Casino is director Martin Scorsese dialing Goodfellas up to 11. Robert De Niro is terrific as gambling kingpin Sam “Ace” Rothstein, funneling money out the back door of Tangiers hotel and casino for mob bosses back east while his drug-addicted trophy wife (Sharon Stone) looks the other way. And Joe Pesci is a believable loose-cannon mobster.

The movie’s sweeping, three-decade story of a faction of the mafia that controlled Las Vegas casinos is more like a documentary than a traditional epic crime drama. Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s non-fiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, the film chronicles the tangled relationship and political problems of this group and its associates. The mob’s control of the Strip was a complex web with tendrils reaching into politicians, Teamsters unions and the Midwest mafia.

Casino has a long running time of nearly three hours, but it never lags or runs out of steam. The taut narration and editing keep the action on a lean, mean trajectory. The cinematography is spectacular and the sets look authentic. Casino is a must-see for mafia fans and anyone who loves movies.