"Bugsy"

"Bugsy" was on TV a bunch of times this past weekend. Haven't seen it is a few years and since I learned so much about the real story of the Flamingo as well as not much on I tuned in. So near the end of the movie, when the hat-check-girl-applicant is talking to Ben, Virginia Hill is counting money or something in what looks like the cage. But behind her, when you look closely, is a sign that says "Wheel of Fortune" on top and has odds below it. I wasn't watching in HDTV so I couldn't make out the odds or anything else but the title.

Is this an anachronism? There was no Big-6 wheel anywhere near the sign, the sign was clearly in the cage. In fact, the only games you could see were Craps, Baccarat, and presumably Blackjack. No wheels of any kind.

Anyone have any input into this?

What they don't cover in the movie (if they did I don't remember it) was
that Bugsy insisted on hiring nothing but experienced dealers from Downtown.
The first week the casino was open, they literally stole him blind. They stole
so much that the casino never made a profit. Most of it went out on roulette
and craps, where they would vastly overpay the players they were in cahoots
with. The Mob had told Bugsy to hire new dealers and train them, but he didn't
want to take the time or the expense.

Quote: EvenBob

What they don't cover in the movie (if they did I don't remember it) was
that Bugsy insisted on hiring nothing but experienced dealers from Downtown.
The first week the casino was open, they literally stole him blind. They stole
so much that the casino never made a profit. Most of it went out on roulette
and craps, where they would vastly overpay the players they were in cahoots
with. The Mob had told Bugsy to hire new dealers and train them, but he didn't
want to take the time or the expense.

Hmm. I heard they stole him blind and also that he was not astute enough to realize he was being robbed, but I never heard that he got them from downtown only. Even then I guess they recruited for the strip from downtown. Sounds like Ben was a little like Alan Glick--he didn't know what they were doing or how they were doing it.

Quote: AZDuffman

he didn't know what they were doing or how they were doing it.

He was clueless about the casino business. And the hotel business.
He owned the El Cortez for awhile, but not long enough to learn anything.
The first two weeks of operation, the Flamingo was 250K in the red
from all the dealer thefts. Bugsy was an uneducated egomaniac who
loved killing people. Yet his claim to fame is the Flamingo, and it
wasn't even his idea. He stole the project from Billy Wilkerson and
screwed the whole thing up so badly that the Mob killed him over
it.

hmmmm, so the Mob thought casinos were a license to print money, and all along they planned to skim all the profits before the numbers got on the books, then they're upset that dealers got there before 'em? Gee, I care sooooo much. Like I care about 'bangers killin' each other in the 'hood.

Quote: zippyboy

hmmmm, so the Mob thought casinos were a license to print money, and all along they planned to skim all the profits before the numbers got on the books, then they're upset that dealers got there before 'em? Gee, I care sooooo much. Like I care about 'bangers killin' each other in the 'hood.

This was one of the funnier parts of the movie "Casino." Same as in real life the mobster running the thing knew that if you hire someone to steal they will skim some for themselves but there are limited options to handle it. Beat and kill too many people and the rest take straight jobs elsewhere or else become rats. Hire "honest" people and they will not be as good of thieves.

Quote: AZDuffman

This was one of the funnier parts of the movie "Casino." Same as in real life the mobster running the thing knew that if you hire someone to steal they will skim some for themselves but there are limited options to handle it. Beat and kill too many people and the rest take straight jobs elsewhere or else become rats. Hire "honest" people and they will not be as good of thieves.

The movie scene that perfectly embodies this concept for me is a particularly psychologically frightening bit where the ultra violent BOBO (recently deceased Pat Hingle) is confronting LILLY (Angelica Houston). They are doing a verbal dance where she is in intense fear.

Quote: Scene from "The Grifters"

BOBO And how are you making out these days? Stealing much?

Bobo's being jolly now. Lilly's scared, but has to be jolly,too.

LILLY From you? My folks didn't raise any stupid kids.

Bobo's joshing now. He raises a humorous eyebrow.

BOBO Not skimming a thing, Lilly?

LILLY Oh, well, you know. I just clip a buck here and a buck there. Not enough to notice.

BOBO (honest approval) That's right. Take a little, leave a little.

LILLY A person that don't look out for himself is too dumb to look out for anybody else. He's a liability, right, Bobo?

BOBO (this is his creed) You're a thousand percent right!

LILLY Or else he's working an angle. If he doesn't steal a little, he's stealing big.

BOBO You know it, Lilly.