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In the end, the only thing you really own is your story.

Australia (2008)
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Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.

Hannah Arendt
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Las Vegas Mob Experience

REVEALING THE “MEN BEHIND THE MONSTERS” THROUGH IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING

Challenge

To redevelop an immersive attraction that gives visitors an inside look at the rise and fall of the Mob in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mission

Our team designed an immersive attraction from the ground up, including story, setpieces, scene design, and visitor journey. In addition, we used the latest video, audio, RFID, and personalisation technology to craft an experience that was unique to each visitor. Using real-life Mob artifacts, memorabilia, and a story that puts the visitor in a mobster’s shoes, we created an experience that would entertain and teach, while cultivating empathy toward famous gangsters as real people beyond their lives of crime.

Outcome

Visitors would begin their journey at the Port of New York at Ellis Island, where they would be assigned a gangster name. Guests would journey from Ellis Island through the rise of the Mob, the big city era, and the founding of Las Vegas. Next, they would tour the Gangster Galleries, displays that focused on gangsters like Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Sam Giancana and others, and contained artifacts donated by their families. Finally, they would journey through the downfall of the Mob. At the end of the attraction–based on decisions they made along the way–they would learn their fate. Would they get “made,” or would they get whacked? Would they help the FBI bring the Mob down, get arrested, or end up in Witness Protection?

RESULTS

With our concept work alone, the client was able to secure an initial $25 million worth of funding for the attraction.