Las Vegas, Nevada: The Mob Museum

The latest permanent and grisly exhibit in the Mob Museum is the chair from Nevada's gas chamber. Not designed for ergonomic comfort, the pipe-and-metal chair was built severe and strong so that prisoners could not escape its straps as they were killed by poison gas. This particular chair was used from 1951 to 1979 -- and if you're wondering why it's in the Mob Museum, it's because its last occupant, Jessie Bishop, was convicted of a murder on the Las Vegas Strip, and later confessed to multiple murders as a hit man for the Mob. He was gassed on Oct. 22, 1979, the last time that the chair and the gas chamber were used.

This is one of the best museums I have ever seen in regards to quality and the level of interaction with the exhibits. It's a bit pricey at $18 a head, but with three floors of memorabilia and displays, it ate up a good two hours of time. From the St. Valentine's Day Massacre wall, to a Tommy gun of your very own to play with, this museum was "da bomb"...no pun intended.

If Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman has his way, the history of the city's early days will not be forgotten. Goodman wants Vegas to create a "Mob Museum" to show how underworld figures and others were essential in the creation of the gambling mecca.