"Luxury Lounge" is the 72nd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the seventh of the show's sixth season. Written by Matthew Weiner and directed by Danny Leiner, it originally aired on April 23, 2006.
Starring
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco as Jennifer Melfi *
Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti
Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr. *
Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr. *
Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano *
Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano Baccalieri *
Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri
Frank Vincent as Phil Leotardo
John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
Ray Abruzzo as Little Carmine Lupertazzi
Kathrine Narducci as Charmaine Bucco
Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
* = credit only
Guest starring
Synopsis
Corky Caporale provides the two Italian hitmen hired to kill Rusty with "clean" pistols and directions to his location; they kill Rusty and his bodyguard.
At Nuovo Vesuvio, Phil and Tony celebrate the induction of Gerry and Burt Gervasi into their respective crime families. During the party, there are mutters about the deteriorating quality of the restaurant. Tony later has a meal at Da Giovanni, a highly successful rival restaurant. Artie is facing problems at Nuovo Vesuvio: it is losing money and there are tensions with Benny, who is flirting with the new Albanian hostess, Martina. While nursing a drink at the Bada Bing, Artie confronts Tony about dining at Da Giovanni; to provoke him, he alludes to his habitual adultery. Tony does not yield. When he offers some tips to increase the restaurant's popularity, Artie angrily rebuffs him and suggests he settle his outstanding tab if he wants to help. Later, Artie rejects his wife Charmaine's suggestions to stop bothering his guests with table-side visits.
Fraud investigators for American Express visit Nuovo Vesuvio because someone is stealing credit card numbers from Artie's customers, and the restaurant's card usage has to be suspended. Artie learns Martina helped Benny steal the numbers and fires her. He then goes to Benny's house in the middle of the night and provokes a fistfight; Benny is left bleeding on his porch. Tony meets separately with the two men and compels them to make peace. At Tony's insistence, Benny's parents have their anniversary dinner at Nuovo Vesuvio. Artie visits them during their meal. In front of his pregnant wife, Artie offers Benny a "martina", explaining that it is an Albanian martini that "goes down real easy". An enraged Benny follows Artie into the kitchen and forces his right hand into a boiling pot of tomato sauce.
Christopher asks Tony's permission to fly to Los Angeles with Little Carmine to cast actors for Cleaver, and Tony reluctantly consents. While he is away, Murmur makes rounds for Chris; they include delivering card numbers to Ahmed and Muhammad, who are stealing money via the Internet. Benny takes over Chris' credit card operation, giving a cut to Tony.
In L.A., Chris and Little Carmine have a scheduled meeting with Ben Kingsley. He is not interested in Cleaver and interrupts Chris and Carmine to speak to Lauren Bacall, who is to be a presenter at an award show. Chris and Carmine then tag along with him, and Chris is astounded by the great quantity of free expensive luxury items the actor is offered. Chris later phones Kingsley, unsuccessfully asking him to arrange for Chris himself to enter their hotel's Luxury Lounge.
When Kingsley turns down Cleaver, Chris summons Murmur to L.A.; he finds Chris intoxicated in his hotel room. Once he sobers up, the two corner Kingsley in an elevator and try to subtly intimidate him into giving them access to the Luxury Lounge. Kingsley blurts out that award presenters get free goods worth around $30,000. Outside the awards show Chris, masked, mugs Bacall, stealing her gift bag. At home, he offers Tony some of the stolen goods, but Tony is more concerned with Chris' lack of focus, blaming his absence for the feud between Artie and Benny.
Deceased
Rusty Millio: assassinated on orders from Johnny "Sack" via Tony Soprano's enlisted hit men from Italy for potentially trying to take power away from Johnny again. Eddie Pietro: collateral damage from the Millio hit. An eastern cottontail: Shot by Artie Bucco while eating the vegetables in his garden.