Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.

Nicky Santoro: I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning I'll get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see and, uh... if you don't have my money for me, I'll... crack your fuckin' head wide-open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your fuckin' head open again. 'Cause I'm fuckin' stupid. I don't give a fuck about jail. That's my business. That's what I do.
[first lines]
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] 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.
[Ace's car explodes]
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] 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. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he'll keep comin' back and back until one of you is dead.
Ace Rothstein: [to Don] Listen to me very carefully. There are three ways of doing things around here: the right way, the wrong way, and the way that *I* do it. You understand?
Nicky Santoro: So in other words - I'm fucked.
Ace Rothstein: In so many words, yes.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. 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.
[Describing Kansas City family underboss Piscano]
Nicky Santoro: This guy could fuck up a cup of coffee.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.
Nicky Santoro: Where the fuck do you get off talking to people about me behind my back, going over my head?
Ace Rothstein: What people?
Nicky Santoro: What people, d'ja think I wasn't gonna find out?
Ace Rothstein: I don't even know what you're talking about Nick...
Nicky Santoro: No? You said I'm bringing heat on YOU? I gotta listen to people because of your fuckin shit? You're orderin me out? You better get your own fuckin army pal!
Ace Rothstein: I didn't do anything, I mean, I didn't order you or anybody. I only told Andy Stone that you had a lot of heat on you and that was a problem.
Nicky Santoro: You want me to get out of my own fuckin town?
Ace Rothstein: Yeah I said l-let the bullshit blow over for a while, so I can run the casino. Anything goes wrong with the casino it's my ass, it's not yours, it's my ass!
Nicky Santoro: Oh I don't know whether you know this or not, but you only have your fuckin casino because I made that possible. I'm what counts out here, not your fuckin country clubs or your fuckin TV shows! And what the fuck are you doing on TV anyhow? You know I get calls from back home every fuckin day, they think you went bat shit!
Ace Rothstein: I'm only on TV because I got to be able to hang around the casino. You understand that, you know that, come on.
Nicky Santoro: Your fuckin ass! You coulda had the food and beverage job without going on television. You wanted to go on TV.
Ace Rothstein: Yeah I did want to go on TV. That way I have a forum, I can fight back. I'm known. People see me. They know they can't fuck around with me like they could if I was an unknown, that's right, yeah!
Nicky Santoro: You're making a big fuckin spectacle of yourself!
Ace Rothstein: Me? I wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for you. You brought down so much fuckin heat on me, I mean every time I meet somebody the big question is "do I know you?"
Nicky Santoro: Oh sure now you wanna bring your fuckin license on me, is that it?
Ace Rothstein: No, Nicky, when you asked me if you could come out here, what did I tell you? I mean you asked me and I know you were gonna come out no matter what I said, but what did I tell you? Do you remember what I told you? Do you remember what I told you?
Nicky Santoro: Back- Back up, back up a fuckin' minute here. One minute. I asked you? When the fuck did I ever ask you if I could come out here? Get this through your head, you...
Ace Rothstein: You never...
Nicky Santoro: Get this through your head you Jew motherfucker, you. You only exist out here because of me. That's the only reason. Without me, you, personally, every fuckin' wise guy skell around'll take a piece of your fuckin' Jew ass. Then where you gonna go? You're fuckin' warned. Don't ever go over my fuckin' head again. You motherfucker, you.
[Last lines]
Ace Rothstein: [narrating] The town will never be the same. After the Tangiers, the big corporations took it all over. Today it looks like Disneyland. And while the kids play cardboard pirates, Mommy and Daddy drop the house payments and Junior's college money on the poker slots. In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it's like checkin' into an airport. And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it's all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number. After the Teamsters got knocked out of the box, the corporations tore down practically every one of the old casinos. And where did the money come from to rebuild the pyramids? Junk bonds. But in the end, I wound up right back where I started. I could still pick winners, and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home. And why mess up a good thing?
Ace Rothstein: I'm just curious. I saw you shuffling your checks with your right hand. Can you do that with both hands?
Signaller: No.
Ace Rothstein: Can't do it with both hands?
Signaller: No, sir.
Ace Rothstein: Can you do it with your left hand?
Signaller: Well, I... I never tried.
Ace Rothstein: So you're a righty?
Signaller: Yeah.
[one of the guards repeatedly bangs the signaller's right hand with a hammer]
Ace Rothstein: Now you're gonna have to learn with your left hand.
Nicky Santoro: Listen to me Anthony. I got your head in a fuckin' vise. I'll squash your head like a fuckin' grapefruit if you don't give me a name. Don't make me have to do this, please. Don't make me be a bad guy, come on.
Tony Dogs: Fuck you.
Nicky Santoro: This motherfucker, you believe this? Two fucking days and nights! Fuck me? *Fuck me?* You motherfucker!
[turning the crank]
Nicky Santoro: Fuck my mother? That's what you fucking tell me? You motherfucker you!
Nicky Santoro: And we know what you do, don't we Charlie? You fuck people out of money and get away with it.
Charlie Clark: You can't talk to me like that...
Nicky Santoro: Hey, you fat Irish prick! You put my fucking money to sleep. You go get my fucking money or I'll put your fucking brain to sleep.
Nicky Santoro: [after beating Joe until he cries] You hear a little girl, Frankie? Is that a little girl, Ace? Is that a little fuckin' girl? What happened to the fuckin' tough guy who told my friend to stick it up his fuckin' ass?
Remo Gaggi: The little guy. He wouldn't be fucking the Jew's wife, would he?
Ace Rothstein: Back home, they would have put me in jail for what I'm doing. Here, they're giving me awards.
Vinny Forlano: He won't talk. Stone is a good kid. Stand-up guy, just like his old man. That's the way I see it.
Vincent Borelli: I agree. He's solid. A fuckin' Marine.
Americo Capelli: He's okay. He always was. Remo, what do you think?
Remo Gaggi: Look... why take a chance? At least, that's the way I feel about it.
Ace Rothstein: Now you need approval from him to go home?
Ginger: So what? So who fucking blew you in the parking lot before you came in, huh?
Ace Rothstein: You make me sick, you fuck. Once a fuckin' hooker, always a hooker.
Ginger: Oh, fuck you! Fuck you, Sam Rothstein! *Fuck you*!
Flirting Executive: Hello Mrs. Rothstein, how are you?
[kisses her hand]
Flirting Executive: You're one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen, you're a lucky man Mr. Rothstein.
Ace Rothstein: [hesitant] Thank you, thanks for that compliment.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] He was a young kid from the casino. Nice kid, bright boy. What balls on this fuckin' kid. The next day I fired him.
Nicky Santoro: [to Ace] I lost control? Look at you, you're fucking walking around like John Barrymore! A fucking pink robe and a fucking cigarette holder? I lost control?
[repeated line]
Ace Rothstein: I can't do that.
Nicky Santoro: Fuckin' Jews stick together, don't they?
Frank Marino: They're havin' a good time.
Nicky Santoro: Yeah? So are we.
[From trailer]
Ace Rothstein: I tried to do everything I could for you, even though I knew, deep down inside, you would bury me.
Nicky Santoro: I bury you? You buried yourself.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] Nicky's methods of betting weren't scientific, but they worked. When he won, he collected. When he lost, he told the bookies to go fuck themselves. I mean, what were they going to do, muscle Nicky? Nicky was the muscle.
Ace Rothstein: Are you out of your fucking mind? You tie up our kid and lock the fucking door? Are you out of your mind? That's our child. Are you out of your fucking mind?
Ginger: It was just for a little while, Sam. The baby-sitter wasn't there.
Ace Rothstein: I ought to fucking have you committed. You fucking do that again, I'll...
Ginger: I was just gonna be out for a little while. She was asleep. I was gonna be right back before she even woke up.
Ace Rothstein: Listen. Listen, you fucking cunt. Listen to me.
Ginger: Fuck you. I was gonna be back before she woke up.
Ace Rothstein: Listen to me. Listen carefully. You ever touch her again, you ever do anything like that again, I'll fucking kill ya, pure and simple. You hear me? Pure and fuckin' simple.
Ginger: Why don't you just let me go, Sam?
Ace Rothstein: I'll fucking kill you. You fucking whore.
Ginger: I'll sign anything you want me to sign. I just want the key to my jewelry, and I want you to let me go.
Ace Rothstein: You want your jewelry?
Ginger: I want you to let me go.
Ace Rothstein: And let you disgrace me, you fucking pig? Let you disgrace me? Get up and be a mother. Get in the car and go to the house right now. Get up and get in the... get... get up. Get up!
Ginger: [Being forced toward the door] I wouldn't do that if I were you. I wouldn't do that...
Ace Rothstein: Get the fuck... are you threatening me? I'll fucking kill you in this place. Get up and go home.
Ginger: I'm going! I'm going!
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] The bombing was never authorized, but I suspect I know who lit the fuse. And so did the powers that be.
[a plane just landed on the golf course]
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] The Feds were watching Nicky play golf for so long that they ran out of gas. Just what I needed, right in front of the control board.
Nicky Santoro: A hundred dollars to whoever hits the plane.
Ace Rothstein: Four reels, sevens across on three $15,000 jackpots. Do you have any idea what the odds are?
Don Ward: Shoot, it's gotta be in the millions, maybe more.
Ace Rothstein: Three fuckin' jackpots in 20 minutes? Why didn't you pull the machines? Why didn't you call me?
Don Ward: Well, it happened so quick, 3 guys won; I didn't have a chance...
Ace Rothstein: [interrupts] You didn't see the scam? You didn't see what was going on?
Don Ward: Well, there's no way to determine that...
Ace Rothstein: Yes there is! An infallible way, they won!
Don Ward: Well, it's a casino! People gotta win sometimes.
Ace Rothstein: [grows more irritated] Ward, you're pissing me off. Now you're insulting my intelligence; what you think I am, a fuckin' idiot? You know goddamn well that someone had to get into those machines and set those fuckin' reels. The probability of one four-reel machine is a million and a half to one; the probability of three machines in a row; it's in the billions! It cannot happen, would not happen, you fuckin' momo! What's the matter with you? Didn't you see you were being set up on the second win?
Don Ward: I really think...
Ace Rothstein: [interrupts] Wait! You didn't see that you were being set up on the second win?
Don Ward: I really think you're overreacting...
Ace Rothstein: Listen, you fuckin' yokel, I've had it with you. I've been carrying your ass in this place ever since I got here. Get your ass and get your things and get out of here.
Don Ward: You're firing me?
Ace Rothstein: I'm firing you. No, I'm not firing, I'm firing you, ya...
Don Ward: You might regret this, Mr. Rothstein.
Ace Rothstein: I'll regret it even more if I keep you on.
Don Ward: This is not the way to treat people.
Ace Rothstein: Listen, if you didn't know you were being scammed you're too fuckin' dumb to keep this job, if you did know, you were in on it. Either way, YOU'RE OUT! Get out. Go on, let's go.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] Whoever it was, they put the dynamite under the passenger's side. But what they didn't know, what nobody outside the factory knew, was that that model car was made with a metal plate under the driver's seat. It's the only thing that saved my life.
Nicky Santoro: Ace don't... listen, don't... don't make a scene, all right?
Ace Rothstein: I want to just talk. I want to talk to that Irish bitch.
Nicky Santoro: She didn't know who to turn to. She... she didn't know where to turn. She was tryin' to save your marriage.
Ace Rothstein: Yeah? Nicky, I want to talk to that fuckin' bitch.
Nicky Santoro: Hey, be fuckin' nice. Calm. Be nice. Don't fuck up in here,
Ginger: [doing lines next to Amy] You shouldn't do this.
Ace Rothstein: This is the end result of all the bright lights, and the comp trips, and 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*.
Ace Rothstein: [narrating over Ginger and Nicky in bed] And this... this is how she backed him off.
Ginger: [rear-ending Sam's car repeatedly] You come down here right now! Get down here and talk to me, goddamn it! Don't fucking ignore me, you motherfucker! I mean it! You come down here right now! Get down here and talk to me, goddamn it! Fuck you! Goddamn you, come out here! I'm gonna drive your fucking car through the living room! You fucking coward! You motherfucker, you! Come out here and talk to me, you fucker!
Ace Rothstein: Will you stop it? You're drunk, you're on drugs.
Ginger: I am not!
Ace Rothstein: You're gonna be sorry if you don't stop it! The whole neighborhood...
Ginger: Don't you threaten me! Don't you threaten me! You are not threatening me anymore! You fuck! You fuck! I'm sick of you! I AM fucking Nicky Santoro! I am! He's my new sponsor! How about that, you fuckhead?
[the police pull up]
Ginger: What are you looking at? Fuck off!
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] A lot of holes in the desert, and a lot of problems are buried in those holes. But you gotta do it right. I mean, you gotta have the hole already dug before you show up with a package in the trunk. Otherwise, you're talking about a half-hour to forty-five minutes worth of digging. And who knows who's gonna come along in that time? Pretty soon, you gotta dig a few more holes. You could be there all fuckin' night.
Pat Webb: Are we certain that you want the gamin' control board eyeballing your record and your gangster pals like Nicky Santoro?
Ace Rothstein: I think you're way out of line talking to me like that. What your saying is libelous, and you're in no position to challenge my expertise.
Nicky Santoro: Think he got the point?
Ace Rothstein: What are you doing? He's a square guy, for christ's sakes. You can't treat him like that. He's gonna run to the FBI.
Nicky Santoro: Fuck the FBI! That prick's been dodging me for three weeks. And what is it with you? All of a sudden, you're trying to tell me what to do all the time.
Ace Rothstein: I'm not trying to tell you what to do. But you were way out of line, Nick. What're you doing? Where's your head?
Nicky Santoro: Where's my head? Where's your fucking balls? Huh? You know I'm trying to put something really big together out here. You know what I'm talking about, huh? You know! If you're acting like this now, how can I depend on you? There's a lot of things going to change out here. And if you wanna be there with me, Sammy, you're going to have to go my fucking way.
Ace Rothstein: Listen, Nick, you got to understand my situation. I'm responsible for thousands of people. I got a hundred million a year going through the place. It's all over, I'm going to tell you, it's all over, if I don't get that license. And believe me, if it goes bad for me, it's gonna go bad for a lot of people, you understand?
Nicky Santoro: Yeah, forget about your fucking license. I plant my own flag out here, you ain't gonna need a fucking license.
[pause]
Nicky Santoro: You know, I don't know what it is, Sammy, but the more I talk to you, the more I feel like you just don't want to go along with me, is that it? You should say so.
Ace Rothstein: No, I don't want to come along with you. I'll be honest with you.
Nicky Santoro: Just say so- All right, fine.
Ace Rothstein: I don't want to be involved in anything you're talking about, okay? I just want to run a square joint. That's it. I just want my license. I want everything nice and quiet. That's it.
Nicky Santoro: You mean, quiet like this?
[holds up a magazine]
Nicky Santoro: "I'm the boss." That's quiet?
Ace Rothstein: That's all taken out of context. I have no control over that. Ronnie and Billy were right there. They'll tell you exactly what happened.
Nicky Santoro: Well, back home they don't know about fucking control. That looks bad.
Ace Rothstein: Looks bad? I'm going to tell you what looks bad. Every time you're on television, I get mentioned. That looks bad. That looks bad!
Nicky Santoro: What the fuck happened to you? Will you tell me?
Ace Rothstein: What happened to me? What happened to you? You lost your control.
Nicky Santoro: I lost control? Look at you! You're fucking walking around like John Barrymore! A fucking pink robe and a fucking cigarette holder? I lost control? You know, I didn't want to bring this up, but you have treating a lot of people with a lot of disrespect. Even your own wife.
Ace Rothstein: My wife?
Nicky Santoro: Yeah.
Ace Rothstein: Now, what does she have to do with all this?
Nicky Santoro: Well, she comes to see me. She was upset about a lot of things, especially that whole fuckin' Diamond - that Lester Diamond incident.
Ace Rothstein: All of a sudden, you're the shoulder to cry on? Did you at least tell her about your little role in that whole situation?
Nicky Santoro: No, I didn't. What good would that do? That's not the fucking point. The point is that she's upset. She's - and you got a fucking problem.
Ace Rothstein: Listen, I would appreciate it if you'd stay out of my personal life, okay? You wouldn't like it if I did it to you.
Ace Rothstein: You fucking mo-mo, what's the matter with you?
Ace Rothstein: From now on, I want you to put an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin.
Ace Rothstein: ...An equal amount of blueberries in each muffin.
Baker: Do you know how long that's going to take?
Ace Rothstein: I don't care how long it takes. Put an equal amount in each muffin.
[about to have sex in a car behind his restaurant]
Nicky Santoro: I fly stuff in fresh every day. I get bread from back home, I get fish from California, and you can always tell a great kitchen like ours 'cause of the milk-fed veal. That's the secret. See milk-fed veal is pure white. Out here, they got that pink veal. Slide over, honey. Now pink veal, you can pound that shit for two days, and it'll never ever get tender, you know what I mean?
Ginger: Take care Steve, take chances and drive fast.
Nicky Santoro: Peek-a-boo, you fucks, you!
Nicky Santoro: That black book's a joke. It's only got two names in it for the whole country. And one of them's still Al Capone.
Ace Rothstein: [talking about Don] The guy is history as far as I'm concerned. History.
Phillip Green: You can't just fire him. Webb's his brother-in-law. He's County Commissioner.
Ace Rothstein: So what? Everybody out here with cowboy boots is a fuckin' county commissioner or related to a county commissioner. I'm fuckin' sick of it.
Nicky Santoro: Fuckin' bosses. I mean, they're smokin' their Di Nobilis and they're eatin' trippa and fuckin' suffritt', you know, fried pigs guts? While, if I wanna talk private, I gotta go to a fuckin' bus stop.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] They had enough of Nicky. They had enough. I mean, how much more were they gonna take? So, they made an example of him and his brother: they buried them while they were still breathing.
Remo Gaggi: Frankie, they found a guy's head in the desert, did you know about that?
Frank Marino: Yea I heard, yea
Remo Gaggi: Everybody's talkin about it, makin a big deal about it, it's in all the papers.
Frank Marino: Whadaya gonna do?
Frank Marino, Remo Gaggi: And I mean, that's no good. Ya got to tell them to take care uh things a little better.
Frank Marino: I'll tell 'em, Remo
Ace Rothstein: In the 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.
[after Ace's outburst in the courtroom]
Remo Gaggi: What's he doing? He knows those guys he yelled at are friends of ours. What's the matter with him? Making all this mess!
Nicky Santoro: If a guy fucking tripped over a banana peel, they'd bring me in for it.
High Roller: Ginger, honey, this is for you, love. Thanks for your time.
[tries to give her a small handful of chips]
Ginger: Come on.
High Roller: What's the matter?
Ginger: What do you mean "what's the matter"? I made a lot of money for you. I want my cut.
High Roller: What money? I've seen you stealing from me.
Ginger: "What money"? Look at the stack of chips! Don't give me that shit! I want my cut!
High Roller: I've been watching you all night.
Ginger: Don't give me that shit! I want my money!
High Roller: That bag's full of fucking chips!
Ginger: What do you mean "stole"? I didn't steal anything from you!
High Roller: Get lost, Ginger. Get lost!
Ginger: Get lost?
High Roller: Yes!
High Roller: Get lost?
Ginger: Yes!
Ginger: Well, how about that?
[throws his chips at him]
[Blue has been shot]
Cop 1: Jesus Christ! What gun? He's got a fucking hero sandwich here.
Cop 2: What do you want? It's pitch black. It's tinfoil. It looked like a gun!
Cop 1: You moron! I'll be doing paperwork for two months because of you and this piece of shit, you fuckin' jerk-off.
Ginger: Okay, I didn't have lunch with Jennifer.
Ace Rothstein: Who were you with?
Ginger: I was with someone.
Ace Rothstein: I know you were with someone, who were you with?
[pause]
Ace Rothstein: I just hope it's not someone who I think it might be. I just hope it's not them.
Nicky Santoro: [about beating Tony Dogs to get information out of him] You better hope he gives me a fuckin' name soon, or I'm gonna give him yours, Frank.
Frank Marino: Yeah, thanks a lot.
Nicky Santoro: I know you woulda ratted by now.
[about halfway through the film; Nicky has just calmed Ginger down after Lester was beat up by her husband's thugs]
Nicky Santoro: [about her drinking] And take it easy with this shit, will you? I mean, this can only make matters worse. You're a beautiful girl. You don't want to ruin your looks. I've seen a lot of girls get shot to hell from this stuff.
Frank Marino: [Narrating] What could I say? If I had given them the wrong answer, I mean, Nicky, Ginger, Ace - all of them could have wind up getting killed. Because there's one thing you gotta know about these old timers, they don't like any fucking around with the other guy's wives. It's bad for business. So I lied. And even though I knew that by lying to Gaggi, I could have wound up getting killed myself.
Ace Rothstein: For Nicky, Las Vegas was the fucking wild west.
[Yelling to Rothstein after being beaten up by his men]
Lester Diamond: Couldn't do it yourself, ya chickenshit cocksucker?
Nicky Santoro: We're supposed to be robbin' this place, you dumb fuckin' Hebe.
Ace Rothstein: Back home, they would have put me in jail for what I'm doing. But out here, they're givin' me awards.
[Selling sandwiches to some cops after spitting in them]
Dominick Santoro: Yeah, yeah, enjoy. Have a good time.
Dominick Santoro: [under his breath] Choke on it, motherfucker...
Ace Rothstein: You guys have to be kidding, adjourned? What do you mean adjoured? Mr. Chairman, Senator. You promised me a hearing, you won't allow me a hearing? You didn't even look at the FBI reports. When you were my guest, Mr. Chairman, Senator, at the Tangiers hotel, did you not promise me that I would have a fair hearing?
Senator: I was never... I was never your guest at the Tangiers...
Ace Rothstein: You were never my guest?
Senator: ...that's right.
Ace Rothstein: I never comped you? I don't comp you at least 2 or 3 times a month? At the Tangiers?
Senator: I... I'd like to answer that at this time, Mr. Rothstein is being very typical to this point. He's lying. The only time I was at the Tangiers was when I had dinner with Barney Greenstein.
Ace Rothstein: Was I at that dinner? Tell me, was I at that dinner?
Senator: You were wandering.
Ace Rothstein: Was I at that dinner? Was I?
Senator: You were wandering around. You were in the... you were in the building.
Ace Rothstein: I was in the building? You know damn well I was at that dinner, and you swore to me I would have a fair hearing. Did you not? Did you not? Well, tell me I was at least at the dinner. Allow me that much. Give me that much at least!
Senator: Yes, you were.
Ace Rothstein: Yeah. Thanks for not calling me a liar. You son of a bitch.
Lester Diamond: I'm looking at you right now. I'm seeing you for the very first time right this minute. I'm seeing you and I can feel my heart click. I see you fourteen years old. I see the first second i ever saw you. I see you long-legged little colt, stupid braces on your teeth. Every time I ever see you, that's what I see.
Ace Rothstein: [voice over after having cowboy thrown out] Sure enough, an hour later, I get the call.
Nicky Santoro: [on payphone] Ace, what happened over there? I mean, did you know that guy you threw out was with me?
[in background the cowboy stands there with some other guys]
Ace Rothstein: [on casino phone] No, I didn't know that. But you know what he did? He insulted Billy. And then I walked over to him politely and he tells me to go fuck myself. Then he called me a faggot.
Nicky Santoro: [in a you don't say type of voice] What?
Ace Rothstein: So what do you think I do? I threw that cocksucker out.
Nicky Santoro: What? Hold on a second.
[to cowboy]
Nicky Santoro: Hey, come here.
Cowboy: [does]
Nicky Santoro: [losing it] You called my friend a faggot? You tell him to go fuck himself?
Cowboy: Nicky, I didn't
Nicky Santoro: Is that what you did?
Cowboy: [stuttering] I did. I didn't
Nicky Santoro: [angry] Tell him to go fuck himself? You fucking hick! Fucking.
[Nicky hits cowboy with phone. He falls down]
Nicky Santoro: you big fucking hick, you. Come here. Come here.
[to guys]
Nicky Santoro: Get him up. Come here.
Cowboy: [does all banged up]
Nicky Santoro: You go over there right now and you apologize. You better hope he lets you back in. If you ever get out of line over there again, I'll smash your fucking head so hard you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on. You hear me? Fucking hick.
Nicky Santoro: [into phone] Ace, listen to me. this guy obviously doesn't know who he was talking to, you understand? He doesn't know that, uh, we're dear friends. I mean, he's already very sorry. But, uh, if you could do me a favor to let him back in, I swear to you he'll never get out of line again. I promise you that.
Ace Rothstein: If he does it again, he's out for good. I don't care what it is, Nick, I'm gonna ha- I'll - I'll never let him in the place again.
Nicky Santoro: I'm sorry about this. Really. All right, Ace?
Ace Rothstein: Okay.
Nicky Santoro: Thanks, pal.
[hangs up and turns to cowboy for round two of his scolding]
Nicky Santoro: [to cowboy] 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 fucking desert! You understand?
[slaps cowboy]
Nicky Santoro: Go over there and apologize.
[kicks the cowboy]
Nicky Santoro: Go! Get the fuck over there!
Nicky Santoro: I've been trying to reach you. You're tougher to get than the president.
Charlie Clark: Well, I've been busy.
Nicky Santoro: Yeah, the least you could do is return my phone calls, though.
Pat Webb: We may have to kick a kike's ass outta town.
[Ace questions Ginger on how much money she and Lester spent when they tried to kidnap Amy]
Ginger: Would you knock it off, Sam?
Ace Rothstein: I'm just trying to figure it out.
Ginger: Nothing to figure out. I'm home, we're working it out.
Ace Rothstein: Yeah, but I've been told before we're working it out. To think that you're home...
[his eyes narrow]
Ace Rothstein:
[pause]
Ace Rothstein: So counting the watch, maybe four thousand for expenses over the weekends, of which you must have had a good time. I know he did. That's for sure. I know that fucking peice of shit had a good fucking time. On my money. You might as well have fucked him, which you probably did anyway. You looking me a certain way. You're teary-eyed. I get it. You're good actress, you know that? Good fucking actress. Can't fucking get that pity out of people. I'm no john. You understand? You always thought I was but I'm not. I'm no sucker. Fucking pimp cocksucker. He's lucky I didn't kill him last time. Lucky he's fucking living. And if you had stayed with him, and you would have run away, you would have been dead, both of you. Dead! Dead!
Lester Diamond: I'm sending this kid to Bolivia in a fucking box.
Piscano's Brother-in-Law: You gotta lay down the law, otherwise they're gonna make a fool out of you.
Artie Piscano: They're not gonna make a fool out of me. I write it all down in this book. Every fucking nickel, it goes down right here. Receipts, bills, everything's here.
Piscano's Mother: Hey, oh, ah! What's the matter with you? Since when do you talk like that?
Artie Piscano: I'm sorry. Nance gives me trouble, and I'll tell him, screw around with those suitcases and I'll take the eyes out of his freakin head.
Piscano's Mother: Again!
Artie Piscano: I didn't curse, I said 'freakin head'.
[Frank and Jack struggle with a safe]
Nicky Santoro: What's takin' so long over there?
Frank Marino: This peter's a motherfucker.
Jack Hardy: It's workin'. Just keep workin' it. It's comin'.
Nicky Santoro: Gotta learn how to open these fuckin' things so you won't have to take 'em.
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] Me? Thats why The Bosses sent me out here - they wanted me to make sure none of the other crews robbed the joint. Like these two fuckin' ballonheads over here. They were gonna try to bang us outta two hundred fuckin' grand? Yeah, right, I'm sure.
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] When it looked like they could get twenty-five years to life in prison just for skimming a casino, sick or no fuckin' sick you knew people were going to get clipped.
Nicky Santoro: If you ever get of line over there again, I'll smash your fuckin' head in so hard, you won't be able to put that cowboy hat on. You hear me? Fuckin' hick.
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] The first one to skip was John Nance. He found a nice, warm, secluded place in Costa Rica. He thought nobody would find him there.
[Gunshots are heard. Nance runs onto the veranda of his mansion, breaks a door panel and runs inside. Beeper follows him and more gunshots are heard. Nance comes back onto the veranda, only this time he has been shot in the stomach. He limps around while clutching his bloody stomach]
Nicky Santoro: But then his kid got nabbed by the Feds for drugs. So naturally, the bosses were afraid he'd come out of hiding and give them all up just to save his kid. So...
[Nance kneels down. Curly and Beeper approach him from behind]
Curly: We're you goin', jag-off?
[Curly points his gun expertly at the top of Nance's head and fires. Blood splatters from Nance's mouth as he falls to the ground. The gunmen walk away]
Pat Webb: Ol' Don's as useless as tits on a boar.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] Normally, my prospects of coming back alive from a meeting with Nicky were 99 out of 100. But this time, when I heard him say "a couple of hundred yards down the road", I gave myself 50-50.
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] Now, on top of everything else, I gotta make sure no one fucks around with the Golden Jew.
Nicky Santoro: [to the blackjack dealer] Look at this fuckin beaut they put in now. Sherbert send you in here to rob me now? Been fucking knocking everyone's dick in all night? Huh, you been beating all the customers tonight, motherfucker? Huh? Jag-off. Hit me.
Lester Diamond: All right, I just bought us a few minutes. You want to get back at this prick? Hmm? Okay, you got, what, two million dollars in that box? Hey, you got a minute? Hey! He's got two million in the box, am I right?
[Ginger nods]
Lester Diamond: Okay, you let him keep your jewels. We take the cash and the only other thing he cares about. Huh? Her majesty. We go to Europe, you dye your hair, you get some plastic...
Amy Rothstein: I don't want to go to Europe. I want us go to see The Elephant Man.
Lester Diamond: We're not going to go see any fucking elephants, okay? We're going to Europe. Let the adults talk.
[to Ginger]
Lester Diamond: You dye your hair, you get plastic surgery like we talked about, right? You're the mother. How much do you think he's going to pay to get this fucking kid back...
Amy Rothstein: I don't want to go to Europe.
Lester Diamond: Shut your mouth! You know where she gets this from?
Amy Rothstein: You shut up.
Lester Diamond: No, you - you want me to come over there? I'll smack your face!
[Amy sticks her tongue out]
Lester Diamond: Don't give me any of your shit!
Nicky Santoro: Now, notice how in the count room nobody ever seems to see anything. Somehow, somebody's always lookin' the other way. Now, look at these guys. They look busy, right? They're countin' money. Who wants to bother them? I mean, God forbid they should make a mistake and forget to steal.
Ace Rothstein: You tied up our little daughter to a bed? What the fuck is the matter with you? Is there something mentally wrong with you?
Ginger: [Drunk] It was only for a couple hours Sam... the babysitter wasn't around, so I did what I could.
Ace Rothstein: You know, I don't know if I could do this even if I wanted to. The Gaming Commission would never give me a license. I have at least two dozen gambling and bookmaking pinches on me.
Andy Stone: 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 you can work in a casino while they're processing your application. They got a ten-year backlog.
Ace Rothstein: But what happens when they do find out?
Andy Stone: Why would they want to find out? We're putting a hundred million into this desert here. Why would they want to lock us out? And besides, they'll never find out. All you got to do is keep changing your job title. Like, uh, from Casino Executive to Food and Beverage Chairman. And what happens is they take your application and they put it at the bottom of the pile. I know guys working there for thirty years who don't have a license.
Ace Rothstein: [Exhales] It's a tough proposition, Andy. You know, if I did it, I'd have to run it my way.
Andy Stone: You got it.
Ace Rothstein: I'm serious. No interference.
Andy Stone: Nobody's going to interfere with you running the casino. I guarantee it.
Billy Sherbert: [to the winner] That's a lot of money to be counting out in public.
Ace Rothstein: [to Ginger] Greedy bitch!
[a cowboy has his sock-feet on a table in the casino]
Ace Rothstein: [to Sherbert] I don't give a shit who he's connected to. Tell him to take his fuckin' feet off the table. What's he think this is, a goddamn sawdust joint?
Ace Rothstein: I want you to exit this guy off the premises, I want you to exit him off his feet and I want you to use his head to open the fucking door.
[the winner is sent into the casino office, and sees his friend, the signaler, displaying a broken hand]
Signaller: Look what they did to my hand man!
Ace Rothstein: [to the winner] All right, I'm gonna give you a choice. You can either have the money and the hammer or you can walk out of here. You can't have both. What do you want?
Winner: I just wanna get outta here.
Ace Rothstein: And don't forget to tell your friends what happens if they fuck up around here. You understand?
Winner: I'm sorry. I made a bad mistake.
Ace Rothstein: You're fuckin' right you made a bad mistake. 'Cause if you come back here, if we catch either one of ya, we're gonna break your fuckin' heads and you won't walk out of here. You see that fuckin' saw? We're gonna use it. We don't fuck around in this place. You got it? Get outta here.
Winner: [relieved] Thank you.
[Security escorts the winner off the premises for good, then tells the other security what to do with the man with the broken right hand]
Ace Rothstein: Throw him out into the alley and just tell the cops he got hit by a car.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over; notices a couple of card counters] Now here's this guy reading the dealer's whole card and signaling his buddy at this table.
[the signaler, using a small telegraph, types a morse code to his friend at the other table]
Ace Rothstein: 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.
[Talking in code on a tapped phone]
Nicky Santoro: Listen, I gotta meet Clean Face right away, what about the Chez Paris?
Nicky Santoro: [subtitles] I gotta meet Charlie the Banker right away at your house, OK?
Ace Rothstein: No, you can't, you gotta make a reservation, it's all booked up.
Nicky Santoro: No no, it's ok.
Ace Rothstein: It's impossible, it's booked up, you gotta make a reservation, it's very difficult to get in.
Ace Rothstein: [subtitles] I don't want a meeting at my house.
Nicky Santoro: It's ok, I'll use the service entrance. I'll see you at nine.
Nicky Santoro: [subtitles] I'll come in from the golf course side. See you at six.
Nicky Santoro: How the fuck can you grin?
Nicky Santoro: [to Ace] Get this through your head you Jew motherfucker, you! You only exist out here because of me! That's the only reason! Without *me*, you, personally, every fuckin' wise guy skell around'll take a piece of your fuckin' Jew ass! Then where you gonna go? You're fuckin' warned! Don't ever go over my fuckin' head again! You motherfucker, you.
Nicky Santoro: Maybe if I stick your head through that window over there you'll get unconfused. Give me the fuckin money.
Ginger: We had a deal, remember? He said if things didn't work out, I could take my stuff and my daughter and leave.
Ace Rothstein: Look in my eyes. Look - look in my eyes. You know me. Do you see anything in these eyes that would let someone in your condition take my child away from me? You know that'll never happen.
Nicky Santoro: Take this stiff and pound it up your fucking ass!
Nicky Santoro: If you had any fucking heart at all you'd be out fuckin' stealing for a living.
[last lines]
Ace Rothstein: And that's that.
Lester Diamond: 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?
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] For two days and two fuckin' nights, we beat the shit out of this guy. I mean, we even stuck ice-picks in his balls.
Nicky Santoro: Take this one and stick it up your sister's ass!
Female Newscaster: A routine licensing hearing turned into bedlam yesterday when the flamboyant Tangiers Casino executive, Sam "Ace" Rothstein accused the state's top gaming officials of corruption and hypocrisy.
Ace Rothstein: What are you runnin' for, Bob? What are you running for? Don't you remember? You promised me a fair hearing when you were getting comped at my hotel, and you were asking me for copies of your bills so you could put 'em on your expense account!
Female Newscaster: In a wild outburst that followed his gaming license denial, Rothstein followed several stunned commissioners into the hallway where he continued his harangue until his own lawyers and friends urged him to leave.
Ace Rothstein: Bullshit! Bullshit! We all have a past. You have a past. I have a past. And my past is no worse than yours. But you guys think you have the right to pass judgement on me!
Female Newscaster: Long suspected of running the Tangiers without a license, yesterday's hearing was to determine whether someone with Rothstein's history was qualified to officially hold a top gaming post.
Ace Rothstein: Fuckin' hypocrites!
Nicky Santoro: I'm what counts out here. Not your fuckin' country clubs or your fuckin' TV shows. And what the fuck are you doin' on TV anyhow?
Nicky Santoro: Give yourself a hand, right across your fucking mouth.
Ace Rothstein: If you ever come back again, ever, to take her money, next time bring a pistol. That way you've got a chance.
Nicky Santoro: I didn't like the people I was ripping off looking at me, so I used to turn their fucking pictures around.
Frankie Avalon: I have a large family.
Ace Rothstein: How many kids do you have?
Frankie Avalon: I'm very proud to say that we have eight children.
Ace Rothstein: That's amazing.
Frankie Avalon: [audience applauding] No, no, please. Please. There's nothing to it, heh. It was my pleasure.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] And what happens next? I can't believe it. Who the hell would believe that the FBI had a wire in the place looking for some information about some old homicide about some guy who was whacked out God knows when over God knows what. Would you believe such a thing could happen? Every FBI man across the country had their ears open, this guy basically sunk the whole world.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] They never know what hit them. And if, and when, they do find out that they just got zapped by a cattle prod, they wish they really did have a heart attack.
[close shot of socked feet up on casino table]
Ace Rothstein: I don't give a shit who he's connected to. Tell him to take his fuckin' feet off the table. What's he think this is, a goddamn sawdust joint?
Billy Sherbert: [goes up to Cowboy] Sir, would you mind taking your feet off the table and putting your shoes back on?
Cowboy: Yeah, I would mind. I'm having a bad night.
Billy Sherbert: [walks back over to Ace] Fuckin' asshole won't budge.
Ace Rothstein: [smoking a cigarette] Call security.
[advances towards cowboy and says firmly]
Ace Rothstein: How are you?
Cowboy: [trying to avoid eye contact and says sour] Good. How are you?
Ace Rothstein: [getting right to the point] Fine. Good. You want to do me a favor? You want to take your feet off the table and put your shoes back on?
Cowboy: [now making eye contact] Fuck you!
Ace Rothstein: [looks in disbelief]
Cowboy: [with serious look]
Ace Rothstein: [goes back to Sherbert to see that security has arrived and says to them pointing at cowboy] I want you vacate this guy off the premises, and I want you to exit him off his feet and use his head to open the fucking door.
Guards: [approach cowboy and one tries to say firmly but nice] Sir, you're gonna have to leave. You mind accompanying us outside?
Cowboy: Bullshit, I ain't going anywhere.
Guards: [one guard grabs the cowboy by the arms, the other by the legs and says] Bullshit, you're coming with us!
Cowboy: [mainly at Ace who casually watches the scene unfold while smoking his cigarette] Fuck you! FUCK YOU! You know who you're fucking with? Huh? Do you? You fucking faggot! Do you know who you're fucking with?
Guards: [now using Cowboy like a battering ram at the doors] Here we go!
Cowboy: [shocked at this] I don't believe this!
Guards: [smashes the cowboy against and through the doors head first]
Nicky Santoro: What are you staring at you bald-headed Jew prick?
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] Before I ever ran a casino or got myself blown up, Ace Rothstein was a helluva handicapper, I can tell you that. I was so good that when I bet, I can 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 get you that kind of money. Sixty-two million seven hundred thousand dollars. I don't know all the details.
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] Matter of fact, nobody knew all the details. But it should have been perfect. I mean 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 have been so sweet, too. But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us were ever given anything that fuckin' valuable again.
Nicky Santoro: Tell that fuckin' Pepe if he's switching stones on us, he'd better take a fucking camel back to Nigeria.
[Nicky has come to collect]
Tony the bookie: I thought you was layin' it.
Nicky Santoro: Oh no. I'm taking it.
Tony the bookie: Are you sure?
Nicky Santoro: I'm positive.
Nicky Santoro: Oh I don't know whether you know this or not, but you only have your fuckin casino because I made that possible. I'm what counts out here, not your fuckin country clubs or your fuckin TV shows! And what the fuck are you doing on TV anyhow? You know I get calls from back home every fuckin day, they think you went bat shit!
Nicky Santoro: She was doing pretty good with her lawsuit. But before she could start counting her money, the boys back home decided to settle the case out of court instead. So they sent me.
[Nicky runs into Anna Scott's house and shoots her in the head three times]