ADAPTED FROM A TRUE STORY
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.
Before I ever ran a casino, or got blown up...
Ace Rothstein was a hell of a handicapper.
I can tell you that.
I was so good that whenever I bet, I'd 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 actually get you that kind of money.
$62, 700,000.
I don't know all the details.
In fact, nobody knew all the details...
but it should've been perfect.
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 fucked it all up.
It should've been so sweet, too.
It turned out to be the last time that street guys like us...
were ever given anything that fucking valuable again.
Vegas was a place where suckers...
flew in every year on their own nickel...
and left behind about a billion dollars.
But at night, you couldn't see the desert that surrounds Las Vegas.
But it's in the desert where lots of the town's problems are solved.
Got a lot of holes in the desert...
and a lot of problems are buried in those holes.
Except you gotta do it right.
You gotta have the hole already dug...
before you show up with a package in the trunk.
Otherwise, you're talking about 30 or 45 minutes of digging.
Who knows who's gonna be coming along in that time?
Before you know it, you gotta dig a few more holes.
You could be there all fucking night.
THE STRIP - LAS VEGAS TEN YEARS EARLIER
Who could resist?
Anywhere else, I was a bookie, a gambler...
always looking over my shoulder, hassled by cops, day and night.
But here, I'm Mr. Rothstein.
I'm not only legitimate, but running a casino.
And that's like selling people dreams for cash.
I hired an old casino pal, Billy Sherbert, as my manager, and went to work.
And this is Ronnie, who takes care of the card room.
For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your sins.
It's like a morality car wash.
It does for us what Lourdes does for humpbacks and cripples.
And along with making us legit...
comes cash, tons of it.
What do you think we're doing here in the middle of the desert?
It's all this money.
This is the end result of all the bright lights...
and the comped trips, of all the champagne...
and free hotel suites, and all the broads and all the booze.
It's all been arranged just for us to get your money.
That's the truth about Las Vegas.
We're the only winners.
The players don't stand a chance.
And their cash flows from the tables...
to our boxes through the cage...
and into the most sacred room in the casino.
The place where they add up all the money...
the Holy of holies, the count room.
Now, this place was off-limits.
Even I couldn't get inside.
But it was my job to keep it filled with cash. That's for sure.
They had so much money in there...
you could build a house out of stacks of $100 bills.
And the best part was that upstairs...
the Board of Directors didn't know what the fuck was going on.
To them everything looked on the up-and-up.
Right? Wrong.
Verify $5,000.
The guys in 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 out of the drop-boxes.
And it was up to this guy right here...
standing in front of $2 million...
to skim the cash off the top without anybody getting wise...
the IRS or anybody.
Notice how in the count room nobody ever seems to see anything.
Somehow, somebody's always looking the other way.
Look at these guys. They look busy, right?
They're counting money. Who wants 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 jag-off guard who gets an extra $100 a week...
just to watch the door.
It's routine. Business as usual...
in, out, hello, goodbye.
That's all there is to it.
Just another fat fuck walking out of a 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.
Now this old Mormon fuck here...
he had to fly in with suitcases once a month, nice and easy.
- Something smells good. - They made us something to eat.
The bosses would come from all over.
Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee...
all over the Midwest...
and they would meet in this produce market in Kansas City.
Nobody even knew it.
One of the guys made his mother do the cooking.
Do you ever see that guy Jerry Steriano?
These old greaseballs might not look it...
but believe me...
these are the guys who secretly controlled Las Vegas.
Mama, that man's here again.
Because they controlled the Teamsters Union.
And that's where you had to go to borrow money to buy a casino.
Would you put in shrimp? I would.
Nobody got a Teamsters' loan unless the guys in this room...
knew they were gonna get their little suitcases.
Guys like this antique over here, out of Detroit.
Or especially guys like Remo Gaggi, the outfit's top boss.
You got a round figure on it?
Definitely the most important guy in this room.
About 20 pounds. Around $700,000.
Good.
It's a little early for Las Vegas...
but I want to welcome the ladies and gentlemen of the gaming industry...
As far as the world was concerned...
Andy Stone, head of the Teamsters' Pension Fund...
was a legitimate guy.
A powerful man.
He played golf with the President.
On behalf of the Teamsters' Pension Fund...
I'm glad to present...
But he also took orders.
When he was told to give a pension-fund loan to Philip Green...
...this check for $62,700,000...
for the new Tangiers.
...he did what he was told.
Here was the perfect front man.
What the fuck else could he be? He didn't know too much.
He didn't want to know too much...
especially that the bosses made the Teamsters lend him money.
He wanted to believe they gave him the money because he was smart.
I say that knowing just how much competition we have in this city.
And where they got Green from?
Who the fuck knows?
All I know is that he was an Arizona real-estate hustler...
who barely had enough gas money to come and pick up his fucking check.
And it was the bosses' man...
Andy Stone, who gave all the orders.
Not the Chairman of the Board, Philip Green.
I understand.
Now all they needed was...
someone they could trust to run the casino.
And who better than Ace? He was already in Vegas a couple years...
and he had the fucking place clocked.
But typical Ace, give him a shot to run a casino...
and he tries to talk you out of it.
I don't know if I could do this.
The Gaming Commission would never give me a license.
I have at least 24 gambling and bookmaking pinches on me.
You don't have to have a license to work in a casino.
All you gotta do is apply for one.
The State law says that you can work in a casino...
while they process your application.
They got a 10-year backlog.
What happens when they do find out?
Why would they want to find out?
We're putting $100 million here. Why would they lock us out?
They'll never find out. All you gotta do is keep changing your job title.
Like, from Casino Executive to Food and Beverage Chairman.
Then they put your application at the bottom of the pile.
I know guys who've worked there for 30 years don't have a license.
It's a tough proposition, Andy.
If I did it, I'd have to run it my way.
You got it.
I'm serious. No interference.
Nobody's gonna interfere with your running the casino.
I guarantee it.
And that's how they got Ace to take over.
They wanted him because Ace ate, slept and breathed gambling.
They worked out a real cute job title, too...
Tangiers Public Relations Director.
But the only thing he ever directed was the casino.
He made his first bet when he was 15, and he always made money.
He didn't bet like you or me.
Having some fun with it, shit like that.
Where did you learn how to deal?
He bet like a fucking brain surgeon.
Place the checks properly.
- That's the way you do it. - Yes, sir.
He had to know everything.
He'd find out the inside stuff nobody else knew...
and that's what he'd put his money on.
BACK HOME YEARS AGO Even back home, years ago...
when we first hung out, he'd know if the quarterback was on coke...
I'll take Columbia for $20,000.
...if his girlfriend was knocked up.
He'd get the wind velocity so he could judge the field goals.
He even figured out the bounce you got off different kinds of wood...
on college basketball courts.
He'd be working on this day and night.
He knew everything about a game he would bet on.
Ace got down at $6,000. Get me down at $6,000.
Season after season...
the prick was the only guaranteed winner I ever knew.
But he was so serious about it all...
that I don't think he ever enjoyed himself.
But that's just the way he was.
Back then, the bosses didn't give a fuck whether he enjoyed himself or not.
To them, he was a cash register.
All they had to do was ring the bell and take money.
Especially Remo...
who was a fucking degenerate gambler who always lost.
All those fucking sweeps.
Unless Ace made his bets.
Enough now!
Ace made more money for them on a weekend...
than I could do heisting joints for a month.
Whatever Ace picked up on the street, he told Remo.
Fixed fights, doped horses...
crooked fucking zebras, locked-in point spreads.
He told fucking Remo everything.
And, to tell you the truth, I don't blame him.
Keeping Remo happy with money...
was the greatest insurance policy in the world.
Son of a bitch!
How did you get Oklahoma-Michigan?
Nobody ever had Oklahoma... How'd you do it?
That's why they paid so well.
You see? Never tells me nothing.
What do we got on for next week?
It's a little too early. I'll know by Thursday. Is that all right?
You'll come by the house? I'll come by.
At 7:00.
Good job, my boy. Keep it up.
Hey, Nick.
I'll be right out.
See that guy? Keep a good eye on him.
He's making a lot of money for us.
And he'll continue making money for us, so keep a good eye on him.
Not like the fucking Feds out there, without brains.
Okay? All right.
Want me to take this?
Now, on top of everything else...
I gotta make sure nobody fucks with the Golden Jew.
Couple of shooters for the ladies.
Yeah, we made a great pair.
I made book and Nicky made sure we always collected.
The old men loved us, and why not?
They all made money with us.
How did Nicky collect?
Don't ask.
Then where the fuck is the money? I don't see it.
- Hi, Melissa, Heidi. - Hi, Sam.
Who's this guy?
Get the fuck out. I laid nine. It was eight.
Ace, tell him the line on the Bears game.
- Eight. - If he don't know, nobody knows.
It was eight. How come I laid nine?
'Cause you're a jag-off.
- Excuse me. - What?
- Is this your pen? - Yeah, that's my pen. Why?
It's nice. I didn't know whose it was.
I didn't want it to get lost.
Thank you. Why don't you take that fucking pen...
and shove it up your ass, you fucking jag-off?
- Well, I was just offering- - Asshole.
Look out, Joe.
What's that? You hear a little girl?
Is that a little fucking girl?
What happened to the tough guy...
who told my friend to stick it up his fucking ass?
Nicky, take it easy.
While I tried to figure out why the guy said what he said...
Nicky just hit him.
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.
If you beat him with a gun, you'd better kill him...
because he'll keep coming back and back...
until one of you is dead.
With me protecting Ace...
he made a fortune for the bosses.
That's what got him to Vegas.
He was a money machine.
A tremendous earner for these guys.
As soon as he took over, he doubled the fucking drop.
With Ace, the casino never saw so much money.
And the bosses, they couldn't be happier.
In Vegas, I had to keep a few juiced-in local cowboys working.
They were close to the good old boys.
Without us, these guys would still be shoveling mule shit.
You've got to keep a cleaner station.
If you need Mr. Clean, page him.
Won't happen again, Sam.
Mr. Rothstein. It won't happen again, Mr. Rothstein.
Is this guy just another dumb fucking white man, or what?
- You need this guy. - Can't get rid of him?
He's juiced in. He's the County Commissioner's cousin.
I wouldn't give the bum a mop job.
I had no choice. I had to take care of them.
These yokels ran the state.
Thanks, Senator.
They passed the laws, owned the courts.
I need a room.
I had dozens of politicians and state officials coming through weekly.
Get him what he wants. Certainly.
Why not make them happy?
For politicians, like our State Senator up there...
everything was on the house.
These guys won their comped life when they got elected.
Why not take advantage of it?
Still, the politicians came cheap. We could handle them.
It's a whale, like K.K. Ichikawa...
who plays $30,000 a hand in baccarat.
That's the one you really gotta watch.
He plays fast and big. He has the cash and the credit...
to turn out your lights.
A year ago he cleaned out a couple of casinos in the Cayman Islands.
Downstairs he takes us for $2 million...
and upstairs he takes free soap, shampoo and towels.
Another billionaire cheapskate who loved his free rooms...
free private jets and $2 million of our money.
But we got him back.
I had our pilot tell him the plane was on the fritz.
What went wrong? I'm awfully sorry.
These mechanical things happen.
Better here than up there.
Then he missed the flights connecting with Japan.
I can't believe there's no room.
We got him back with a whole floor of rooms to himself.
- Sorry you missed your plane. - You'd like some of my money back.
Oh, no. No gambling.
And once he was back, he played small.
He bet $1,000 a hand, instead of his usual $30,000 a hand.
But I knew the trick with whales like Ichikawa...
was that they can't bet small for long.
He didn't think of it as winning $10,000...
he thought of it as losing $90,000.
So, he upped his bets.
Until he dropped his winnings back and gave up $1 million of his own cash.
In a casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing...
and keep them coming back.
The longer they play, the more they lose.
In the end, we get it all.
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 is watching us all.
Plus, we had a dozen guys...
most of them ex-cheats, who knew every trick in the house.
Yes!
- Very nice. - I told you I was hot tonight.
Looking good.
Let's go. This is for Ginger.
Let me have $100 on your hard 10.
Thank you.
Here we go now.
- Oh, I'm sorry. - The dice.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate that.
Take care, Steve. Take chances, drive fast.
This $100 is for you, love. Thanks for your time.
- Come on. - What's the matter?
I made a lot of money for you, I want my cut.
What money? I've seen you stealing.
"What money?" Look at the stack of chips.
I want my half. I've watched you.
- I want my money. - Your bag is full of chips.
I didn't steal anything from you. Get lost!
Get lost? Yes!
- Well, how about that? - Come on!
What a move. I fell in love right there.
But in Vegas, for a girl like Ginger, love costs money.
I'm gonna go powder my nose.
Ginger's mission in life was money.
I'll be right back.
See you. Thanks for asking.
She was a queen around the casino.
She brought in high rollers and helped them spend a lot of money.
- Hello. - Hey, Ginger. How you doing?
Great. You might have something for me. Got me covered?
Thank you. Take care of yourself.
I got some lucky pills for you, Andy.
Who didn't want her? She was one of the best known...
best liked and most respected hustlers in town.
Smart hustlers like her could keep a guy awake...
for two or three days before sending him home broke...
to the little woman and his bank examiners.
Any change?
Oh, I hit a few games on the way back.
But that was all bullshit. She just pocketed the cash.
How you doing tonight? Good.
How are you? Beat.
Ginger had the hustlers' code.
Take one for you.
Thank you.
She knew how to take care of people.
That's what Vegas is all about.
$6,800. Thanks.
It's kickback city. Have a good night.
She took care of the dealers...
pit bosses, floor managers...
but, mostly, the valet parkers...
the guys who could get you anything and take care of anything.
Ginger took care of the parkers...
who took care of the security guards, who took care of the cops...
who let her operate.
I need that stuff tonight.
No problem. You are a doll.
The valet parking job was such a money-maker...
they had to pay off the hotel manager just to get the concession.
But one thing I didn't understand...
was that she had everything under control...
except for her old pimp boyfriend, Lester Diamond.
I got other people in this. I got partners.
I'm looking out for you in this thing, okay?
You'll get yours back, and you'll get it back first. Okay?
- All right. - Where you going?
Where are you? You're in that place.
- I'm here. - No, you're not.
Where are you?
I'm always here for you.
- You are. - I am.
The Ginger I knew wouldn't even look at this creep.
- Good luck. - Yeah.
He was a moocher, a card cheat...
a country club golf hustler, a scumbag...
- chasing dentists for a few bucks. - Careful.
He was always broke. He always had a story.
Somehow, she could never turn him down.
The way Ginger saw it was that he was just an unlucky guy.
Somebody had to take care of him.
BACK HOME
But nobody had to take care of Nicky.
You find any cash in there, we'll whack it up with you.
He took care of himself only too well.
That's why every badge back home wanted to nail him.
I folded these things beautifully. I would appreciate a little respect.
Don't look at me, pal, I gotta live with her.
Even after a vacation, they hassled him at the airport.
Frank Marino was there to meet him. So were the cops.
They wanted to pinch him...
- for a diamond burglary in Antwerp. - Help me fold these.
They were ready to blame him for anything, no matter where.
They were usually right.
Because Nicky enjoyed being a gangster.
And he didn't give a damn who knew it.
There we go. Look at that. Beautiful!
I mean that's what worried me...
'cause it turns out, Nicky was about to be sent to Vegas.
All right, we're clear. There's more.
There's a couple stuck in there.
- I'm telling you, they're out! - Come on.
Don't get so defensive, it could be stuck in your hair.
What's that?
There's no more. Thanks.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on Vegas.
But the bosses didn't send me out to have a good time.
They sent me out to make sure that nobody fucked with Ace.
And nobody interfered with the fucking skim.
- Hey. - Hey, how you doing?
Hey, Sammy.
- Boy, look at this place. - Incredible.
Welcome to Vegas.
Okay, Sammy. Something, huh?
Ginger.
Holy shit. What've you been doing out here?
Honey, come here.
This is Jennifer and Nick. They're dear friends of mine.
- Hi, Jennifer. - A pleasure.
Okay, Sammy.
After we ate, we left Jennifer and Ginger...
and we took a ride to talk.
And then, he hit me with it.
What do you think about me moving out here?
You got a problem with that?
No, of course not.
You mean I have your permission?
Sure, you do. But I just gotta tell you...
it's no joke out here.
You gotta keep a low profile.
It's not like back home. They don't like guys like us.
This sheriff's a real cowboy.
Even coppers aren't afraid to bury people in the desert.
I don't care. I want to get away from back home for a while.
I'm tired of that shit back there.
Look at this place. It's made of money.
You know what the best part is?
Nobody's gonna know what we're doing.
There's nobody here to see us. Everybody's back home.
I got pinched twice for no reason.
I really gotta be careful.
I'm running a licensed place. Everything's legit.
Don't worry about it. I'm not gonna do anything.
I'm especially not gonna involve you in anything.
Ace saw Vegas one way...
Call and tell him I'm coming? Of course.
...but I saw it another.
I saw it as untouched.
They had bookies, pimps, and drug dealers I could shake down.
Who the fuck were they gonna run to?
So I started getting everybody in line.
Best of all, for the first time in my life...
I figured out a way not to lose.
He had a foolproof scheme.
It wasn't very scientific, but it worked.
When he won, he collected.
When he lost, he told the bookies to fuck off.
What were they gonna do? Muscle Nicky? Nicky was the muscle.
- Hey, how you doing? - How you doing?
- You got that thing for me? - What thing?
Nicky, I thought you was laying.
I was laying? No, I'm taking it.
- You sure? - I'm positive.
- I'm a little confused. - You're a little confused?
Maybe if I stick your fucking face through this window...
you'll get unconfused.
- Give me the fucking money. - I'm sorry.
I didn't mean anything by it.
That's why you had it ready. You thought I was laying it.
- My fucking head. - Smarten up.
And now Nicholas Santoro will come up and tell us about our first President.
George Washington was born-
But still, it was nice and quiet for a while.
We presented Nicky and Jennifer all over town...
like regular Ozzie and Harriets.
You got a beautiful swing.
Ace got Little Nicky involved with Little League. It was great.
Turned out that one of the other coaches was a metro intelligence cop.
But it didn't matter. It was all about the kids.
He's gotta realize everything can't be a home run.
That's exactly what I tell him, but that's the kind of kid he is.
And Nicky being Nicky, he made his presence known.
Especially at the casino where he definitely did not work...
people got the message.
Me, that's why the bosses sent me out here.
I was to make sure no other crews robbed the joint.
Like these two fucking balloon heads over here.
They were gonna try to bang us out of $200,000.
Yeah, right, I'm sure.
How are you? What are you doing here?
I'm over here now.
- You're over here? - Yeah, I'm over here with them.
We're waiting on Carmine.
Yeah, we're looking for Carmine.
He was here before. He had a suitcase, and then he left.
Carmine left?
He's gone?
He's not here?
Carmine's out?
I think he went across the street or somewhere else or something.
Well, listen, good luck with the joint.
- Thanks, Eddy. - Lots of luck.
Good luck to you, too.
They forgot to sign their papers.
They don't need those anymore.
Out of respect, guys from other crews got away with a warning.
Everybody else, watch out.
Like these yokels here...
who never heard of Nicky or the bosses back home.
They're the morons who give you the most trouble.
We'd catch them and they'd try to sneak back...
with beards and wigs and fake noses.
You can spot these assholes by watching the way they bet.
Like this guy. He's betting lavender chips...
at $500 each with only one little problem.
He's always guessed right.
If he wasn't so fucking greedy, he'd have been tougher to spot.
But in the end, they're all greedy.
I saw that the dealer was weak, but he wasn't in on it.
He just wasn't protecting his hand.
He was lifting his hole card way too high.
Here's this guy reading the dealer's hole card...
and signaling his buddy at this table.
And that's just what these hustlers look for.
They cruise from casino to casino looking for weak dealers...
the way lions look for weak antelope.
Operator, this is Mr. R.
Get me Armstrong and Friday over to Pit 2 right away.
BJ 19, second base, the beard.
Operator, I need Mr. Happy. Loud.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, dear Jeff
Happy birthday to you
Man down!
Go get medical. We got a cardiac arrest here.
He's fine, folks. Just give us some room, please.
They never know what hit them.
If and when they do find out they got zapped by a cattle prod...
they wish they really did have a heart attack.
Turns out this guy and his fucking pals were knocking this place dead for years.
He's wired. What are you doing?
There it is. That's it.
Cheater's justice. Oh, God!
No!
I wanted everybody to know that things were changed around here.
We had to make an example of these pricks that the party was over.
I'm just curious.
I saw you shuffling your checks with your right hand.
- Can you do that with both hands? - No.
You can't do it with both hands? No, sir.
- Can you do it with your left hand? - I never tried.
- So, you're a righty. - Yeah.
Now you're gonna have to learn with your left hand.
- It's $100,000, $110,000 I think. - Yes, it is.
Okay.
Hi.
That's a lot of money to be counting out in public.
Why don't I take him over to the office and verify it?
A little privacy.
By the way, send over a nice bottle of champagne on ice.
Sure will. Real special.
By the way, I'm Billy Sherbert, casino manager.
Having a good time? Yes.
You want to count the money in privacy.
I have a plane to catch. Can I get my winnings?
Look what they did to my hand, man.
I'm gonna give you a choice:
You can have the money and the hammer, or you can walk out of here.
- What do you want? - I wanna get out of here.
Tell your friends what happens if they fuck around here.
- I'm sorry, I made a bad mistake. - You're fucking right.
If you come back, either one of you, we'll break your fucking heads.
You see that fucking saw? We're gonna use it. We don't fuck around here.
Got it? Yes.
- Get out of here. - Thank you.
Throw him out in the alley. Tell the cops he got hit by a car.
Within no time, everything was set in place.
We got rid of the freelance scamsters, the pro was way up...
the gods were happy, or as happy as the gods can ever be.
And I decided to complicate my life.
For a guy who likes sure things...
I was about to bet the rest of my life on a real long shot.
We're not getting any younger.
Don't you think it's time?
Aren't you getting tired of all this shit? Banging around, hustling around?
- Are you trying to handicap me? - I'm gonna do you one better.
I'm trying to marry you.
You wanna marry me?
I'm serious.
I wanna settle down. I want a family.
You got the wrong girl, Sam.
I'd be a good father, you'd be a good mother.
You don't know me.
You've known me two, three months. What do you know?
I'm 43 years old. I don't want to wait.
I know you well enough to know that I really love you very much.
I can't think of anybody better to be with.
I don't feel like waiting anymore.
You know a lot of happily married people? 'Cause I don't.
I know all that.
I care about you.
But I just don't have those kind of feelings for you.
I'm sorry. I'm not in love with you.
All right. Understand?
I'm sorry.
No...
That can grow.
As long as there's a mutual respect, that kind of thing can grow.
I'm realistic. I can accept that.
What is love anyway?
It's a mutual respect. It's a devotion.
It's a caring from one person to another.
And if we could set up some kind of foundation...
based on that mutual respect...
I feel that eventually you would care enough about me...
that I could live with that.
If it doesn't work out...
if it doesn't play out, then what happens to me?
I'm doing well now. I'm gonna do even better.
So whatever happens...
if it doesn't work out between us...
I'll make sure you're okay for the rest of your life.
If there are kids, especially...
I'll take care of you better than you'd imagine.
What are you pitching me? Just what I said.
You'll be set up for the rest of your life.
That I can promise you.
Want to take a chance?
When I married Ginger, I knew all the stories...
but I didn't give a fuck. I'm Sam Rothstein, I said.
I can change her.
It was typical Ace.
He invited the biggest people in town. He knew they'd show.
He knew they all wanted something from him.
With Ace, nobody ever got a free ride. Even Ginger.
With her, he still covered his bets.
They had to have the baby first, before they could get married.
He even made us watch Amy for a few days...
when they went on their honeymoon.
I didn't mind, we loved the kid.
Can you feel my eyes on you?
Can you feel me look into your heart?
Can you feel me in the pit of your stomach?
Can you feel me in you?
In your heart?
Don't make me come there.
Answer me.
I love you.
Baby, do you know that I love you, too?
No, Lester. Do you know that?
Yes.
This is the best thing I can do for my life right now.
That's right.
So it's going to be okay.
Promise?
I wish you all the luck in the world.
You do? Yeah, I do.
It's the best thing you can do right now.
I mean this.
You have real security.
Sweetheart, you're gonna be situated just right in Vegas.
Come on. This is great for us.
I'm always gonna be here for you. I ain't going no place.
I'm looking at you right now.
I'm seeing you for the very first time, right this minute.
I'm saying I can feel my heart click.
I see you 14 years old.
I see you the first second I ever saw you.
I see you, long-legged little colt...
stupid braces on your teeth.
Okay, then.
Every time I see you, that's what I see.
Talk to you later. Bye.
- You all right? - Yeah.
Why are you crying?
I'm not crying.
- Maybe you shouldn't drink so much. - I'm okay.
You just have to understand.
I've been with Lester since I was a kid.
I just wanted to say goodbye.
I just...
I think I have a right to do that.
Okay?
It's all right.
That part of your life is over with.
Right? Yeah.
You're with me now.
- Yeah. - Right?
You're sure? Yeah.
Want to go? Let's go back in. Okay.
It's great.
It's all my stuff. Oh, my God.
You brought all my stuff!
I can't...
Try it on. It's yours.
You're kidding.
My God.
- What is it? - It's chinchilla.
It's so soft.
Nice, isn't it?
No one's ever been so nice to me.
Oh, my God!
Do you think it's too much if I wear these all on the same day?
You can do whatever you want.
Do I keep my promises or do I keep my promises?
You're so wonderful. The jewelry's not so bad either.
We shouldn't keep this in the house. We gotta put it in the bank.
Come on. Can I keep this one in the house?
Pay attention to me.
What I'm gonna tell you is very important.
All this stuff doesn't mean anything.
Money, this, doesn't mean anything without trust.
I have to be able to trust you with my life.
With over $1 million in cash and jewels tucked in a bank in Vegas...
only for Ginger, she was secure and happy.
She loved that shit.
But a guy in my line of work has to have a lot of payoff cash around.
Crooked cops and kidnappers, they don't take checks.
Need any help with that, Mr. Collins?
So I put $2 million cash in a Los Angeles bank...
under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Collins.
This was strictly my shakedown and kidnapping money.
Since I'd be in jail or locked in a closet when I needed the money most...
I gave Ginger the only key to the cash that could get me back alive.
This is just a signature card.
Once she signs, she'll be the only person...
to have total access to the box, no one else, including myself?
That's right. That's the way you wanted it.
Sam, let me ask you a question.
You must really trust your wife.
Sure I do. Why?
It's good. It's just unusual.
To tell you the truth, so many of my clients don't.
With Ginger and the money in place, I felt covered.
To play it safe, I switched job titles again...
and made myself Food and Beverage Director.
This way nobody would bother me about a license.
Vegas was like a dream for me.
Trouble was Nicky was dreaming of his own kind of Vegas.
I put money out on the street charging three points a week.
Juice to the dealers.
- Don't make us look for you. - You won't have to look for me.
I appreciate it. Thanks, Nicky.
They were degenerate gamblers, coke freaks.
In no time, I had half the dealers in the Tangiers in my pocket.
Then, the next thing I did, I started busting out high-stakes poker players.
It was so obvious.
All of Nicky's half-assed mechanics, they were signal-happy.
I'm gonna open for $500.
Signaling back and forth.
Nicky thought nobody was watching him. But he was wrong.
I didn't want any of those agents near my place.
- Four aces. - I can't believe this.
If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck.
I wished Nicky and his whole crew would just get lost.
What am I gonna do? Go back home and start a war?
Nicky's a made guy and I'm not. I can't do that.
Gaming agents are all over the place.
I'm not allowed to get lucky in this place?
You've been lucky all week. They're looking to nail you.
Ace was so worried about his casino...
he forgot what we were doing out here in the first place.
A million times, I wanted to yell in his fucking ear.
"This is Las Vegas.
"We're supposed to be out here robbing, you dumb fucking hebe. "
I don't give a shit who he's connected to.
Tell him to take his feet off the table.
Does he think this is a goddamn sawdust joint?
Sir, would you mind taking your feet off the table...
and put your shoes on, please?
Yeah, I would mind. I'm having a bad night.
Fucking asshole won't budge.
Call security.
How are you?
Good. How are you?
Do me a favor. Want to take your feet off the table and put your shoes on?
Fuck you.
I want you to exit this guy off the premises, off his feet...
and use his head to open the fucking door.
Sir, you're gonna have to leave. You mind coming with us outside?
Bullshit. I ain't going anywhere with you.
Bullshit. You're out of here. Fuck you!
You know who you're fucking with? Do you?
You fucking faggot! Do you know who you're fucking with?
Leave me alone!
Come on! You gotta be kidding me!
Sure enough, an hour later, I get the call.
Ace, what happened over there? Did you know that guy was with me?
I didn't know that. You know what he did?
I walked over to him politely, and he tells me to fuck myself.
Then he called me a faggot. What?
I threw that cocksucker out. Come here.
You called my friend a faggot? Told him to go fuck himself?
Is that what you did? Tell him to go fuck himself?
You fucking hick, you!
You go over there. You apologize.
You better hope he lets you back in.
If you get out of line again, I'll smash your head so hard...
you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on. Fucking hick.
Listen, this guy obviously doesn't know who he was talking to.
He doesn't know that we're dear friends.
He's already very sorry.
But if you could do me a favor and let him back in...
I swear he'll never get out of line again.
If he does it again, he's out for good.
I'll never let him in the place again.
I'm sorry about this.
All right, Ace? Thanks, pal.
You took your boots off? You put your feet on the table?
You shit-kicking, stinky, horse-manure-smelling motherfucker, you!
You fuck me up over there, I'll stick you in a hole in the desert.
Go over and apologize. Nicky, I'm sorry.
Ace could be a very touchy guy.
Especially when he got bigger in town.
Like when he hired Jonathan and David away from the Palace...
by building them a new stage and giving them a silver Rolls-Royce.
But, I tell you, he knew how to bring in the crowds.
He knew all the fucking angles.
He brought the whole Femme Fatale show from Paris...
but he forgot how lazy them European dancing broads can get.
He had to weigh them once a week so they wouldn't blow up like balloons.
You're still eight pounds over.
- What's the reason for this? - Mr. Rothstein, sir-
Never mind the "sir. " Why is she eight pounds over?
I'm trying to use respect.
Mr. Rothstein is good enough for you.
Well, sometimes when you put that pressure point on them-
All you do is give me answers. Just give me the right answer.
I don't know why. She's frightened if she doesn't lose weight she'll get fired.
That's right, she will get fired. Send her back to Paris-
- It's been our policy- - Stop everything.
She's an institution. That's the problem. She's lazy.