Mob Museum

Information

Mob Museum
300 Stewart Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-229-2734
website
$26.95 Adults
$16.95 Kids 11-17 (10 and under free)
$16.95 Students 18-23
$20.95 Srs, Military, Law Enforcement, Teachers
Daily 9am-9pm
Vegas4Visitors Grade: A

At a Glance

What is it?

A fantastic museum examining the history of the mafia in America and in Las Vegas in particular. It’s packed with tons of endlessly engaging exhibits, interactive displays, photos, video, memorabilia, and more.

Where is it?

In Downtown Las Vegas, a couple of blocks away from The Fremont Street Experience.

Is it worth the cost?

Totally worth every penny. This is an absolute must-visit attraction in Las Vegas. Note that you can get a discount if you buy tickets online ahead of time, which makes it even more of a bargain.

What else do I need to know?

This is not a stodgy museum – it is lively, entertaining, and engaging so put away your notions about what a museum experience should be and come here immediately. Also, it should be noted that although they have kids prices and some sections will be a lot of fun for them, there are a lot of violent images in the museum so parents should be aware before they bring the wee ones.

What’s the bottom line?

One of the best attraction in Las Vegas.

Full Review

In ways both profound and subtle, the Las Vegas we know today would not exist had it not been for organized crime. It was mob money that built much of The Strip, from Bugsy Siegel’s “fabulous” Flamingo in the 1940s all the way through to The Aladdin in the 1960s with stops at The Sands, The Dunes, The Desert Inn, and The Stardust along the way. When Senator Estes Kefauver held hearings in the early 1950s investigating the mafia’s reach and influence, a courtroom in Las Vegas hosted some of the testimony.

But once the mob had been (mostly) rooted out of Sin City, it seemed as though the city itself would’ve preferred you forgot about that particular part of its history. In the sanitized, corporate world of modern Las Vegas, there is no room for anything that could sully its image as a trustworthy, albeit hedonistic, playground. It was a riff on the city’s catchphrase: what happened in the past should stay in the past.

With the opening of its doors The Mob Museum shattered that revisionist history through an entertaining, interactive, and high-tech look at the mafia in America and in Las Vegas in particular. It is, without a doubt, the best museum in the city and should be a must-visit attraction on everyone’s list.

Located in the old courthouse building that held the Kefauver hearings, the exhibits cover more than 17,000 square-feet on three floors of the beautifully restored building.

Visitors start on the third floor with a line-up, complete with one-way glass and a recorded voice telling people to “step forward” so the rest of the crowd can get a good look at you. It sets the tone for the rest of the experience, demonstrating that while the subject matter may be grim the examination of it doesn’t have to be all museum seriousness.

Various well laid out displays with lots of big, easily readable text, photos, and video runs through the early history of the mob in America, explaining how organized crime grew (chalkboard diagrams offer a visual representation), prospered during prohibition (pictures are on casks set into the wall), and eventually came to Las Vegas (a room evoking the Arizona Club is filled with old Vegas memorabilia). Interactive bits include a Tommy gun that you can “shoot” – it bucks and jerks and makes noise when you pull the trigger, often startling those in the room who weren’t expecting it – and a video showing the ceremony through which someone is “made.”

The design of the displays is lively and engaging, with each offering graphic and textual ways of explaining the subjects. A big photo of a dinner party filled with mafia figures is fronted by a buffet table with interactive screens embedded in the top on which visitors can surf a “menu” of mob locations and names. A paragraph discussing how drugs were smuggled into the country from Europe in tomato sauce cans is surrounded by dozens of them embedded into the wall.

Big showcase pieces include the electric chair from Sing Sing and a video about the St. Valentine’s Massacre in Chicago broadcast on the actual wall in front of which seven Mafioso were shot.

And that’s all just on the top floor.

The second floor is dominated by the courtroom in which the Kefauver hearings were held. It has been restored and features the actual bench and pews that were in the room at the time but goes beyond just a museum display by introducing video and 3-D technology to make it appear as if you are in the room while the hearings are going on.

The rest of the second floor is devoted to the mob in Vegas, with information on various figures that ran the city and the casinos they oversaw. There’s lots of video and memorabilia here plus some really cool interactive pieces using touch-screen displays built into old slot machines.

A lot of the first floor is about the various crime-fighting techniques used by law enforcement to bring down the mob. There are stations at which you can listen to wiretap style recordings and a simulated weapons training room using a video wall and a very real feeling gun to give you a “you are there” feeling in a dangerous situation. Other displays include information on the witness protection program, women in the mob, and the mafia’s influence on popular culture (complete with memorabilia from The Sopranos).

A 2018 remodeling and expansion project added a couple of new interactive exhibits including the Crime Lab, where you get to use clues to solve some nefarious doings, and Use of Force, where you get to act like a junior G-man taking down criminals (virtually, of course). They also have a new Distillery and Speakeasy in the basement, ostensibly to teach you more about prohibition but also they serve booze so woohoo! These experiences cost anywhere from $7 to $15 on top of the museum admission and sell out quickly so book early.

They even have a new app that allows you to find your “Dopplegangster.” Upload your photo and the app will use facial recognition to pair you with the infamous mafioso that you most closely resemble. The app also has an interactive map of the museum, self-guided tours, and a scavenger hunt-like game that will send you on missions through the facility. It’s free to download and available in both the Apple and Google Play stores.

As much as I’ve described, there is so much more and every piece of it is endlessly fascinating. Although you could do the entire thing in about an hour if you skim and move quickly, visitors should budget at least two hours to do it justice.

The Mob Museum is the kind of place that should be a destination all on its own, providing a reason besides the casinos, shows, shopping, and dining to visit Las Vegas.

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