A crime-drama, Casino tells the story of low-level mob boss Sam Rothstein whose issues with Ginger, his wife, and his volatile enforcer Nicky Santoro slowly become the reasons for his undoing. Go over some of the best quotes and sayings from Martin Scorsese's 1995 gangster flick Casino, starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci.
Quotes from Ace Rothstein
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 Rothstein.
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.
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 f*** themselves. I mean, what were they going to do, muscle Nicky? Nicky was the muscle.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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 Rothstein.
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.
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 f*** themselves. I mean, what were they going to do, muscle Nicky? Nicky was the muscle.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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?
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
Ward, you're pissing me off. Now you're insulting my intelligence; what you think I am, a f***in' idiot? You know goddamn well that someone had to get into those machines and set those f***in' 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 f***in' momo! What's the matter with you? Didn't you see you were being set up on the second win?
~ Ace Rothstein.
I'm just curious. I saw you shuffling your checks with your right hand. Can you do that with both hands?
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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!
~ Ace Rothstein.
I tried to do everything I could for you, even though I knew, deep down inside, you would bury me.
~ Ace Rothstein.
Now you're gonna have to learn with your left hand.
~ Ace Rothstein.
He was a young kid from the casino. Nice kid, bright boy. What balls on this f***in' kid. The next day I fired him.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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 f*** around with me like they could if I was an unknown, that's right, yeah!
~ Ace Rothstein.
You make me sick, you f***. Once a f***in' hooker, always a hooker.
~ Ace Rothstein.
The bombing was never authorized, but I suspect I know who lit the fuse. And so did the powers
that be.
~ 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.
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!
~ Ace Rothstein.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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?
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
Ward, you're pissing me off. Now you're insulting my intelligence; what you think I am, a f***in' idiot? You know goddamn well that someone had to get into those machines and set those f***in' 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 f***in' momo! What's the matter with you? Didn't you see you were being set up on the second win?
~ Ace Rothstein.
I'm just curious. I saw you shuffling your checks with your right hand. Can you do that with both hands?
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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!
~ Ace Rothstein.
I tried to do everything I could for you, even though I knew, deep down inside, you would bury me.
~ Ace Rothstein.
Now you're gonna have to learn with your left hand.
~ Ace Rothstein.
He was a young kid from the casino. Nice kid, bright boy. What balls on this f***in' kid. The next day I fired him.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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 f*** around with me like they could if I was an unknown, that's right, yeah!
~ Ace Rothstein.
You make me sick, you f***. Once a f***in' hooker, always a hooker.
~ Ace Rothstein.
The bombing was never authorized, but I suspect I know who lit the fuse. And so did the powers
that be.
~ 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.
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!
~ Ace Rothstein.
So what? Everybody out here with cowboy boots is a f***in' county commissioner or related to a county commissioner. I'm f***in' sick of it.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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 f***ing door.
~ 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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
Back home, they would have put me in jail for what I'm doing. Here, they're giving me awards.
~ 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.
~ 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 f***ing peice of shit had a good f***ing time. On my money. You might as well have f***ed 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 f***ing actress. Can't f***ing 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. f***ing pimp cocksucker. He's lucky I didn't kill him last time. Lucky he's f***ing living. And if you had stayed with him, and you would have run away, you would have been dead, both of you. Dead! Dead!
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
~ 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 f***ing door.
~ 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.
~ Ace Rothstein.
Back home, they would have put me in jail for what I'm doing. Here, they're giving me awards.
~ 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.
~ 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 f***ing peice of shit had a good f***ing time. On my money. You might as well have f***ed 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 f***ing actress. Can't f***ing 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. f***ing pimp cocksucker. He's lucky I didn't kill him last time. Lucky he's f***ing living. And if you had stayed with him, and you would have run away, you would have been dead, both of you. Dead! Dead!
~ Ace Rothstein.
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.
Quotes from Nicky Santoro
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 f***in' night.
~ 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?
~ Nicky Santoro.
I didn't like the people I was ripping off looking at me, so I used to turn their f***ing pictures around.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Now, on top of everything else, I gotta make sure no one f***s around with the Golden Jew.
~ 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 f***in' 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 f***in' head open again. 'Cause I'm f***in' stupid. I don't give a f*** about jail. That's my business. That's what I do.
~ Nicky Santoro.
And we know what you do, don't we Charlie? You f*** people out of money and get away with it.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Where the f*** do you get off talking to people about me behind my back, going over my head?
~ Nicky Santoro.
Get this through your head you Jew motherf***er, you. You only exist out here because of me. That's the only reason. Without me, you, personally, every f***in' wise guy skell around'll take a piece of your f***in' Jew ass. Then where you gonna go? You're f***in' warned. Don't ever go over my f***in' head again. You motherf***er, you.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Listen to me Anthony. I got your head in a f***in' vise. I'll squash your head like a f***in' 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.
~ Nicky Santoro.
If you had any f***ing heart at all you'd be out f***in' stealing for a living.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Give yourself a hand, right across your f***ing mouth.
~ 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 f***ing head so hard you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on. You hear me? f***ing hick.
~ Nicky Santoro.
When it looked like they could get twenty-five years to life in prison just for skimming a casino, sick or no f***in' sick you knew people were going to get clipped.
~ Nicky Santoro.
I'm what counts out here. Not your f***in' country clubs or your f***in' TV shows. And what the f*** are you doin' on TV anyhow?
~ Nicky Santoro.
I lost control? Look at you, you're f***ing walking around like John Barrymore! A f***ing pink robe and a f***ing cigarette holder? I lost control?
~ Nicky Santoro.
You hear a little girl, Frankie? Is that a little girl, Ace? Is that a little f***in' girl? What happened to the f***in' tough guy who told my friend to stick it up his f***in' ass?
~ Nicky Santoro.
If a guy f***ing tripped over a banana peel, they'd bring me in for it.
~ Nicky Santoro.
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.
~ 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.
~ 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.
~ Nicky Santoro.
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 f***in' night.
~ 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?
~ Nicky Santoro.
I didn't like the people I was ripping off looking at me, so I used to turn their f***ing pictures around.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Now, on top of everything else, I gotta make sure no one f***s around with the Golden Jew.
~ 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 f***in' 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 f***in' head open again. 'Cause I'm f***in' stupid. I don't give a f*** about jail. That's my business. That's what I do.
~ Nicky Santoro.
And we know what you do, don't we Charlie? You f*** people out of money and get away with it.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Where the f*** do you get off talking to people about me behind my back, going over my head?
~ Nicky Santoro.
Get this through your head you Jew motherf***er, you. You only exist out here because of me. That's the only reason. Without me, you, personally, every f***in' wise guy skell around'll take a piece of your f***in' Jew ass. Then where you gonna go? You're f***in' warned. Don't ever go over my f***in' head again. You motherf***er, you.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Listen to me Anthony. I got your head in a f***in' vise. I'll squash your head like a f***in' 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.
~ Nicky Santoro.
If you had any f***ing heart at all you'd be out f***in' stealing for a living.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Give yourself a hand, right across your f***ing mouth.
~ 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 f***ing head so hard you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on. You hear me? f***ing hick.
~ Nicky Santoro.
When it looked like they could get twenty-five years to life in prison just for skimming a casino, sick or no f***in' sick you knew people were going to get clipped.
~ Nicky Santoro.
I'm what counts out here. Not your f***in' country clubs or your f***in' TV shows. And what the f*** are you doin' on TV anyhow?
~ Nicky Santoro.
I lost control? Look at you, you're f***ing walking around like John Barrymore! A f***ing pink robe and a f***ing cigarette holder? I lost control?
~ Nicky Santoro.
You hear a little girl, Frankie? Is that a little girl, Ace? Is that a little f***in' girl? What happened to the f***in' tough guy who told my friend to stick it up his f***in' ass?
~ Nicky Santoro.
If a guy f***ing tripped over a banana peel, they'd bring me in for it.
~ Nicky Santoro.
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.
~ 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.
~ 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.
~ Nicky Santoro.
Quotes from 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.
~ 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...
~ 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?
~ Lester Diamond.
Quotes from other characters
They're not gonna make a fool out of me. I write it all down in this book. Every f***ing nickel, it goes down right here. Receipts, bills, everything's here.
~ Artie Piscano.
Are we certain that you want the gamin' control board eyeballing your record and your gangster pals like Nicky Santoro?
~ Pat Webb.
You gotta lay down the law, otherwise they're gonna make a fool out of you.
~ Piscano's Brother-in-Law.
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 f***ing 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.
~ Frank Marino.
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.
~ 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...
~ 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?
~ Lester Diamond.
Quotes from other characters
They're not gonna make a fool out of me. I write it all down in this book. Every f***ing nickel, it goes down right here. Receipts, bills, everything's here.
~ Artie Piscano.
Are we certain that you want the gamin' control board eyeballing your record and your gangster pals like Nicky Santoro?
~ Pat Webb.
You gotta lay down the law, otherwise they're gonna make a fool out of you.
~ Piscano's Brother-in-Law.
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 f***ing 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.
~ Frank Marino.