Located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas on Stewart Avenue, sits the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. This museum stands as a reminder of the time when Las Vegas was inhabited by mobsters, bootleggers and other various criminals of the underworld. This art gallery of crime is open to the public during the whole week from the hours 9am-9pm. This museum serves as an intriguing sight into a long gone era. When visiting the museum entry fees can end up costing visitors $34.95 for General Admission into the exhibit, however the Deluxe pass is $49.95 for an extra interactive experience, there is also a premium price of $54.95 for two interactive experiences.
There are three interactive exhibits to choose from, one being the crime lab. This is an experience that allows visitors to explore the work of forensic scientists where they will learn fingerprint analysis, DNA profiling, and medical examinations, and securing evidence to a case. The second experience is the Distiller tour and tasting which is a prohibition era bar and experience. Customers will get to taste their way throughout the years while exploring the world of the underworld during prohibition era while also looking deeper into the drinking culture of the 1920s and before. Visitors must be 21 and over for this experience. The final experience is the firearm training simulator where customers will make split second decisions that law enforcement officers encounter on a daily basis. A trainer leads visitors through a video and live scenarios. A number of students from Shadow Ridge have visited this attraction and it is highly recommended.
Freshman Alondra Limon states, “This museum is definitely a must do if you’re planning on visiting many museums in the future. I love how it outlines many things in the history of Las Vegas. From learning about the crime families to the casinos, this is a must do.”
The museum also has many artifacts from real events in mob history such as the actual wall from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that took place on February 14, 1929. The museum also includes a simulation of the electric chair; while it’s just a prop it is still as close as visitors can get without being harmed in any way, many visitors enjoyed that simulation.
Sophomore Luis Flores explains, “The electric chair simulation was pretty cool, the flashing lights, the loud noises and the vibrating chair made it a very cool and scary experience to see.”
The building itself has a lot of history from the Kefauver hearings, to trials, to information among the federal agents who worked in this building. It’s interesting that the captivating history lives within this building that is now a mob museum. Other events within these walls would be the Las Vegas owners and managers of the casinos in the courtroom who were to answer questions about the mob from members of the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee to investigate Crime in interstate commerce. These owners and managers come from casinos around Las Vegas such as the Flamingo Hotel and the Desert Inn. The museum also talks about other mob related subjects like the Genovese crime family, Chicago outfit, Patriarca crime family, Detroit partnership, Cleveland crime family, Los Angeles crime family, Kansas City crime family and lastly the Colombo Crime family. Each of them controlled certain places around Las Vegas including casinos such as the Stardust which was imploded on March 13, 2007 and was replaced with Resorts World.
Many students were not aware of the history that Las Vegas really holds.
Sophomore James Razo states, “I was aware that Las Vegas had some involvement with crime but I didn’t think it was to a huge degree. I learned so many things and would definitely visit again.”
This museum shows the history of the past dating back to before the 1920s to the present showing the ways that organized crime has evolved in all aspects. While this museum shows primarily organized crime topics the museum would like visitors to know that they are not glorifying crime but showing true fact and history throughout the visit.
