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'Mob Museum' to open in Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS, March 26 (UPI) -- Several exhibits for a planned Las Vegas "Mob Museum" scheduled to open in 2011 were unveiled Thursday amid controversy, observers say.

City leaders have been criticized for dedicating public resources to a museum, officially known as the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, which celebrates organized crime, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

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City officials hope it will be an economic boon for downtown Las Vegas and anticipate it pulling in from 250,000 to 600,000 visitors a year, the newspaper said.

"This is one of the most anticipated museum projects in the world," Dennis Barrie, the museum's creative director, said. "It is really a topic that evokes true interest with the American public, with museum people, with all sorts of people."

Renderings of three planned exhibits, "Mob Mayhem," "The Skim" and "Bringing Down the Mob," were unveiled.

Barrie acknowledged the displays and subject matter would create debate, the Review-Journal said.

"There'll be controversy in this museum," Barrie said. "If there's not, we're not doing our job."

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