Viva, Las Vegas! Days 7 and 8 in Sin City...

Day 7 


Tuesday has no specific agenda, so we decide to go to the Mob Experience at the Tropicana.  As usual we didn't head out until afternoon, but the temperature was fairly pleasant.  We stopped into the Miracle Miles for an ice cream treat and then made our way to the gorgeous Tropicana.  

The Tropicana is on Tropicana Ave. across from Excalibur.

This is one of the two towers of rooms at the Tropicana.

This is one of my favorite resorts in Vegas to look at.  The clean white buildings remind me of white sand beaches and with the Palm trees it just seems very - well - tropical.  We wander around lost for awhile before we find the Mob Experience.  Like many Vegas attractions, photos are not allowed here.  The Mob Experience is a mix of history, interactive exhibits, special effects (think holograms) and artifacts.  

The creator of the Mob Experience got actual mob families to participate by contributing actual family and mob heirlooms.  Each person is given a mob name.  I was "Greasy Thumb" and Kyle was "The Plumber".  We also got to select a celebrity such as Tony Sirico to guide our tour.  We entered through a speakeasy, and from there we had decisions to make.  Would we pass along the money we were supposed to hand over, or keep it for ourselves?  Do we talk to the police or side with the mob? How will we handle the cheater in our casino?  Warn him or bury him in the desert?  Depending on our decisions, we have one of four final outcomes - and unfortunately, we happened to end up in jail.  

Vegas is expensive.  We had to rob a bank.

We were captured :(

Before our final fate was handed to us we were able to walk through several rooms of exhibits - a room each for mobsters including Sam Giancana (thought to be linked to the Kennedy assassination), Bugsy Segal (founder of the original Flamingo), Meyer Lanksy and more.  Correspondence, clothing, home movies, furniture and even Bugsy's car are among hundreds of artifacts that humanize these mobsters.  I saw them as husbands, fathers, and even businessmen.  It didn't glorify them, but it definitely depicts the humanity behind the tough exteriors.  

The Mob Experience is a bit pricey, but Kyle and I agreed it was worth it.  It's a nice mix of history, entertainment, technology and culture.  We ventured down the strip, again after dark, and saw a few more of the casinos lit up for the night. 

Planet Hollywood

One of the prettiest nighttime sites.  

We top the evening off with a stop at the PBR Grill and Bar to enjoy corn on the cob and pulled pork while we people-watch from our outdoor seats.  Another great day, but vacation is winding down!

Day 8

We were up late so we sleep late.  The only event planned for Wednesday is the Vegas Mob Tour, a tour hour guided tour around Vegas to see mob hangouts.  We watch movies until the tour.  It's not until 6pm, so we have some decent downtime.  When we get to the tour departure location we're early, so we take a photo or two. 

Because we just visited the Tropicana mob experience, we don't really learn much new at the Vegas Mob Tour.  In fact, I grew a little bored and annoyed at how much we were really just sitting in a hot bus listening to a guy talk.  There were two interesting sites on the tour.  The first was the jewelry store that was robbed and was inspiration for the robbery in the film Casino.  

Robbed on July 4th so the shots don't alarm anyone.

This was the house used in Casino.  This used to be considered one of the wealthier areas of Vegas and it was no small thing to live in this neighborhood.  Now these homes are sold to middle of the road folks while the rich move out to Lake Nevada resorts.  The owners were paid an atrocious sum of money to vacate the home and allow filming there.  

After the tour, and especially all this mob talk, we were in the mood for Italian food.  We had a wonderful dinner at Rao in Caesar's Palace.  We were going to top it off with dessert from the Cheesecake Factory, but our venture there coincided with the end of Celine Dion's nightly performance and we were nearly trampled to death by hungry show-goers.  We forewent cheesecake and ventured instead to view the Mirage volcano.  

Only one full day left in Vegas, and though we are having a wonderful time, we're both starting to look forward to sleeping in our own beds, seeing our babies and returning to a quieter pace of life.