Boardwalk Empire season 4 - Arnold Rothstein asks Nucky Thompson for money

Steve Buscemi as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson
Michael Stuhlbarg as Arnold Rothstein

[valaquenta]

Here's how it works: Arnold used his insurance subsidiaries to launder his dirty money. So what he did, essentially, is simply pay himself his own insurances in case where people died, so he neither won nor lost money (except tax money obviously, but that was worth it since it made his dirty money "legal"). Of course, you might ask : "why didn't he just kill Mickey and get his 500k laundered", right?...Welp, that's the thing : at this point, Arnold's illegal revenues weren't enough to the take care of the money this particular insurance covered, so he COULD NOT kill Mickey at all. He simply didn't have enough cash to launder this much. So, his idea was to sell the insurance to Nucky, in order to get enough fund for new illegal ventures, and start anew financially speaking...which is a risky move because Nucky could have killed Mickey when he wanted, and ask Arnold's insurance company for the 500k dollars, which would have put Arnold in a very, VERY difficult spot.
NB : I'm pretty sure his insurance subsidiaries also had A LOT of customers and were a profitable venture, but nowhere near as profitable as his illegal ventures.

[benyang]

Rothstein Seasons 1-3 = Shark Tank Panel
Rothstein Season 4 = Shark Tank Contestant

[Guru]

It's amazing how much power Arnold lost as the series went by. Started as the richest of them all, and reduced to bartering with his once arch nemesis for 100K.

[jackdaone]

“Probably the best investment I’ll ever make; I know a dozen people who’d kill Mickey for free.”

Such a great line.

[elimin-]

You can see the fear of going broke in AR's eyes

[dulio]

You gotta love how Arnold' facial expression go from WTF to WTF to WTF during this conversation.

[Danny-sdvm]

The actor that plays Rothstein is absolutely incredible. Boardwalk Empire doesn't get the credit it deserves.

[unkownuser]

Mickey was a great character. If you ever seen the actor who plays him out of character, you will realize how good of a character Mickey is. The laugh, the jokes, the hunger for respect.

[Fatherdoughin]

I love how he aceppted 20 cents because, Even if it's twice what he offered, it's more of a friendly gesture to a long time friend, who has saved him multiple times

[jackdaone]

“So what’re you waiting for? Kill him.”

Also a great line.

[fathergabrielstokes]

My heart skipped a beat with this scene. I was happy he was never killed by Rothstein.

[jimmynuttin]

Just when I thought I was out, THEY PULL ME BACK IN

[Shawn-stlx]

I still wonder how someone like Mickey and that gang of brothers could even be insured for so much. Half a million is an extreme amount of money in 1920. What would the monthly premium be on an insurance policy like that?

[AdeptusChaoticus]

500k adjusted for inflation is around 7.5 million today. Who has that kind of life insurance policy? Especially in the 1920s.

[roarblast]

Buscemi seems wooden in this show, but upon closer inspection, you realize that he's actually not wooden at all. He's very expressive, and there is a lot of nuance to his performance as well. But it's all ensconced in a stiffness. That stiffness, rigidness, is integral to nuckys character. His rise, and his fall.

[gagekoval]

I love the research that went into this. “How does a plug nickel sound?” Didn’t even know what they were until I watched this show.

[bbsolpico]

It makes me smile how nucky repeatedly reiterating the cheapness of Nicky Doyle's life

[goodplenty]

When lucky killed micky Nucky got a nice payday

[neilsonhans]

Mickey indeed was killed in the end but ironically Nicky won't lived long enough to reap as the policy

[TheAntiTrope]

I never understood this. Arnold owns the insurance company ("one of my subsidiaries"), wouldn't he be losing money twice by cashing in the policy of someone that chiselled him? How does this work?