Casino Jack and the United States of Money

Director Alex Gibney made Taxi to the Dark Side, the definitive film on the United States government’s involvement in torture during the Afghan and Iraqi wars. With Casino Jack, he turns his attention to the way money moves legislation, and, more specifically, the way lobbyist Jack Abramoff conned his way into millions of dollars and a short prison sentence. Working with gullible Christians, naïve casino owners and conservatives who thought that Abramoff represented their principles and not just his own financial interests, he managed to tie himself into slave rings, terrorist organizations and Ralph Reed’s inflated ego. Gibney’s film is complex—it’s filled with enough material for a 12-hour miniseries. But despite, or maybe because of, its density, Casino Jack is immensely entertaining and deeply infuriating. Most importantly, it respects the audience’s intelligence, and serves as a stimulus for learning more about the way the ship of state floats on an ocean of dirty, dirty money.