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| Above, looking south on the Las Vegas Strip. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
I've been catching up on 1990s movies in all genres.
The latest was the 1995 Martin Scorsese movie, Casino. It stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone and James Woods.
It is based on real-life events that led to the downfall of the Mafia's control of Las Vegas casinos.
The movie's synopsis:
In early-1970s Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), his ex-hustler wife Ginger (Sharon Stone), her con-artist ex Lester Diamond (James Woods) and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger. Martin Scorsese directs this adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi's book.
The real-life hotel the Tangiers Casino was based on was the Stardust Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. It is quite entertaining. The senator in the movie (played by Dick Smothers) was based on Sen. Harry Reid (so I've been told).
My grade on the movie: A-.
The movie got me thinking: Was Las Vegas better when it was run by the Mafia?
Back in 1973, two friends and I spent spring break in Las Vegas and I came home with half of what I brought with me. I did well at the Hacienda Hotel's roulette tables. Food was cheap. I have the feeling that others do that Las Vegas was a better deal when it was run by the mob than with the greedy corporations who run it now.
Here's some snippets on this from an article in the Las Vegas Sun:
Things were better when the Mob ran this town. We hear this often enough to make it almost a cliché, and with last week’s opening of the Mob Museum, er, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, it seems like an argument worth examining.
Also, think of the extreme irony of claiming there was less crime when the Mob ran the town. “They were out doing burglaries!” Green quipped, referring to the “Hole in the Wall Gang.”
As I learned at the museum, which opened Valentine’s Day on Stewart Avenue downtown, the skim at the Stardust was $7 million per year; at the Flamingo, it was $36 million from 1960 to 1967; at the Tropicana it was $150,000 per month. That money was stolen from the community and sent to criminal gangs back East.
(Given the events of the past few years, I can appreciate that, for many people, banks vs. organized crime is a close call.)
As Sloan notes, cocktail waitresses, bartenders and maître d’s made great money in Mob days, in part because the IRS wasn’t as rigorous about collecting taxes on tips. The casinos didn’t have to report when someone won a big jackpot, and let’s remember that there was no competition from Atlantic City or anywhere else.
As for the food? If you look hard, you can still find a $7 prime rib dinner, though I’m not sure why you would. Our food these days is more expensive, but it’s also far better.
From the Texarkana Gazette:
But over the years, the old guys died off and successful prosecutions ran off much of the hidden ownership of the gambling clubs.
And that's too bad-at least in my opinion. The mob knew how to run a casino.
They expected the casino to make money and didn't care if the rest of the place showed a loss. Give enough play at the tables and everything was free. But even the low-rollers who stuck to the nickel slots got a cheap room and cheaper meals. Drinks were free at the tables and machines and didn't cost much more at the bars.
Today, the odds of winning are worsening. One now has to bet more to win less.
From the Daily Mail (U.K.):
Gamblers are wagering more than ever in Las Vegas as casinos increase odds and reduce payouts in some of the most popular games.
Blackjack losses on the Strip were nearly $1 billion last year, according to official figures - the second highest on record after 2007.
The increase comes as casino bosses attempt to draw in 'higher value customers' while players with less cash to wager are priced out.
Roulette has also had odds increased in many places. The number of triple-zero tables - which add another slot to the wheel and increase the odds of hitting a chosen number - has increased.
Minimum bets are also rising, meaning players must risk more cash to play games.
The changes, reported in an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, also come as the overall price of a vacation to Las Vegas increases, with costs at hotels and restaurants also on the rise.
These days, I rarely go to Las Vegas. When I do, I don't gamble as I used to. I rarely go gambling at the local Red Rock Navajo Casino in Gallup. I just go there for their prime rib special on Fridays.
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