Ace's best friend from childhood Nicky Santoro, eventually comes along for the ride, he who the Mafia hires to be Ace and the organization's unofficial protector.
Ace can do the job, applying for his gaming license despite his past, while having his ever changing job title be anything but running the casino and the actual license getting lost in the never ending process. In 1975, bookie and expert handicapper Sam Rothstein - Ace to his friends - goes somewhat legitimate when the Chicago based Italian Mafia hires him to run the Tangiers Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.