A casino is a place where people pay to play games of chance. The term is usually applied to places that feature a wide range of gambling activities, including classic table games like blackjack and poker where the players test their wits and skill against each other, and slot machines that offer a more relaxed approach to gambling with a simple push of a button. Casinos often add other luxuries to attract gamblers, such as restaurants and free drinks.

A major movie about Las Vegas, Casino is an utterly riveting crime drama that lays bare the roots of Sin City’s past ties to organized crime. Unlike other movies about gambling, which tend to show only the opulence and neon signs of Vegas and its visitors, Martin Scorsese’s Casino is a tense thriller that remains compelling until the end.

While the movie is centered on Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro), it also features other mob henchmen and their families, as well as some of the locals who play at the casinos. It’s an intricately detailed picture of a corrupt racket with tentacles reaching into politicians, Teamsters unions, and even the Midwest mafia based in Kansas City.

A must-see movie for anyone who loves crime dramas, Casino is a brilliant work of storytelling that’s as entertaining as it is informative. It’s one of the best portrayals of mob life ever put on film, and it demonstrates how predatory a business can be even when its players claim to have a moral compass.