Casino Jack and the United States of Money is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney.
Synopsis
The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C. lobbyist, businessman, and con manKojo Nnamdi, Alex Gibney, Bob Ney, Neil Volz "Casino Jack" WAMU-FM April 29, 2010 Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to the conviction of himself, two Bush White House officials, Rep. Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion in 2006 and of trading expensive gifts, meals and sports trips in exchange for political favors. As of December 2010 Abramoff has completed his prison sentence.
Contributors Juan Babauta – Governor, CNMI (2002–2006) Jim Benedetto – Federal Labor Ombudsman, CNMI (2002-2008) Pamela Brown – Former Attorney General, CNMI Tom DeLay – U.S. Congressman (R-TX) (1984–2006) Nina Easton – Author, Gang of Five Peter Fitzgerald – U.S. Senator (R-IL) (1999–2005) Thomas Frank – Author, The Wrecking Crew David Grosh – Former Rehoboth Beach lifeguard Carlos Hisa – Lt. Governor, Tigua Tribe of El Paso, Texas Robert G. Kaiser – Author, So Damn Much Money Adam Kidan – Former owner, SunCruz Casinos Shawn Martin – Reporter, American Press of Lake Charles, Louisiana Rep. George Miller (D-CA) Bob Ney – U.S. Congressman, (R-OH) (1995–2006) Ron Platt – Former Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Tom Rodgers – Lobbyist, Carlyle Consulting Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) Khaled Saffuri – Public affairs consultant, Meridian Strategies Susan Schmidt – Former reporter, The Washington Post David Sickey – Vice Chairman, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Melanie Sloan – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Peter Stone – Author, Heist: Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff Froilan Tenorio – Governor, CNMI (1994–1998) Neil Volz – Former Chief of Staff to Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) J. Michael Waller – Director, Institute of World Politics
Reception On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 67 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Casino Jacks subject matter is enraging, but in the hands of director Alex Gibney, it's also well-presented and briskly entertaining." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
References
External links Official website
C-SPAN Q&A interview with Alex Gibney about Casino Jack and the United States of Money, June 13, 2010