Frank Rosenthal Spilotro, on which the character Nicky Santoro (played by Joe Pesci) is based. Rosenthal is represented by the character Sam "Ace" Rothstein (played by Robert De Niro). The character of Ginger McKenna Rothstein, his wife in the film (played by Sharon Stone), is based on Geri McGee, Rosenthal's wife in real life. In an interview about the movie, Rosenthal stated that his character portrayed by Robert De Niro was quite but not fully similar to him, namely "7 on a scale of 1 to 10", and that he would neither "dispute" nor "confirm" whether Sharon Stone accurately portrayed his wife
Occupational health and safety in the casino industry "no smoking" areas do not keep smoke out. More typically, the heating and cooling systems distribute smoke throughout the building, rather than removing it. Employees working in casinos have historically had higher levels of exposure to nicotine than other employees in the United States who reported exposure to second hand smoke. Second hand smoke among casino workers is estimated to cost $112 per casino worker, per year in direct medical costs. In 1995, when NIOSH evaluated non-smoking casino workers who worked in casinos that allowed smoking, NIOSH found these workers were exposed to elevated levels of nicotine in the air.