Casino is a twinkly and noisy place where people can gamble, try their hand at table games like blackjack, poker, roulette, craps, and others, and perhaps even win a bit of money. It’s a place where people can meet friends and have a good time, and it’s not uncommon for some to go there on weekend bus trips with family and friends.

Casinos are built around the idea of winning and losing, and they play on human psychology in order to keep players gambling as long as possible. Some of these methods are obvious — free drinks, bright lights, slot noises that sound just like pennies dropping (even though coins stopped being used a long time ago). Some are more subtle — casinos use music to keep players in a state of euphoria and make them feel invincible, which clouds their sense of how much they are spending.

Martin Scorsese’s movie captures the atmosphere of a casino well, using a mix of authentic and stylized production design and a great soundtrack. Northern California’s Matte World — which once specialized in creating latent-image miniature/matte painting hybrid shots – was responsible for the film’s set decoration, with Rita Ryack and John Dunn doing the costumes. They sourced real 70’s Vegas outfits for the prominent extras and went all out on the period details, from vibrant mustard yellows and electric blues to crimson blazers for Ace, and glamorous cocktail dresses to slightly tackier white leather mini-skirts for Ginger.