Frank Rosenthal

About Frank Rosenthal

Frank Lawrence "Lefty" Rosenthal (June 12, 1929 – October 13, 2008) was an American sports handicapper and a former Las Vegas casino executive. He also hosted a television talk show in Las Vegas during the late 1970s.

The 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino, based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi, was inspired by Rosenthal's career in Las Vegas. Rosenthal (re-named "Sam 'Ace' Rothstein") was played by Robert De Niro, and his Mafia associate Anthony Spilotro (re-named "Nicky Santoro") was played by Joe Pesci. Rosenthal's story was featured on The History Channel's, "True Crime Authors," as well.

Rosenthal was born into a Jewish family[citation needed] in Chicago, Illinois, from the city's West Side, where he developed a close friendship with Anthony Spilotro. As a kid, Rosenthal would often skip class to attend local Chicago sporting events. He had numerous arrests and indictments for gambling crimes, including bribing players to fix football, basketball and other games, but few convictions.