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
Casino (1995 film) uncovered by the FBI, was the largest ever exposed. A number of organized crime figures were convicted as a result of the skimming. Pileggi contacted Scorsese about taking the lead of the project, which became known as "Casino." Scorsese expressed interest, calling this an "idea of success, no limits". Pileggi was keen to release the book and then concentrate on a film adaptation, but Scorsese encouraged him to "reverse the order". Scorsese and Pileggi collaborated on the script for five months, towards the end of 1994. Real-life characters were reshaped, such as Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, Geri McGee, Anthony Spilotro, and