Geri McGee: The Casino Love Triangle and the Death Frank Rosenthal Never Believed Was an Accident

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An Old Fashioned, some red lipstick and a black dress…sigh, there’s just something undeniable about a good ol’ classic. The beloved Vegas showgirl may be an endangered species these days (insert tear), but “VEGAS! THE SHOW” preserved those feather-clad beauties and the likes of an era when everything was flashier and dripping with sophistication. What’s that you ask? Can a show filled with gorgeous and talented women a la Rat Pack era really exist in the here and now? Oh yes my friend, it sure can and all we have to say is raise that curtain and let the good times roll. With a little song, a lot of dance and that certain sultry allure that only old timey Vegas could pull off, this is a trip down memory lane and, well, it’s pretty legit. The costumes are fun, funky, sexy and so real. Ok, well maybe not the candy-themed costumes but hell, their Sammy Davis Jr. sure had us pining for an autograph. For a city that was built on pure, raw talent and obviously dolla dolla bills, this show celebrates iconic moments from the city's rich entertainment history through the decades that made the Vegas we know and love today. And we’ll tip our top hats to that.

RockSinCity

Published Jul 21, 2026

Sharon Stone's performance in Casino won her an Oscar nomination. But the real woman behind the character — Geri McGee — had a story far darker, and far less resolved, than anything that made it to the screen.

Geri McGee came to Las Vegas in the 1950s and became one of the most socially powerful women on the Strip, working the rooms of the Tropicana and the Dunes before marrying Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal — the man who ran the Stardust for the Chicago Outfit. Then Tony Spilotro, the Outfit's most feared enforcer and Rosenthal's closest friend, entered the picture.

On October 8th, 1982, Geri was found dead in a Los Angeles motel room. The coroner ruled it an accidental drug overdose. Frank Rosenthal never believed it. He spent the rest of his life implying that his ex-wife had been murdered — and that the timing, three weeks after someone bombed his own car, was not a coincidence.

This is the real Geri McGee story — the one Casino left unanswered.

In this video:
• Her early years as the Queen of the Strip at the Tropicana and Dunes
• The real dynamics of the Rosenthal-Spilotro-McGee triangle — more intense than the film
• Frank Rosenthal's car bombing — and what happened three weeks later
• The motel room, the coroner's report, and what it doesn't explain
• The conspiracy theories that Vegas historians still debate today

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