Las Vegas Finally Salutes Its Mob History

Siegel is credited by many with begining the Vegas boom by opening the Flamingo Casino.

Las Vegas is well known as a town the Mob built, but only recently have the underworld connections of the past been part of the presentation of the city. Now the Vegas Mob Tour takes tourists on a two-hour trip around town, entertaing them with tales and sights of Las Vegas's long history with gangsters.

The Mob Tour runs six nights a week, showing spots frequented by Vegas legends Bugsy Siegel and Tony Spilotro, the basis for Joe Pesci's character in the movie "Casino." Modern Vegas crime is also featured, including a stop at the spot on the Strip where Tupac Shakur was famously gunned down.

A mob museum is also in the works. The history of Vegas, from Siegel's development of the Flamingo through the Meyer Lansky years to the eventual sellout to Howard Hughes and corporate America will be covered.

Tourist Joe Thomasson of Minesota said of the tour, "It was very educational. I knew Las Vegas had a history with the Mafia, but had no idea how open it was."

Siegel is credited by many with begining the Vegas boom by opening the Flamingo Casino in 1946. Soon, many casinos and hotels followed, even as Siegel was assassinated in Beverly Hills, unable to see the true realization of his dream. 

To some, the mob days bring back a wistful nostalgia for times and methods long gone. Crime in the city was brutally controlled, with troublemakers rumored to be buried throughout the surrounding desert. A certain savoir faire was the image of the day, led by Sinatra's Rat Pack. Any one recalling Alec Baldwin's rant against the insidious takeover by corporate methods in the movie "The Cooler" can appreciate the town's mob history. It is past time Las Vegas acknowledges its debt.