Tag Archive: Frank Lefty Rosenthal

Gambling movies remain as popular today as they did back in the 1960s. This is because the basic premise of gambling appeals to everyone thanks to its overarching depiction of the importance of luck in life. The idea is that, for the audience, chance could change their trajectory. There's the thrilling anticipation of waiting for the roulette ball to fall or the next turn of a card. Also, many protagonists are somehow flawed characters, which in many ways makes them more real and accessible.

No movie catches those early years of the building of las Vegas better than Scorsese's Casino. Set in a fictional Tangiers Casino, it tells the story of the casino's manager, Lefty Rosenthal. Trying to run an upright establishment, ut with the mafia wanting their cut, and a crazy mobster constantly undermining him, Rosenthal has to walk a fine line. When things do go sideways, the movie descends into the dark and grim universe of the mafia's underbelly. Robert De Nero absolutely nails the part.