'The Casino' aims for the big score

By Bill Keveney
USA Today

As the parties pass one another, four camera crews narrowly miss colliding on this busy Friday in March as they track these people and their stories for "The Casino," Fox's new unscripted drama from reality king Mark Burnett.

Burnett hopes "The Casino" is a souped-up successor to "The Restaurant," his well-reviewed NBC series that lagged in the ratings in its second outing this spring.

"Casino" boasts gambling, partying, hustling and the glitter of Las Vegas. At its heart, the 13-episode series has two Internet hotshots, Poster, 35, and Tom Breitling, 34, who gambled part of the $100 million they made to become first-time casino owners. (Tennis star Andre Agassi, Poster's childhood friend, also is an investor.)

"It's the business we always wanted to be in," Breitling says. The Golden Nugget is a landmark property off the Strip in Vegas' funkier downtown. "We want to make this a true gambling joint."

Poster and Breitling are trying to create a Rat Pack atmosphere, an attitude punctuated by numerous photos of Frank Sinatra and the guys in their executive office suite.

Although they can't compete in size or glitz with the mammoth operations on the Strip, the two are counting on intimacy and a hands-on approach. "I am trying to spend more than 50 percent of my time here on the floor," Poster says.

Casino camera crews, which number up to 18, started following Poster and Breitling before they took over the hotel in January, including a grilling of Poster by regulators who asked him about a questionable Vegas acquaintance. "That was one of the moments (of taping) that was not so pleasant," says Poster, who knows that the TV exposure, even if it shows the occasional wart, could promote the Nugget in the same way that MTV's "Real World "gave a PR boost to another hotel casino, The Palms.

Although Poster and Breitling and their huge gamble are central to "The Casino," Burnett says the series, which he sees as "a nine-season, ongoing soap opera," takes a broader look than "The Restaurant," which focused heavily on chef Rocco DiSpirito.

"Casino" is "edgier," he says. "Fox is an edgier network. Las Vegas is an edgier place. It's people letting their hair down and going crazy."

Hotel employees, such as host Sunstrum and singer Dusk, along with many, many good-time guests — including some who were cast at other casinos and flown in — will provide abundant story lines. "It's like 'The Love Boat' on steroids," Burnett says.

On this Friday, one of the stories is Sunstrum, an energetic young host who promised Barenaked Ladies tickets to too many patrons and is scrambling to make good. "There's still 40 minutes," he tells three unhappy gamblers. "I'm doing my best." They needn't fear. Eventually, the head host, Richard Wilk, will provide from his ticket stash. The producers following the action know this. Only Sunstrum seems unaware.