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Sin City was built by the mob, a web of shadowy characters interested in milking big profits from the city's lax laws. Some of the casinos that these wiseguys built and worked at still stand, including the Flamingo and Riviera hotels. But before you book a night, read up on four of Las Vegas's most famous mobsters:

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel: Known as the man who changed the face of Vegas hotels (installing luxe amenities never before seen in hotels, such as carpeting, and carving out new territory for the mob), Siegel was sent to Nevada by New York mob bosses. And in 1946 he opened the gambling palace the Flamingo (after his mistress Virginia Hill's nickname). Siegel earned his Bugsy moniker because of his violent temper (his fellow gangsters said he was "as crazy as a bedbug"). He detested the nickname and anyone who called him that to his face risked getting whacked. Just six months after he opened the hotel, and just as it was turning a profit, Siegel was murdered in Los Angeles in 1947. But Siegel lives on (or at least Warren Beatty's portrayal of him) in the 1991 movie Bugsy, and, of course, at the Flamingo.

Meyer Lanksy: According to one theory, the mob boss who ordered the hit on Bugsy Siegel was Lansky, a childhood friend of Siegel's. Lansky wasn't nearly as charming as his dapper old chum, but he was a great deal more business-savvy. He skimmed tens of millions of dollars from the Flamingo over his lifetime, but when he was finally brought up on charges in the 1970s, a judge ruled he was too ill to stand trial. Lanksy eventually retired to a quiet life in Miami where—at least on paper—he was worth almost nothing. The FBI suspected he had some $300 million hidden in secret bank accounts around the world and continued monitoring him until his death, at the age of 81, in 1983.

Tony "The Ant" Spilotro: The mob's go-to enforcer, Anthony Spilotro was suspected of dozens of murders during the mob's heyday in Las Vegas. His main job, though, was embezzling money from the casinos owned by the Chicago mob and then bringing "the skim" back to the crime bosses. By packing the cash in suitcases rather than reporting the earnings and depositing them in banks, the mob avoided paying millions in taxes. After being blacklisted from all casinos by the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1977, Spilotro and his brother set up a burglary crew, which became known as the Hole in the Wall Gang. After he slept with a mob associate's wife (a big no-no in the family), Spilotro was savagely beaten and buried alive in an Indiana cornfield in 1986. He was 48.

Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal: Now retired and living in Florida, Rosenthal ran the behind-the-scenes action for mob-controlled casinos like the Stardust, the Fremont and the Hacienda. The brains behind the operation also left his mark on Sin City by introducing Vegas casinos to sports books. He earned the nickname "Lefty" by pleading the Fifth Amendment numerous times during a court trial, not even willing to answer the question of whether he's left-handed (he is). In 1982, he survived an assassination attempt, after a metal sheet under his car shielded him from the stacks of explosives detonated underneath it. Like Spilotro, he was banned from casinos in 1988. Martin Scorsese's 1995 Casino was inspired by his life, with Robert De Niro playing Rosenthal.