When the MPAA made no objection to the vise scene, he left it in, albeit slightly edited. He hoped this would draw fire away from other violent scenes that would seem less so by comparison. Martin Scorsese stated before the film's release that he created the 'head in the vise' scene as a sacrifice, certain the MPAA would insist it be cut. His line 'I just got a shipment of diamonds from Israel' was not in the script.

The jewelry store owner who gets robbed by Nicky's boys is an actual Las Vegas jeweler. To avoid the continuity problems that accompany a chain-smoking movie character, Robert De Niro always held his cigarettes the same distance from the lit end so that their lengths never appear to change. The movie is based on the career of casino boss Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal as portrayed by Robert De Niro's character Sam 'Ace' Rothstein. The blackjack cheats were using a technique known as 'spooking'. Madonna was considered for the role of Ginger, but Sharon Stone convinced director Martin Scorsese to give her the role. She has back trouble due to an old injury, and the gold & white beaded gown she wears during a casino scene weighed 45 pounds.

Sharon Stone spent many long workdays in agony while filming scenes for this film. The word 'Fuck' is said 422 times, including in the narration - 2.4 times per minute on average.

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