The city of Las Vegas has a reputation for being well-suited to entertainers and gamblers, but it also has a dark side – the mob.
The Las Vegas Strip is lined with casinos that have historically been owned by organized crime families. In fact, one of the first casinos in Las Vegas belonged to Bugsy Siegel, who was rumored to have ties to the Italian mob. The Flamingo Hotel opened in 1946 and was built on land that Siegel had bought from his friends in the New York City. The casino’s success helped spur other casino owners to move into Las Vegas and build their own resorts. And many of them were also tied to the mob.
Although Sin City is no longer the epicenter of mafia activity, we have seen several crime stories that have taken place here over the past year. In the article, we will briefly tell you about these mystical crimes.
The Lake Mead case
When Lake Mead near Las Vegas suffered drought and its shoreline shrank significantly, locals discovered a strange rusty metal barrel containing human remains. As the investigation showed, the victim was shot and locked in a barrel around the late 70s and early 80s. This era belonged to Tony “The Ant” Spilotro who was known for his daring criminal habits.
The respected reporter
Jeff German has been one of the most influential reporters who has covered Las Vegas crime stories for 40 years. He definitely had numerous enemies in the mafia world. But despite this, the local community was shocked when they learned that Jeff was killed outside of his home in September 2022. Most people are sure that this incident was revenge for one of the many criminal cases that German investigated.
FanDuel’s new facility
FanDuel is an incredibly popular betting company, and it has decided to open its new betting facility at the Fremont hotel-casino that once belonged to the mafia. Since 1956, when the casino saw its first visitors, it has been featured in numerous sketchy stories. The company held a grand opening on December 17 and generated a lot of buzz around the event due to Fremont’s role in the Las Vegas crime history.
Home of the legend
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel mentioned earlier became one of the founders of Sin City’s crime culture. In 1947, he rented a mansion for his girlfriend Virginia Hill in Beverly Hills. He often visited this house and was shot dead in it by some unknown hitman. Although this mansion has a rather sad history, it was put up for sale last year. And now anyone who can afford to buy a $17 million house can touch Benjamin “Bugsy’s” legend”. The room, in which the mafia leader was killed, remained almost unchanged. So, it is fair to say that this mansion is a museum of Las Vegas’ crime life to some extent.
