Four Questions About Casino
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cabal24 — 10 years ago(October 14, 2015 11:23 AM)
- Where on the Strip was the Tangiers located? I've been to Las Vegas many times, and from the well-done CGI early in the film, it appears as if it is on the current site of either Bally's or Paris, across the street from the old Dunes Hotel, which I believe is now the Bellagio. I think I'm accurate here, but wanted to get confirmation. To be honest, the Tangiers looks a little out of place on that part of the Stripthe sign looks hugely out of proportion, but they still did a good job making it look authentic.
- If this is a stupid question, forgive me, but how in the world was Nick Santoro able to avoid jail time for his deeds..which include the brutal murder of Green's business partner? C'monthey couldn't get the goods on the ".44 caliber killer"? Not once? Or were there too many cops on the take?
Any opinions would be welcome. - The Tangiers in the movie was actually the Stardust. They changed the casino names for a number of legal reasons.
- They wanted Tony Spilotro/Nicky Santoro bad. But they never had enough evidence to get the dude. Nobody was ever charged for the murder of Tamara Rand (Glicks real life business partner). No evidence= no charges. Spilotro was not a novice when it came to killing people. I dont believe there was any coverup or bribes for most of these cases. Maybe they happened but we are talking about the Feds who were after him not local law enforcement. And with a few exceptions (Im looking at you Boston FBI) its really rare to get the FBI on the take.
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wt1963 — 10 years ago(October 14, 2015 01:52 PM)
I am aware that the Tangiers was the Stardust and why they couldn't use the name. My question was to confirm the location of the Tangiers as shown in the film.
If you will notice the early scene-setter exterior shot of the Tangiers, you will see the Flamingo in the background further down the street. That means the shot is looking south. The Stardust was located further south on the stripnot anywhere near the Flamingoand also on the opposite side of the street, near the old Frontier and the still operating Circus Circus.
In other words, the Flamingo and the Stardust were on opposite sides of Las Vegas Blvd.
Since the Tangiers is on the same side of LVBD as the Flamingo, it is not possible for the Tangiers location in the film to be on the site of the original Stardust.
My belief isagain as shown in the filmthe Tangiers is on the site of what is now either Bally's or Paris, across the street from what is now the Bellagio, which is on the site of the old Dunes. -
wt1963 — 10 years ago(October 15, 2015 03:40 PM)
To those reading the original post, I must correct the record. The early scene shot of the Tangiers with the Flamingo in the background is actually facing north, as opposed to my originaland incorrectassertion that is was facing south. My error.
That said, the rest of the post goes as written.
Thanks.the OP. -
roxclyde — 9 years ago(January 04, 2017 07:15 PM)
Another way I've seen it done in Connecticut (Foxwoods & Mohegan): The Aces and 10's/faces have markings (on different sides of the card depending on its value) that can be read by a device on the table - when the dealer has a potential blackjack s/he just inserts the hole card in the device and if the light goes on they know it's a blackjack otherwise the hand continues.
Of course this wasn't available back when the scene in Question #4 was set. -
dustyhonda2000 — 10 years ago(March 17, 2016 04:48 PM)
Referencing the scene in the corner-loft-windowed apartment where Nicky Santoro and his girl are introduced to Ginger what is this tower structure seen in the close distance?
Looks to be a rotating restaurant, (probably the one Ace & Ginger dine in later after she is recovered from her kidnapping of their daughter). I am not an expert on the Strip or its history but this is an interesting vintage building and obviously not there anymore. -
gary_w_trott — 9 years ago(July 10, 2016 01:01 PM)
- In the scene where Ace spots the Blackjack cheats, they show the dealer lifting his hold card. Is that accurate? I don't play much blackjackI'm mainly a craps playerbut on the few occasions I have been at a blackjack table, the dealer doesn't even touch the hold card. They just leave it covered until they need to reveal it, and then they just flip it over.
This method of watching the dealer is called "spooking". I also have a couple of pieces of trivia about this true incident. First, what actually happened was not quite as gruesome as in the movie because in real life, instead of the ball peen hammer they smashed his hand with a rubber mallet. It's still bad I know but psychologically, at least for me, the mallet isn't as scary. This incident is also mentioned in one of blackjack legend Ken Uston's books (I think that it was
Ken Uston on Blackjack
, where he wrote that the two men sued the casino and received a sizeable settlement. Kenny was also one of the guys who, as Ace mentioned, liked to wear disguises to get back into the casinos after being barred.
- In the scene where Ace spots the Blackjack cheats, they show the dealer lifting his hold card. Is that accurate? I don't play much blackjackI'm mainly a craps playerbut on the few occasions I have been at a blackjack table, the dealer doesn't even touch the hold card. They just leave it covered until they need to reveal it, and then they just flip it over.
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gd5150 — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 08:13 PM)
The Tangiers is where Ballys is. The shot on the strip looking north You can see Flamingo behind it on the strip on the right side of the street and across the street is The Dunes. The Dunes was demolished in the 90s so they could build Bellagio. Bellagio is across the street from Ballys. So the location for the Tangiers is definitely Ballys.
The interior shots and pool were done at The Riviera which was demolished last August (2016).