Find A Grave: Geri McGee Rosenthal

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Birth:	May 16, 1936 Los Angeles Los Angeles County California, USA
Death:	Nov. 9, 1982 Los Angeles Los Angeles County California, USA
Wife of Las Vegas sports handicapper, Frank Rosenthal, their life story was the focus of a novel, Casino, by author Nicholas Pileggi, and in the subsequent 1995 movie by the same name; her movie role was played by actress Sharon Stone. Born Geraldine “Geri” McGee, she met Anthony Spilotro, the best friend of Frank Rosenthal, at a gambling convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where she began an affair with him. She made her living as a “chip girl” (a good looking woman who hustled gamblers for a chip or two in exchange for temporary companionship) and as a part time topless dancer and occasional prostitute, hanging around the high rolling gamblers in the casinos, where she would move from gambler to gambler. Frank Rosenthal was a brilliant Chicago bookie and odds maker who made millions for the mafia, and was then sent to Las Vegas to recruit the casinos there for organized crime. Rosenthal brought with him his childhood friend and mafia muscleman, Anthony Spilotro, who introduced him to Geri, and soon Frank and Geri were a couple. Frank Rosenthal would soon make the Stardust into one of the leading sports gambling centers in Las Vegas , but on October 4, 1982, an attempt was made on his life by placing a bomb underneath his car. While the bombing attempt failed to kill him, it did bring government and media attention to Frank’s activities. The government quickly gathered sufficient evidence on him to tie him to organized crime, and with that information, the Nevada Gaming Commission ordered Rosenthal to remain out of casinos for the rest of his life. In the meantime, Frank had married Geri and they had two children. To compound Frank’s problems, Geri had become an alcoholic and drug abuser, and was engaging in numerous affairs, including resuming the one with Frank’s best friend Tony Spilotro. Their activities read like a Hollywood movie script, which it ironically became after their deaths. Shortly after Geri’s death, rumors spoke of Frank having her murdered, and he spent up to $50,000 to have an autopsy performed, in which the coroner ruled that she died from an accidental drug overdose of cocaine, valium and whiskey. In spite of her numerous affairs and other problems, she was considered a loving mother to her children. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)

Burial: Mount Sinai Memorial Park Los Angeles Los Angeles County California, USA Plot: Ramah I, Plot 1569
Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Nov 11, 2000 Find A Grave Memorial# 18376