Final Note

Las Vegas to open a Mob Museum

Kai Ryssdal Feb 3, 2012

This final note. Tourism in Las Vegas, as we’ve noted, has taken a hit. There are signs it’s coming back. And a new venture in town aims to pull in some visitors by dipping into a little history locals may or may not be happy to remind people about.

The Mob Museum opens in a couple weeks. Officially: The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. It’s in the original federal building here, built in the ’30s in downtown Las Vegas. It’s got all sorts of cool mafia things like John Gotti’s suit and machine gun simulators.

But the best part:

Jonathan Ullman: One of our premiere exhibits is the wall where the Valentine Massacre took place.

Ryssdal: The actual wall. Wow.

Ullman: This explemifies why this museum is really unique.

Museum director Jonathan Ullman gave us the tour. And fear not, he says, the G-Men get their fair share of the glory here, too.

It opens Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.