The Mob Museum

The Mob Museum, officially the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, tells the story of the mob in America and the people who fought it, and it does so in a building with a genuine role in that history. It occupies the former Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse, built in 1933 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city bought the building from the federal government for one dollar in 2000 on condition it was restored for cultural use, and the museum opened on 14 February 2012.

Visits begin on the top floor and work downwards. The most famous exhibit is the brick wall from the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, displayed on the third floor where the tour begins. The restored second-floor courtroom is the centrepiece: it hosted one of the Kefauver Committee's hearings on organised crime in 1950 and 1951, which brought the mob's links to gambling into public view. Other displays include Organized Crime Today, added in 2018, and a wall of actors who have played well-known mobsters on film and television, while "Mob's Greatest Hits" shows graphic photographs of famous murders and is best skipped with younger children.

In the basement, The Underground is a working speakeasy and distillery that opened in 2018. It is open from 11am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday, so you can finish a visit with a cocktail or come back later in the evening. The museum offers audio tours and a range of ticketed experiences beyond general admission.

The museum is open daily from 9am to 9pm, although hours can change for events. Buying tickets online is cheaper, with the museum advertising savings of up to 20 per cent. Most visitors spend two to three hours inside, and the exhibits are text- and film-heavy, so it suits history lovers, true-crime fans and anyone curious about how Las Vegas grew. It also works well as an air-conditioned escape on a hot afternoon.

The museum is on Stewart Avenue, steps from Fremont Street, so it pairs naturally with an evening under the Fremont Street Experience canopy. The Neon Museum is a short ride north along Las Vegas Boulevard, and the restaurants and bars of Fremont East are within walking distance.