Our Fascination With Mob Movies Runs Deep

The Sicilian Mafia a.k.a. La Cosa Nostra originated in the 19th century, in Sicily, Italy. But that’s not the extent of the Mafia’s influence. Perhaps their greatest impact was felt in the USA, with mob families running the East Coast, the Midwest, and the West Coast. Their reign was brutal particularly during the 1920s and 1930s in the USA, but it didn’t end there. Italian mobsters ruled the roost with an iron fist. The Mafia hierarchy is quite something, and includes at the lowest level the associates. Above them are the soldiers who work for the Caporegime. Their boss is known as the Underboss who in turn works for the Big Boss who is advised by the Consigliere.

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The Sicilian Mafia a.k.a. La Cosa Nostra originated in the 19th century, in Sicily, Italy. But that’s not the extent of the Mafia’s influence. Perhaps their greatest impact was felt in the USA, with mob families running the East Coast, the Midwest, and the West Coast. Their reign was brutal particularly during the 1920s and 1930s in the USA, but it didn’t end there. Italian mobsters ruled the roost with an iron fist. The Mafia hierarchy is quite something, and includes at the lowest level the associates. Above them are the soldiers who work for the Caporegime. Their boss is known as the Underboss who in turn works for the Big Boss who is advised by the Consigliere.

According to the FBI, one of the biggest mafia dons ever was Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano. But he wasn’t the first… Giuseppe Esposito is regarded as the first Italian mobster to step foot in the US after he and his cohorts murdered the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of one of the Sicilian provinces, along with almost a dozen wealthy landowners. The Mafia in the US was born from rival gangs vying for dominance. Over time, many mobsters assumed control over territory and later lost control as new gangs and new leadership displaced them. Among the most notable mobsters was Salvatore Maranzano who ended up controlling New York.

The Gambino & Genovese Families – Mafia Royalty

The Gambino and Genovese families sprung from Salvatore Maranzano’s conspiracy with Lucky Luciano. But Luciano had Maranzano murdered several months later. Luciano was the one who set the rules for all the major crime families, including how profits were distributed. He became America’s most wanted gangster. Naturally, the fear and loathing and morbid fascination with mob life soon caught on in Hollywood.

Movie producers, film directors, scriptwriters, and actors were clamoring to cash in on the action. Even TV series like Narcos (2015 – 2017) emerged as hugely popular eye candy for fans of mob movies. With a stellar 8.8/10 rating from 371,000 viewers on IMDB, Narcos detailed the exploits of the biggest drug lord of all time – Colombian kingpin, Pablo Escobar. Such was the immense popularity of this series that NetEnt even created the official Narcos slot machine at Casino.com. Naturally, this slot game is an interactive depiction of the wild and dangerous life gangsters and drug lords live.

This Netflix show turned slot game features 243 ways to win, and it’s all about catching Pablo, or rather his loot, in a high-speed extravaganza of big wins. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is hot on Pablo’s tail, and it’s a tour de force of interactive entertainment. Players get to experience pulse-pounding action from the relative safety of PC, Mac or mobile.

The Mobsters Left an Indelible Impression on Americana 

There’s no doubt that those who are fascinatedby the mob will follow everything worthwhile that Hollywood churns out. The autocratic chain-of-command, the drugs, the girls, the power, and the influence were simply too hard to resist for the wiseguys out there.  Before long, legendary actors like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starred in a series of epic Hollywood blockbusters.

Consider the likes of Scarface (1983), The Godfather (1972), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Gotti (2018), or The Irishman (2019). The titles abound. It is true, and we simply cannot get enough of their depraved and debauched ways, their violence and their insatiable appetite for power. Love them or loathe them, the mafia remains a tightly-knit unit characterized by backstabbing, double-dealing, and wanton disregard for anything civil. They are dapper and dangerous, beneficent and brutal, charming and cruel… Capisce?