Casino (1995) is based on the true story of two mobster best friends and a trophy wife who create their own gambling empire. It’s jam-packed full of violence, money, power and greed – and it is no surprise it now viewed as one of the world’s finest gangster films. Here are 10 Casino movie facts you must read.

Reduce by 50% the scene in which the man is tortured with his head in the vice. Reduce by 50% the scene depicting sexual intercourse between Nicky and Ginger. Delete the visuals of blood spurting out of the mouth of a man who has been shot in the head. Delete the visuals of the plastic bag being pulled over the man's bloody face in the car. On a separate note, would love a new 4k of this with the cut material put back in including the vice eye pop and full baseball bat cornfield's scene. Saw it in this version at the London film festival, both scenes were much more brutal especially the baseball bat scene. The biggest mistakes you never noticed in Casino (1995). Add more and vote on your favourites! John Pless said at the Family Secrets trial that there was no evidence that the men had been buried alive. The grisly detail was popularized in the 1995 mob movie, “Casino.” Pless said the injuries the men received were more likely from fists than bats. Pless riveted jurors with a detailed list of the injuries both men received. A great memorable quote from the Casino movie on Quotes.net - 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.

1. The Real Mobsters

Remember the scene where Nicky (Pesci) visits Ace (De Niro) at his house to talk to Richard Rheil, the banker? Look at the photograph on the counter – as it is a picture of Lefty Rosenthal and Tony Spilotro, who are the real guys De Niro and Pesci are playing.

2. Continuity

As Robert De Niro’s character was a chain smoker, he always held his cigarettes the same distance from the lit end so the lengths never appeared to change on film.

3. Juggling

Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal hated the scene where Sam juggles on his TV show, The Frank Rosenthal Show, maintaining that he never juggled and that De Niro’s scene made him look foolish.

4. The Jewellery Store

The Jewellery store owner who is robbed by Nicky’s boys was a real-life Las Vegas jeweller, and his line “I just got a shipment of diamonds from Israel” was not in the script.

Casino 1995 Bat Scenes

5. James Woods

James Wood’s limes were mostly improvised. He was not supposed to speak at Ginger’s wedding scene, but came up with an idea that it would suit Lester’s character to be with a prostitute whilst doing cocaine when talking to Ginger on the phone.

6. Criminal Consultants

Martin Scorsese hired a number of real-life parolees from the same era as consultants. He also worked with F.B.I agents who had busted the same parolees.

7. Three-Hour Movie

Cinemas aren’t overkeen on lengthy movies, as it means less screenings and therefore less money. He was aware that the producers wanted it to be a three hour movie, but he ignored them anyway, saying it is a “fast three hour movie”.

8. Broken Rib

Pesci suffered a broken rib when De Niro threw his character through a glass door in Raging Bull. The injury led to Pesci breaking the same rib once again when filming the Casino scene where he is bundled into the cornfield hole with his dead brother.

9. The Costume Budget

The costume budget for Casino was a whopping $1 million, as Robert De Niro wore 70 different costumes, while Sharon Stone wore 30 vintage and bespoke outfits. The actors were also allowed to keep their costumes afterwards.

10. 7,000 Extras

7,000 extras featured in the Casino movie, from bellboys to strippers – and 120 of them had speaking parts.

Love gangster movies? Check out 10 Goodfellas Facts You Should be Reading.

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One of the more memorable scenes in the 1995 movie Casino depicted the character based on Tony Spilotro (played by actor Joe Pesci) and his brother being beaten to death in a cornfield.

The actual killings of Tony and Michael took place in June 1986. After their bodies were found in an Indiana cornfield, there was some speculation that the two had been buried while still alive.

However, testimony given by various witnesses in the Operation Family Secrets trial in Chicago – including a forensic pathologist and a former Outfit hit man – show that the real murders didn’t occur exactly as shown on the big screen.

Below is part of an article that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on August 1, highlighting that testimony.

August 1, 2007

BY STEVE WARMBIR Staff Reporter

A forensic pathologist who took part in the autopsies of mobsters Anthony and Michael Spilotro gave testimony on Wednesday that upended the Hollywood version of their deaths, which had the men beaten to death with bats and buried alive in an Indiana cornfield.

Dr. John Pless said at the Family Secrets trial that there was no evidence that the men had been buried alive. The grisly detail was popularized in the 1995 mob movie, “Casino.”

Pless said the injuries the men received were more likely from fists than bats.

Pless riveted jurors with a detailed list of the injuries both men received.

The Spilotros both died from multiple blunt trauma injuries and from having their lungs or airways so filled with blood from their wounds that they couldn’t breathe, according to Pless’ testimony.

The men had been lured to the basement of a Bensenville area home in June 1986 after a mob hit squad had unsuccessfully tried to kill Anthony Spilotro in Las Vegas, according to earlier trial testimony.

Spilotro had tried to blow up a mob associate without Outfit permission, had slept with that associate’s wife and had committed unauthorized murders, according to evidence at trial.

Casino 1995 Bat Scene Creator

Mob officials lured the men to the basement on the promise that Tony Spilotro was to be promoted to a capo position in the mob, and Michael Spilotro was to be a “made” member of the Outfit.

Instead, a dozen killers were waiting for the men in the basement and jumped them as they came down.

Earlier in the trial, Outfit killer Nicholas Calabrese, who is testifying for the government, described his own role in the murders.

Calabrese testified he held Michael Spilotro while another man strangled him. Calabrese said he did not get a good look at how Anthony Spilotro was killed.

The forensic pathologist testified that he found abrasions around the neck of Michael Spilotro that could have come from a rope, but noted that the corpses had decomposed after being buried for at least a week in the cornfield, and it was difficult to find markings.

The attorney for reputed mob boss James Marcello jumped on the lack of clear strangulation marks.

Casino 1995 Bat Scene Set

Defense lawyer Thomas Breen hammered home that point to the jury and will likely use it to bolster his argument that Nicholas Calabrese wasn’t even at the Spilotro murders and made up his account of them.

Calabrese’s testimony is important to Marcello because Calabrese contends Marcello took part in the murders by driving him and other killers to the Bensenville area home.

Tags: chicago outfit, CULLOTTA, las vegas, lefty rosenthal, mafia, organized crime, tony spilotro, true crime