ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of the Mob Museum as a crucial component in the public relations and marketing efforts of the city of Las Vegas. The Mob Museum serves as a key site for the modern development of Las Vegas as a tourist destination. The building of the Mob Museum, however, helds promise for community-based efforts to revitalize Las Vegas’s urban core, as cultural museums are shown to benefit the business in the surrounding neighborhoods. The examination of the Mob Museum draws from two primary sources: articles in the popular press and the museum itself, including its collection, the text on exhibit labels, and the physical building. The chapter discusses the information gathered from the newspaper articles and from observations in the museum. When the Mob Museum’s use of federal stimulus funds for development reached the national news, the museum suddenly catapulted into the national spotlight.
