Three new attractions to open in downtown Las Vegas

Downtown Las Vegas is undergoing a major revival this year, with the opening of three major attractions, totalling an investment of half a billion dollars.

Visitors keen to experience Las Vegas heritage and culture will now be able to see artefacts from the Mob heyday of the 1930s at the Mob Museum and the iconic neon signs like Stardust and the Moulin Rouge at the Neon Museum, opening in May. The Smith Center for Performing Arts, opening in March, will host hit Broadway musicals including Wicked and Million Dollar Quartet.

The Mob Museum which stands for the National Museum of Organised Crime and Law Enforcement opened on Valentine’s Day this and aims to present visitors with an understanding of the Mob, and its impact on Las Vegas. Iconic artefacts will go on display, such as the brick wall from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and exhibits by some of organised crime’s most notorious figures, including Al Capone, Charlie ‘Lucky’ Luciano and Ben ‘Bugsy Siegel.

The Smith Center, which opened on Saturday the 10th March 2012, provides a 2,050 seat performing arts complex and cost $450 million to build, it features a full orchestra pit, seating up to 100 musicians as well as a 258-seat Cabaret Jazz venue. A Broadway Las Vegas Series will be launch to celebrate the opening of the complex in March, featuring The Color Purple , Mary Poppins, Million Dollar Quartet, and Wicked, among others.

Established as a non-profit organisation in 1996 to restore and protect the classic neon signs that light up The Strip, the Neon Museum will open in May this year and will feature the Neon Boneyard, an outdoor collection of over 150 signs dating from the 1930s to the present day.

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