All right, Ace?

Sam Rothstein:
Okay.

Nicky Santoro:
Thanks, pal. [hangs up the phone and turns to cowboy] You took your boots off? You put your feet on the table... You sh*t-kicking, stinky, horse-manure-smelling motherf***er you! You f*** me up over there, I'll stick you in a hole in the f***in' desert! You understand? [slaps cowboy in the face] Go over there and apologize. Go! Get the f*** out of--!

Cowboy:
Nicky, I'm sorry!

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
Well, it wasn't long before what I was afraid was going to happen, happened. Nicky managed to get himself banned from every casino in Las Vegas. And from that moment on I couldn't be seen with him in Vegas or anywhere near it.

Nicky Santoro:
What the f*** is that supposed to mean? [reads letter] " ...detrimental to gaming. And 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." [He waves the document] Do you believe this sh*t?

Sam Rothstein:
(Smoking a cigarette) Yeah, I believe it. You got banned.

Nicky Santoro:
[reads letter again] "Because of unsavory reputation..." [He angrily wads the document and tosses it across the table] Motherf***er. Unsavory f***in'... Is there any way around this?

Sam Rothstein:
No, there's no way.

Nicky Santoro:
Let's say, for instance, I want to go in a restaurant that happens to be inside a casino, to get one of those sandwiches I like?

Sam Rothstein:
Forget it. You cannot so much as set foot in the parking lot. That is how serious this is.

Nicky Santoro:
In other words, I'm f***ed.

Sam Rothstein:
In so many words, yes.

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
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 just one thing, but being in this book etched your name into the brains of every cop and FBI agent in the state. I mean, you're listed in there with Al Capone. But Nicky didn't care.

Nicky Santoro:
I gotta do somethin'. I gotta do somethin'. They ain't gettin' rid of me. They're not gettin' rid of me. I'm staying here. F*** 'em. F*** 'em.

Commissioner Webb:
Thanks for seeing a humble public servant, Mr. Rothstein. You run a nice business here. House is doing very well for itself. Uh, I come here personally to kind of smooth over a fracas about a certain matter. See, uh, maybe you didn't know it, but, uh, Don Ward is a very well-liked man in this town. He's got lots of friends here. Now, his 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 forgive me for sayin' it, maybe he did not deserve to be fired.

Sam Rothstein:
I'm sorry, but he knew about our gettin' hit on three big machines in a row and he did nothing about it. That means either he was in on it or, forgive me for saying this, he was too dumb to see what was going on. Either way, I cannot have a man like that workin' here.

Commissioner Webb:
Before we point the dirty end of the stick at 'ol Don, uh, we better be sure we can prove them charges.

Sam Rothstein:
Believe me, if I could prove it, he would be under arrest.

Commissioner Webb:
Are, uh - [Clears throat] - are we certain that you want the Gamin' Control Board eyeballin' your record and your gangster pals like Nicky Santoro?

Sam Rothstein:
I think you're way out of line talkin' to me like that. What you're sayin' is libelous, and you're in no position to challenge my expertise. I went way out of my way to be very helpful and courteous to that kid. He's weak, he's incompetent. He jeopardizes the whole place. There's not much more I can do for him.

Commissioner Webb:
[Chuckles] You have got me there. Old Don is about 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.

Sam Rothstein:
I can't do that. And I appreciate the fact that he's your brother-in-law, and I do want to help you and I like to do favors, and I know who you are, but I cannot do that.

Commissioner Webb:
Well, could there be any position... further down the trough?

Sam Rothstein:
I'm sorry, I can't do anything. He's too incompetent. And the bottom line is, he cannot be trusted. (Phone rings, Ace responds and hangs up a few seconds later) Um... you know, that's it. I'm sorry.

Commissioner Webb:
Mr Rothstein. You 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 somethin', partner... you ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the Governor. Thank you for your time.

Nicky Santoro {as narrator}:
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 ya, the f***in' bottom line here is... cash. The only problem was that, after a while, the bosses noticed that the suitcases were gettin' a little light. [Count room employee pockets a wad of cash].

[Kansas City. Bosses are enraged at news]

Vincent Borelli:
Aspetta, Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that the money we're robbing is bein' robbed? That somebody's robbing from us? We go through all this f***in' trouble, and somebody's robbin' us?

Remo Gaggi:
Eh?

John Nance:
Like I said, you know, i-it's part of the business. I-it's considered leakage.

Vincent Borelli:
Leakage, my balls. I want the guy who's robbin' us.

Nicky Santoro {as narrator}:
Even John Nance, that's the guy who ran the skim, he knew there wasn't much you could do about it. You gotta know that a guy who helps you steal, even if you take care of him real well, I mean, he's gonna steal a little bit extra for himself. Makes sense, don't it? Right? Well, you go try and make these hard-headed old greaseballs understand that.

Vincent Borelli:
What's the point of skimming if we're being skimmed? Defeats the whole purpose of what we're doin' out there.

Remo Gaggi:
Eh?

John Nance:
You know, they take this money because they're my guys. So you gotta give 'em some leeway.

Nicky Santoro {as narrator}:
But the bosses never believed in leeway, so listen to what they do: they put Artie Piscano, the underboss of KC, in charge of making sure nobody skimmed the skim.

Vincent Borelli:
What the hell have you been doin' out there?

Artie Piscano:
I was out there with my cumare (mistress)

Vincent Borelli:
Your cumma? What were you doing with your cumare?

Artie Piscano:
What else? I gave her a schaff!

Nicky Santoro { as narrator}:
The only trouble was, Piscano was a disaster. This guy could f*** up a cup of coffee.

Vincent Borelli:
Artie, what the hell have you been doing out there, Artie?

Artie Piscano:
I'm out there more than I'm here.

Nicky Santoro {as narrator}:
And little did anybody know where this would all lead. If they did, they would have been better off making f***ing novenas (Catholic prayers).

Vincent Borelli:
You gotta go back there and talk to that guy.

Artie Piscano:
Come on, go back there? I never got paid my expenses for the last trip.

Vincent Borelli:
What expenses?

Artie Piscano:
Well, I'm going all over, laying money out of my own pocket, and I never get anything back. What the hell's goin' on?

Vincent Borelli:
You gotta go back out there.

Artie Piscano:
Well, then, from now on, I'm gonna start keeping records.

[Vincent waves a cautionary hand]

Vincent Borelli:
Artie, no records, Artie. What are you going to do with records? Pay taxes?

Artie Piscano:
Well, I keep layin' out my own f***in' dough for these trips and nothin' ever comes back. I mean, what the hell's goin' on? What are we doin' over here?

Vincent Borelli:
You're goin' out to Las Vegas, you're havin' a good time at my expense. What the f***? I mean, after all, you're the one having a good time, not me.

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
No matter how many novenas you could make, nothing was gonna stop what came up next at the casino.

Phil Green:
I can't believe you're doing this.

Anna Scott:
We made a deal. You came to me, remember?

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
It turned out Phil Green, Mr. Integrity, had a partner nobody knew about, and when she showed up and started demanding some money from the Tangiers...

Anna Scott:
Why are you doing this to me?!

Phil Green:
Because you're wrong.

Anna Scott:
I'm not wrong.

Phil Green:
Yes, you are.

Anna Scott:
No, I am not wrong!

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
Green tried to stonewall her.

Anna Scott:
I will see to it that you do not get away with this!

Sam Rothstein {as narrator}:
So she sued him in court.

Anna Scott has just a won a lawsuit against Phil Green, president of the Tangiers casino.

Anna Scott:
I believe he was absolutely fair and I'm delighted with his decision.

John Nance:
[talks to his boss, Remo Gaggi, on the phone about the situation] We got a problem. It didn't go too well. Green has to open the books; he has to show how he got the financing. And hey, that's...that's not good.

Nicky Santoro {as narrator}:
She was doing pretty good with her lawsuit. But before she could start counting her money, the boys back home decided to settle the case out of court instead. So they sent me.

Nicky Santoro invades the kitchen in Anna Scott's home and shoots her in the head three times. She dies, blood runs from her mouth as he levels her head so it doesn't run on him.

Sam has made an enemy in County Commissioner Pat Webb for firing his brother-in-law from the Tangiers. An inopportune moment occurs when Sam is made to admit he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Tangiers, which is publicized by the media. Webb is holding up a newspaper headline.

Commissioner Webb:
Hm. Have you read this? Hm? It's 'bout Mr Rothstein. It says: "The Midwest bookmaker with mob ties says that he is the real boss of the new hundred-million-dollar Tangiers Casino empire." You believe that?

Ronny Duprey, Gaming Agent #1:
Did he really say that?

Commissioner Webb:
Why, of course, he really said that. It's right here. Has that man even filed for his license yet?

Gaming Agent #2:
I don't know. We'll have to check the files.

Commissioner Webb:
Well, 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 out of town. Thank you.

Newspaper:
ROTHSTEIN OUT OF GAMING

Remo Gaggi:
What the hell's he gonna do now?

Andy Stone {sighing}:
I don't know.

Remo Gammi:
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?

Andy Stone:
Maybe he could run things with another job title. Wouldn't be the best, but, uh, what are we gonna do?

Remo Gaggi:
However he runs things, it's gotta be quiet. Let him hide upstairs in the office. Say he's the janitor, I don't give a sh*t. But, please, whatever job he takes, make sure it's something quiet.

Cut to a TV show

Woman announcer:
Ladies and gentlemen, the Tangiers Hotel proudly presents the all-new Sam Rothstein show, Aces High.

Ace:
First of all, what they did was totally unconstitutional. We're already on the list to be heard before the Supreme Court of the United States later this year.

Andy Stone:
These guys back home don't give a f*** about the Supreme Court and any of this bullshit! They want things to quiet down. They want you to walk away from -

Ace:
Walk away? Andy, you can't be serious. How can I walk away? Don't you see what's goin' on here? Don't you see what's at stake?

Andy Stone:
The old man said, 'Maybe your friend should give in.' And when the old man says 'maybe', that's like a papal bull. Not only should you quit, you should run!

Ace:
Know what my problem is? Every time they mention my name in the papers, these cocksuckers, they mention Nicky too. How the f*** does that help? I mean, the heat he brought down is murder! We had a police department who was cooperative. He's pissed them off so much now that nobody can make a move anymore. I mean, what do you do about that?

Andy Stone:
What do you propose?

Ace:
I don't know, he doesn't listen to me. Maybe he should... get lost for a while. Take a vacation. Would that be so bad?

Andy Stone:
They ain't sending Nicky nowhere.

Ace:
All right, look, if he took a break, it would just give everybody some time to maneuver. That's all I'm saying. It's all that I'm saying.

Andy Stone:
I would forget about the maneuver. I would just get out.

Ace:
I can't do that.

Remo Gaggi:
Frankie, the little guy, he wouldn't be f***in' the Jew's wife, would he? Because if he is, then it's a problem.

Scene freeze-frames

Frank Marino {as narrator}:
What could I say? I knew that if I gave the wrong answer, Nicky, Ginger, Ace, all of them could've wound up getting killed. Because there's one thing about these old-timers: they don't like anyone f***ing 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 getting killed, too.

Scene resumes

Frank Marino:
No. No, I didn't see anything like that.

Remo Gaggi:
Are you sure?

Frank Marino:
I'm positive. Remo, things are very f***ed up down there.

Remo Gaggi:
I know; that's why I'm asking. You see, my main concern is Nicky.

Ace Rothstein {as narrator}:
But one thing I could just never understand was how she could have everything under control but her old pimp Lester Diamond.

[Ginger comes in, taps Lester on the leg with $25,000--offering him the money]

Lester Diamond:
Look, Gin, you know I got other people in this. I got partners. But I want you to understand that I am lookin' out for you in this thing. Okay? You're going to get yours back... and you're gonna get it back first. Okay?

Ginger:
All right.

Lester Diamond:
Okay?

Ginger:
Yeah.

Lester Diamond:
Where are you goin'? Where are you? You're in that place. Where are you?

Ginger:
I'm here.

Lester Diamond:
No, you're not. Where are you? Where are you?

Ginger:
I'm always here for you.

Lester Diamond:
You are.

Ginger:
I am.

[He hastily kisses GINGER and slips out the door.]

Ace Rothstein {as narrator}:
The Ginger I knew wouldn't even look at this creep. He was a moocher, a card cheat, a country-club golf hustler. A scumbag... chasing dentists for a few bucks.

Paige Novodor {as newscaster}:
Good evening, everyone. I'm Paige Novodor. What should've been a routine licensing hearing turned into bedlam yesterday when the flamboyant Tangiers Casino executive, Sam "Ace" Rothstein, accused the state's top gaming officials of corruption and hypocrisy.

Ace Rothstein:
What are you running for, Bob? What are you running for? Don't you remember? You promised me a fair hearing when you were getting comped at my hotel, and you were asking me for copies of your bills so you could put 'em on your expense account!

Paige Novodor {as newscaster}:
In a wild and unprecedented outburst that followed his gaming license denial, Rothstein followed several stunned commissioners into the hallway, where he continued his harangue until his own lawyers and friends urged him to leave.

Ace Rothstein:
Politics! Politicians! We all have a past. You have a past, I have a past, and my past is no worse than yours, but you guys think you have the right to pass judgement on me!

Paige Novodor {as newscaster}:
Long suspected of running the Tangiers without a gaming license, yesterday's hearing was to determine whether someone with Rothstein's checkered past history was qualified to officially hold a top gaming post.

Ace Rothstein:
Lousy hypocrites!

Ace Rothstein:
I'm not trying to tell you what to do. But you were way out of line, Nick. What're you doing? Where's your head?

Nicky Santoro:
Where's my head? Where's your f***in' balls? Huh? You know I'm trying to put something really big together out here. You know what I'm talking about, huh? You know! If you're acting like this now, how can I depend on you? There's a lot of things going to change out here. And if you wanna be there with me, Sammy, you're going to have to go my f***in' way.

Ace Rothstein:
Listen, Nick, you got to understand my situation. I'm responsible for thousands of people. I got a hundred million a year going through the place. It's all over, I'm going to tell you, it's all over, if I don't get that license. And believe me, if it goes bad for me, it's gonna go bad for a lot of people, you understand?

Ace Rothstein:
I just want to run a square joint. That's it. I just want my license. I want everything nice and quiet. That's it.

Nicky Santoro:
You mean, quiet like this? [holds up a magazine] "I'm the boss." That's quiet?

Ace Rothstein:
That's all taken out of context. I have no control over that. Ronnie and Billy were right there. They'll tell you exactly what happened.

Nicky Santoro:
Well, back home they don't know about f***ing control. That looks bad.

Ace Rothstein:
Looks bad? I'm going to tell you what looks bad. Every time you're on television, I get mentioned. That looks bad. That looks bad!

Nicky Santoro:
What the f*** happened to you? Will you tell me?

Ace Rothstein:
What happened to me? What happened to you? You lost your control.

Nicky Santoro:
I lost control? Look at you! You're f***ing walking around like John Barrymore! A f***ing pink robe and a f***ing cigarette holder? I lost control?

Nicky Santoro:
I told you this was f***ing dangerous. Remember I said, "Ginger, this is a dangerous situation, be very careful," you f***ing yes me to death.

Ginger:
If it's so f***ing dangerous, then why don't you kill him?

Nicky Santoro:
Kill him. Shut the f*** up, you don't know what you're talking about.

Ginger:
Well then, have him killed, and get it over with.

Nicky Santoro:
Hey, don't be such a f***ing smart ass, will ya! I known the guy 35 years! I'm gonna f***ing whack him for you?

Nicky Santoro:
[voiceover] Now for the best, and I couldn't believe this sh*t. Piscano's expense reports took the cake.

FBI Agent 1:
[looking through Piscano's expense reports and books] Oh, this is good. Bingo.

Nicky Santoro:
[voiceover] He might as well have given them a f***in' blueprint. Everybody's names, addresses, dates, everything.

FBI Agent 1:
Look at this! Thank you so much, Mr. Piscano. How considerate of you. We appreciate it.

Artie Piscano:
[weakly] Those are my — those are my mother's books.

FBI Agent 2:
[begins handcuffing Piscano] You're under arrest.

[as he is handcuffed, Piscano has a heart attack and collapses on the floor]

Nicky Santoro:
[voiceover] What a f***in' balloonhead.

Nicky Santoro:
[voiceover] When the bosses were arrested, some of 'em were so old that they needed doctors at their arraignment. But when it looked like they could get twenty-five years to life just for skimming a casino, sick or no f***in' sick, you knew people were gonna 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?

Vinny Forlano:
He won't talk. Stone's a good kid, straight-up man just like his father. That's the way I see it

Vincent Borelli:
I agree. He's solid. A f***in' Marine.

Americo Capello:
He's okay. He always was. Remo, what do you think?

Remo Gaggi:
(pause) Look...why take a chance? At least, that's the way I feel about it.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
[voice over, while observing a blackjack cheat] You can spot these a**holes by watching the way they bet. Like this guy. He's betting lavender chips at five hundred each with only one little problem: He's always guessed right. If he wasn't so f***in' greedy, he'd have been tougher to spot. But in the end, they're all greedy.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
[To a cheater] Alright, I'm going to give you a choice: You can either have the money and the hammer, or you can walk out of here. You can't have both.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. 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 [the CCTV cameras] is watching us all.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
We all have a past! You have a past, I have a past, and my past is no worse than yours, but you guys think you have the right to pass judgment on me!

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
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.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
Normally, my prospects of coming back alive from a meeting with Nicky were 99 out of 100. But this time, when I heard him say "a couple hundred yards down the road," I gave myself 50/50.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
[to Ginger, about her and Lester planning to run away with Amy] Yeah, but I've been told that 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 four thousand 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... f***in' piece of sh*t had a good f***in' time. On my money. You might as well have f***ed him, which you probably did anyway. (Ginger glares at him) You're lookin' at me a certain way. You - you're teary-eyed, huh? You're upset. You're a good actress, you know that? Good f***in' actress. You can f***in' 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 f***in' pimp cocksucker. He's lucky I didn't kill him last time. Lucky he's f***in' livin'. And if you would've stayed with Amy... and you would've ran away... you would've been f***in' dead. Both of you. Dead. Dead.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
After all the threats and all the bullshit, it turned out Ginger didn't tell 'em anything. But by then, the Feds didn't need her, anyway. They had all the pieces they needed. And everybody began to tumble, one after the other... just like dominoes. Between Piscano complaining on a wire. Between Nicky, Ginger, me and my license... paradise... we managed to really f*** it all up.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
After Ginger took off, she wasn't much help to anybody. She found some pimps, lowlifes, druggies and bikers in L.A.. And in a few months, they went through all the money and all the jewels. After they found her body, I hired a private doctor to 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.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
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. They had other ideas for me.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein:
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 checking 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. 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.

Nicky Santoro:
[About the bosses] These old greaseballs may not look it, but believe me, these are the men who secretly control Las Vegas, because they managed the Teamsters Union. The Teamsters Union was who you had to go to in order to borrow money to build a casino. And no one got approved for a loan from the Teamster's pension fund unless these guys in the room knew they were going to get their little suitcases.

Nicky Santoro:
They had so much f***ing money in there, you could build a house outta stacks of $100 bills. And the best part was that upstairs, the board of directors didn't know what the f*** was going on. I mean, to them, everything looked on the up-and-up, right? Wrong! The guys inside the counting room 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 outta the drop boxes. And it was up to this guy, right here, standing in front of about 2 million dollars, to skim the cash off the top without anybody getting wise — the IRS, or anybody. Now, notice how in the count room, nobody ever seems to see anything. Somebody's always looking the other way. Now look at these guys. They look busy, right? They're counting money. Who'd want 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 jack-off guard, who gets an extra C note a week just to watch the door. I mean, it's routine, business as usual — in, out, hello, goodbye — and that's all there is to it. Just another fat f***, walking out of the casino with a suitcase. Now that suitcase was going straight to one place: right to Kansas City, which was as close to Las Vegas as the Midwest bosses could go without getting themselves arrested. That suitcase was all the bosses ever wanted, and they wanted it every month.

Nicky Santoro:
[about Anthony Dogs' interrogation] To be truthful with you, I had to admire this f***ing guy. He was one of the toughest Irishmen I ever met. This son-of-a-b*tch was tough. For two days and two f***ing nights, we beat the sh*t out of this guy. I mean, we even stuck ice picks in his balls, but he never talked. In the end, I had to put his f***ing head in a vise.

Nicky Santoro:
Listen to me, Anthony. I got your head in a f***ing vise. I'll squash your f***ing head like a grapefruit if you don't give me a name. Don't make me have to do this, please. Don't make me be a bad guy; come on.

Nicky Santoro:
Charlie M? Charlie M?? You make me pop your f***ing eye out of your head to protect that piece of sh*t?! Charlie M?! You dumb motherf***er!!!

Nicky Santoro:
You know I'm trying to put something really big together out here. You know what I'm talking about, huh? You know! If you're acting like this now, how can I depend on you?

Nicky Santoro:
You know, I don't wanna bring this up, but you've been treating a lot of people with a lot of disrespect, even your own wife.

Nicky Santoro:
[Watching the FBI plane overhead while golfing] What the f*** is this? Where's this f***ing guy gonna land, in the fairway? They're f***ing agents, Frankie, look at this! $100 for whoever hits the plane.

Nicky Santoro:
[Chewing out Sam in the Nevada desert] You said I'm bringing heat on you? I gotta listen to people because of your f***ing sh*t?! You're ordering me out? You better get your own f***ing army, pal!

Nicky Santoro:
I used to send Marino back home with a piece of what I made. Not a big piece, but what did they know? They were 1,500 miles away, and I don't know anyone who can see that far.

Nicky Santoro:
[To Frank Marino, realizing how far he's gone with his affair with Ginger] I've f***ed up, Frankie. I f***ed up real good this time. I should never have started with this f***ing broad.

Nicky Santoro:
[After Andy Stone is murdered by two men as he is walking to his car] As much as they liked him, he wasn't one of us. He wasn't Italian. As far as they knew, he could've 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. And so, naturally, the bosses were afraid he'd come out of hiding just to save his kid and give 'em all up. So... [The same two men come behind a bleeding John Nance and shoot him in the head] But anyway they, you know, they all had to follow. Everybody went down. Before you knew it, anybody who knew anything wound up getting whacked.

Nicky Santoro:
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 f***ing 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 f***ed around. I mean, what's right is right. They don't give a f*** about— [Frankie hits him from behind with a baseball bat]

Commissioner Webb:
Mr. Rothstein, you 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.