Preserving a Bloody History

"Americans have long been entranced by hooligans who laundered money, bootlegged, bullied and killed. Entrepreneurs have bused tourists to mob haunts in Newark, N.J.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Chicago. Vegas' own godfathers were immortalized in the 1995 Martin Scorsese movie "Casino," which was partly filmed here."

"Sin City has dusted off its gangster skeletons with the Vegas Mob Tour based at the Greek Isles Hotel & Casino, 'Sopranos'-inspired dinner theater at the Riviera Hotel & Casino and a proposed mob museum."

"The tour offers insight into how this city has -- mostly -- made peace with gangsters such as Tony "the Ant" Spilotro and mob bosses who helped turn the remote town into a resort by investing in casinos that mainstream businessmen scorned."

"Watching older casinos tumble like dominoes to make way for mega-resorts, Griffin fretted that Las Vegas was throwing away its history, particularly the organized-crime chapter."