The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement (or more simply, the Mob Museum), is dedicated to recording the life and times of some of the city’s most famous mafia players and gangsters, including Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, John Gotti and Whitey Bulger. Through a fascinating collection of memorabilia, original artefacts and interactive displays, the museum explores the roles that these men played in turning a dusty desert town into the Las Vegas of glitz, glamour and excess that we see today.
Established in February 2012, the 3,809-square-metre museum opened its doors to coincide with the 83rd anniversary of the famous Chicago St. Valentine massacre, which saw the bloody end of a long-standing rivalry between Bugs Moran and Al Capone. One of the museum’s signature exhibits is the original, bullet-ridden wall from the site of the massacre, which was salvaged, reassembled and now rests in this museum in Vegas.
The museum is housed in a former federal courthouse and U.S. post office, which is one of the few historically significant buildings still standing in the city. It was in this courtroom that one of the 14 national Kefauver Committee hearings was held in 1950, which focused on the investigation of organised crime in Las Vegas and the rest of the United States.
The Mob Museum is home to an extensive and fascinating collection of exhibits that show how the police have tried to eliminate organised crime over the years. With everything from old-school wire taps in the 1940s to recording gangster phone conversations, you can enter the secret world of the FBI and learn their tricks of the trade.
Located in downtown Las Vegas, it’s best to come to the Mob Museum by public transport as there is limited parking. The museum welcomes visitors of all ages, but children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Bear in mind that some of the exhibits contain quite graphic images, including weapons and images from crime scenes.
