After 50 years on the Las Vegas Strip, Circus Circus still going strong
Fifty years ago this month, Circus Circus opened its doors at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. It’s…
Las Vegas
The first mobster in Las Vegas: Part 3
Last of three parts On June 20, 1929, Jim Ferguson, the king of the Las Vegas bootleggers, took the stand…
The first mobster in Las Vegas: Part 2
Second of three parts The year 1928 initially looked good from Jim Ferguson’s standpoint. The “King of the Tenderloin” in…
The Stardust Hotel, longtime cash cow for the Mob, debuted 60 years ago on the Las Vegas Strip
One of the Las Vegas Strip’s most iconic casino resorts opened 60 years ago today. The Stardust was renowned for…
Joe Friday tackled the Los Angeles crime syndicate
William H. Parker, a hardnosed police chief in midcentury Los Angeles, did not want organized crime in his city. In…
Forty years ago, Jimmy “The Weasel” Fratianno turned on his Mob family
Some mobsters left their legacy by the gun, some by the knife, but Jimmy “the Weasel” Fratianno is best known…
Ten years ago, epic ‘Family Secrets’ trial crippled the Chicago Outfit
The historic “Family Secrets” trial began 10 years ago in Chicago, finally bringing to justice several top Midwestern mobsters responsible…
Seventy years ago today, Bugsy Siegel’s storied Mob life came to an abrupt end
It is important to our Museum and to me as the resident historian that criminals and their criminal acts are…
The hit that could have sunk Las Vegas
On May 2, 1957, Frank Costello thought he had problems, but he had no idea. He was appealing a five-year…
Legendary comic Don Rickles, a Las Vegas showroom staple, has died
Don Rickles, who comically insulted Las Vegas audiences for seven decades and had a prominent role in Casino, died Thursday…