‘El Chapo’s Great Escape’ is the latest exhibit at the Vegas Mob Museum
Las Vegas’ National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, better known as the Mob Museum, has elevated Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to the ranks of old school mafiosos such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.
From March through August, the museum will showcase its newest exhibit, titled “El Chapo’s Great Escape,” featuring an architectural model of the Mexican prison of Altiplano from which the Sinaloa Cartel kingpin escaped by tunnel in July 2015.
Mob Museum content developer Jeff Burbank says the special exhibit is not trying to glorify the Mexican drug lord, rather show the power and influence of “El Chapo,” who’s exploits have made him the face of 20th century organized crime.
The 3-D mockup of the prison was created by master model builder Shawn Bicker and Adam Throgmorton, who has crafted several models for local casinos and resorts such as the MGM Grand and the Bellagio. The model was built piecing together news reports and information provided by the Mexican government.
“When building this model we always had to keep going back to the story, trying to create something simple to understand for everyone who is not familiar with all the facts,” model builder Adam Throgmorton told Fusion. He says the first thing that came to mind was “an elaborate ant farm.”
Take a look: