MORNING LINE: What’s your opinion of the Mob Museum?

I have been skeptical from the start about the sanity of creating a Las Vegas museum dedicated to organized crime’s historical connection to this place. (And, yes, law enforcement’s role in combating the criminal element).

But Mayor Oscar Goodman’s big plan for a mob museum gained steam, and support from former Las Vegas FBI Special Agent in Charge Ellen Knowlton. The idea has become a highly developed proposal that could draw thousands of tourists downtown each year.

How we manage to pay the approximately $50 million build-out cost is just one important question that needs to be answered before the museum becomes a reality. We now know the federal economic stimulus funds won’t be available thanks to the usual hypocrisy inside the Senate.

What are your thoughts about the museum, its place in modern Las Vegas, and whether we should be celebrating our notorious and not-so-distant past?

I’m seeking your thoughts.

The museum is to be located in the historic post office building on Stewart Avenue next to Las Vegas City Hall.

MORE INFO

• JOHN L. SMITH: Mayor's idea for a mob museum sleeps with the fishes in Washington
• Mob Museum's future brightens
• Obama not thrilled over mob museum