From Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy —the #1 bestseller that became Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award–winning film GoodFellas—comes the brilliantly told true story of love, marriage, adultery, murder, and revenge, Mafia-style . . . the shattering inside account of how the mob finally lost its stranglehold over the neon money-making machine it created: the multibillion-dollar casino gambling industry of Las Vegas.

No one knew more about casinos than Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, the gambling mastermind who, along with his best friend and partner, Anthony Spilotro, virtually ran Las Vegas for the mob. For years, it was the perfect arrangement—Lefty provided the smarts, while Tony kept the bosses happy with their weekly suitcases filled with millions in skimmed cash.

It should have lasted forever, but Lefty’s obsession with running the town—and Tony’s obsession with Lefty’s beautiful showgirl wife, Geri—eventually led to the betrayals and investigations that exploded into one of the greatest debacles in mob history.

This is the true-crime bestseller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese's film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds...with Henry Hill's crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action. "Nonstop...absolutely engrossing" (The New York Times Book Review).

Read it and experience the secret life inside the mob--from one who's lived it.

The enthralling story of Henry Hill's life as a gangster and notorious participation in the Witness Protection Programme, made into the hugely acclaimed Martin Scorsese film _________________________ 'Absolutely engrossing' - New York Times 'The best book ever written on organised crime' - Cosmopolitan 'A riveting account of organised crime as a way of life ... extraordinary' - Publishers Weekly _________________________ 'At the age of twelve my ambition was to be a gangster. To me being a wiseguy was better than being president of the United States. To be a wiseguy was to own the world.' GoodFellas is Henry Hill's own story, telling the fascinating and sometimes brutal details of the day-to-day life of a working New York mobster - the violence, wild spending sprees, his wife, his mistress, his code of honour. From the small-time scamming of his early years, his first arrest at the age of sixteen and initiation into the dealings of his wiseguy friends and bosses, Henry Hill tells of the good times, dodgy dealings, indulgences, and the insularity of the mob-controlled neighbourhoods. But things start to go too far. To save his own life, Hill turns into a Federal witness, and the mob is to this day still hunting him down for revealing their involvement in hundreds of crimes including arson, extortion, hijacking, the six-million dollar Lufthansa heist (the most successful cash robbery in US history), and murder.

The Stardust... The Fremont... The Marina. They ran them all. And they lost. Big time. No one knew more about casinos than Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, the gambling mastermind who, along with his best friend and partner, Anthony 'the Ant' Spilotro, virtually ran Las Vegas for the mob. For years it was the perfect arrangement - Lefty provided the smarts, while Tony kept the bosses happy with weekly suitcases filled with millions in skimmed cash. It should have lasted forever but Lefty's obsessions with running the town - and Tony's obsession with Lefty's beautiful showgirl wife, Geri - eventually led to betrayals and investigations that exploded into one of the greatest scandals in mob history. Casino is the shattering inside account of how the mob finally lost its stranglehold on Las Vegas, the neon money-making machine it had created.

"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster."

Henry Hill grew up in the midst of New York City's criminal underworld, finally achieving the coveted status of "wiseguy." But in 1980, he made the decision to exchange his knowledge for a new identity. GoodFellas, Hill's own account of crude hierarchies, casual murders, and collaboration with the Feds (as a member of the Witness Protection Program) was adapted for the screen by Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi—and is now seen as a contemporary classic. The film drew rave reviews everywhere upon its theatrical release in 1990, and was nominated for Oscars in both the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay categories.

This book also offers an introduction by David Thompson, the noted film critic and co-editor of Scorsese on Scorsese.