The Mob Museum, also known as the National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement is a popular tourist destination in downtown Las Vegas, NV.
The museum is located in the first federal building in Las Vegas, which originally housed the Courthouse and a U.S. Post Office. It was later restored and turned into the Mob Museum in 2012.
We wanted to check it out after we had seen mostly positive, but some mixed reviews and needed to find out:
Is the Mob Museum worth it?
Mob Museum Las Vegas Quick Stats
| Hours of Operation (Museum) | Daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.* Note: Check the hours before you go as sometimes the venue holds special events and it may close or limit what you can see. |
| Hours of Operation (Speakeasy) | Monday – Wednesday: Noon – 10 p.m. Thursday – Sunday: Noon – Midnight |
| Address | 300 Stewart Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101 |
| Admission | Starting at $29.95 (pricing subject to change) |
| Add-ons | Crime Lab, Distillery Tour & Tasting, Firearm Training Simulator |
| Parking | Limited parking is available in the lot next to The Mob Museum. Parking is also available at nearby casinos including Downtown Grand, Main Street, and El Cortez or other parking garages. Pricing varies by parking lot. |
| Average Visit Time | 2 to 3 Hours |
| Website & Ticket Purchase | The Mob Museum |
| Discounts | Happy Hour Discount: save $7 online when you buy online. Restrictions apply, see website for details. Locals enjoy a substantial discount on ticket prices, must show valid ID per person. |
| Rating | 4.5 Mooses |
What to expect at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas
We visited the Mob Museum in the early afternoon on a weekday. We didn’t pre-purchase tickets as we weren’t sure what time we were going to arrive and we wanted to procure our local’s discount.
Tip: You can pre-purchase tickets online that include discounts. Be prepared to show ID for each member of your group entitled to the discount or you will have to pay full price.
After purchasing our tickets we were directed to take an elevator up to the third floor to begin our tour.
Up first, they’ll usher you into an area to take a “Line Up” photo. When a professional photographer is there (which we’re guessing is always), they charge for a photo and you’re not allowed to take personal photos.
You’ll then wander through various exhibits on the third floor which include a variety of photos, videos and written educational pieces.
After completing the third floor, you’ll end up back at the elevators to head to the next floor. If you get tired of waiting for elevators like we did (they are pretty slow), you can also take the stairs down to the next level.
The second and third floors have the vast majority of the exhibits. You’ll even get an opportunity to be “electrocuted” in one of their interactive exhibits. The handle on the right side of the chair in the photo below actually works. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cause any actual harm.
After finishing up the second floor, we moved down to the first floor to finish up the exhibits. The first floor has far less exhibits as the Firearm Training Simulator and Crime Lab experiences are both located there.
There’s also a fairly large gift shop on the first shop to peruse keepsakes.
After you’re done with the main exhibits, you can head downstairs to the speakeasy.
By the time we got to this point, we were on information overload and didn’t spend much time in the speakeasy. It’s a great place to enjoy some lunch or a drink, but you can also just look around.
Even if you don’t plan to have a snack, we recommend at least taking a look around.
What type of exhibits are at the Mob Museum?
Third floor exhibit highlights
- Birth of the mob
- Crime gets organized
- A tough little town
- Prohibition
- St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall
- Massacre evidence
- The Fed fights back
- Follow the money
- The tentacles spread
Second floor exhibit highlights
- Kefauver hearings
- Historic courtroom
- Open city
- Skim room
- Las Vegas goes straight
- Spinning a deadly web
- Mob’s greatest hits
First floor exhibit highlights
- Bringing down the mob
- 100 years of made men
- Organized crime today
- Global networks touch wall
- Use of force
- Rise of the cartels
- Crime Lab (additional fee applies)
- Firearm Training Simulator (additional fee applies)
More photos from inside
Is the Mob Museum worth it?
Rating: 4.5 Mooses
What we liked:
- The exhibits were extremely detailed and there were far more of them than we expected (three floors to explore plus the speakeasy).
- The museum doesn’t hold back. There are graphic, violent, and gruesome images, movies and interactive displays. While at times it was a little much, we appreciated that history was told and shown as it was, and not dialed back.
What we didn’t like:
- It wasn’t overly crowded on the day we went, but some of the popular exhibits were packed. Some of this is due to the lay-out of the museum and how easy it is to block someone else’s view while you’re reading the exhibits.
- The admission price for the museum, especially if you do any of the add-ons is quite high. Luckily, we were able to purchase two of the three tickets with a local’s discount, but we still felt the price was quite high for the experience.
Verdict: All of us enjoyed our visit to the Mob Museum and we definitely felt it was worth it.
More Information for your trip to Las Vegas:
