Las Vegas: Former mob enforcer to share some spine-tingling tales

Take a ride with a hit man and live to tell about it? It’s now possible in Las Vegas.

During the years when the mob ran Las Vegas, such a ride often would mean a one-way trip into the desert. Now, though, convicted killer Frank Cullotta promises to return guests safely from the Casino Tour that launches Feb. 11.

The name comes from the movie “Casino,” which tells a fictionalized version of the era in which the Chicago Outfit, an organized crime gang led by Tony “The Ant” Spilotro, ran several Vegas casinos with an iron fist. Cullotta described himself as Spilotro’s “underboss,” the enforcer who, by his own admission, killed people who crossed the mob.

The two-hour bus tour will take visitors to various spots associated with the movie and to places where Cullotta says he did his dirty work. The tour, priced at $99, will depart at 6 p.m. from the Royal Resort at 99 Convention Center Drive just off the Strip.

After working as a consultant on the 1995 movie, Cullotta was offered a small role by director Martin Scorsese. True to form, Cullotta played a hit man on the big screen.

“Every time a scene came up where somebody had to get whacked, they would call me and I’d do it. I generally took one take,” he said.

“The prop guys were telling me how to hold a gun. I said, ‘I don’t hold a gun like that. That’s only gangbangers.’ Marty [Scorsese] told them, ‘You need to listen to him. He knows what he’s talking about.’”

After his arrest, the Chicago native went to prison, but not before helping FBI agents make cases against other mobsters. Even so, he said he’s not worried about sticking his head above the parapet during the tours.

“That doesn’t trouble me no more because these guys are all dead or in jail for the rest of their lives,” he said.

After the Feb. 11 launch, the Casino Tour is expected to operate at least two nights each month.

Information and tickets: (866) 218-4935.