Meet Frank Rosenthal: The Real-Life Mastermind Who Inspired Scorsese’s Casino

Frank Rosenthal, the inspiration behind Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino, was a legendary figure in the world of gambling. A keen handicapper, oddsmaker, and later bookmaker, Rosenthal had run-ins with the Mafia, FBI, and danced with danger throughout his life. The film, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone, has become a classic American crime drama, and gives us a glimpse into Vegas’ crime scene in the 1960s to 1980s.

The film was adapted from a top-selling book of the same name, and brought huge attention to Rosenthal. Unlike other individuals involved in the gambling crime at the time, Rosenthal craved the spotlight and was quite a well known figure. He ran a TV show in the late 1970s and mixed with celebrities of the time like Frank Sinatra. In the background, he ran 3 major casinos on the Vegas Strip and 1 in Las Vegas’ Fremont Street. All the while, mixing with the Vegas mafia, and after his death in 2008, it was revealed that Rosenthal was a key FBI informant.

The Colorful Life of Frank Rosenthal (“Lefty”)

Rosenthal had an uncanny knack for memorizing numbers, and knew exactly how to use them to his advantage. He used his skills to analyse statistics and become an expert sports bettor and handicapper. And Rosenthal’s game of choice was baseball. This is hardly a surprise, as baseball is a sport that has tons of data and historical statistics for bettors to analyze and digest. Run differentials to RBIs, bases stolen, hitting averages and various pitcher stats; a single game of baseball can build an endless array of stats and figures.

And at a time when computers were nonexistent, Rosenthal did all the number crunching and analytics manually. It was no wonder the expert handicapper became so reputable in his own right.

Born in 1929 in Chicago to a Jewish family of moderate wealth, Rosenthal’s father owned racehorses, another area of betting that would interest Rosenthal in his childhood. By the 1950s, when Rosenthal was in his 20s, he was spotted by the Chicago Outfit and hired to be an oddsmaker.

He worked with the Chicago mob until 1961, after a few brushes with the law, and then moved to Miami. It was in Florida that Rosenthal took his game to the next level. He mixed with the likes of Jackie Cerone and Fiore Buccieri and became a more prominent part of the mob. Rosenthal was arrested numerous times in Miami for illegal gambling and bookmaking and was also embroiled in a few car bombings. The FBI already had tabs on Rosenthal, and to avoid further investigation, Rosenthal moved to Las Vegas in 1968.

Rosenthal Takes Charge in Las Vegas

Rosenthal was employed as the pit boss in Stardust Resort and Casino in the Las Vegas Strip. Promoting sports betting and managing the casino finances, Rosenthal, or Lefty (as he was nicknamed), was given the reins in Vegas. He proved to be just as good at running gaming tables as predicting sports games. And soon, he was made the manager of the Marina and Hacienda Casinos on the Vegas Strip, and Fremont Hotel & Casino in Fremont Street. Though not on an official basis, but behind the scenes, as Rosenthal could not obtain a gambling licence.

In 1975, he opened a sportsbook in Stardust, creating the first in-house sportsbook in a casino resort. This sportsbook was placed in the middle of the casino floor, with wall-to-wall odds boards and theatre-style seating. It was unprecedented at the time, and became a huge hit. This model later became widespread in Las Vegas Casinos, and still, many of the top casinos today have in-house sportsbooks.

His influence was palpable in nearly every facet of the casinos he owned. Rosenthal prioritised the gaming experience. He trained dealers to shuffle faster and more effectively. Dice for craps had to be immaculate, and any equipment with the slightest effects of wear had to be replaced. In many ways, Rosenthal created the standard for modern casinos, in terms of hosting VIP players to hastening the gaming service and making it more continuous. He also hired many female blackjack dealers, which nearly doubled the blackjack revenue in a year.

Assassination Attempt and Downfall

Though Rosenthal also enjoyed being in the spotlight and showing off. He ran a TV show called The Frank Rosenthal Show from 1977 to 1979. And hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra, OJ Simpson, Liberace, Sammy Davis Jr and Bob Hope. There was a political motive to the show as well. Namely, to change his image for the Nevada Gaming Commission and try to obtain a gambling licence. But the show flopped and Rosenthal was never granted a state license for gambling.

His antics attracted the FBI, and also attracted the jealousy of his fellow mobsters. Anthony Spilotro, or Tony the Ant, was a childhood friend of Rosenthal and was a key enforcer in the mob. Their friendship deteriorated over the years, and fell to an all time low when Tony had an affair with Rosenthal’s wife, Geri.

After falling out, Tony took it on himself to assassinate Rosenthal. He planted a bomb in Rosenthal’s Cadillac, but Rosenthal survived the explosion. The aftermath of the assassination hurt both men’s reputations and ultimately led to their respective downfalls. Tony fell out of favor with the mob. He and his brother disappeared in June 14, 1986, and were found a few days later stripped and buried in a cornfield.

The car bomb was the beginning of the end for Rosenthal. The gaming regulators black booked Rosenthal in 1987, making it illegal for him to enter a casino. He then left Las Vegas and went back to Florida, where he went back to being a sports handicapper and even worked for a few sports betting sites. In 2008, Rosenthal died of a heart attack, and soon after his death, the FBI confirmed that he and his late wife, Geri, were informants.

Casino (1995) Influence on Casino Culture

There have been many classic films about gambling and its association with the mob. Films like The Goodfellas, Rounders, and Molly’s Game, all document the mafia ties in gambling. These films have brought the darker side of gambling to the forefront, showing how it can be used as an instrument for mafia outfits. And there is no denying that the mob has had a huge influence on the world of gambling. A lot of the history of Las Vegas is tied to mobsters, such as the legendary Bugsy Siegel.

Though somehow the connections to the illegal underworld have also brought a new type of glamor to Vegas, and casinos. It paints a grittier edge, and possibly a more dangerous face to gambling. But the days of crooked casinos, rigged games and mafia pit bosses are well behind us now. The film ends with Frank Rosenthal lamenting over the changes in Vegas. Casinos are bought by junk stocks and owned by Wall Street giants rather than bent Mafia outfits and their associates.

In the modern day and age, casinos are multi-billion-dollar industries, and are run by some of the biggest entertainment conglomerates in the world. They are owned by trading giants like MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands. Casino security is high, and the needs of the visitors are prioritised, ensuring a safer and fairer gaming environment. Games use RNGs and are tested by auditors to ensure they are provably fair to play. And the gaming control boards play a more active role in promoting responsible gambling.

Rosenthal’s Legacy in Casinos and Sports Betting

Frank Rosenthal left quite a mark on the world of gambling. His keen analytic mind took sports betting to a whole new height, with data-driven handicapping and modern in-house sportsbooks. His attention to detail in casino gaming led to the games becoming more fluid and of a higher quality.

But Rosenthal was one of the last of the mob generation in Vegas, where illegal bookkeeping and dodgy syndicates ruled the world of gambling. He lived long enough to see the empire topple and pave the way for traders and stockholders to enter. And watched as Vegas exchanged mafia gangs for reputable corporations, building one of the largest business empires in the world.