You’re in a twinkly casino, stuffed with food and eager to roll the dice. All you want is a taste of success. But it’s not as simple as just rolling the dice. Gambling is a game of chance, and there’s one certainty: The house always wins.

A casino is a place where you gamble on games of chance, like roulette and blackjack. You compete with other players, but the casino still makes money from a small commission, known as a rake. There’s also poker, in which you don’t play against the house, but against other players. In both cases, a casino has many techniques to keep you gambling and spending money.

For example, booze is constantly served to casino patrons. It’s a great way to lower inhibitions and cloud your judgment. Plus, it’s often free. You can find it in the bar, at a table, or even on the slot machines. And, of course, there’s the music. It’s designed to make you feel euphoric and happy.

The key theme in Casino is greed and corruption. There are no good guys in this film, and every key character gets their comeuppance at the end. It’s a brutal movie, but it’s also quite gripping and fascinating in places. This is partly due to the great performances by De Niro and Stone, the gangster-and-moll dynamics (particularly Ginger’s feisty refusal to be pushed around) and the sheer scumbaggery that is Joe Pesci’s Nicky.