NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The biggest players in mob history have returned to the Las Vegas Strip and have been reincarnated at the legendary Tropicana Hotel with financing provided by Strategic Funding of New York City. The Las Vegas Mob Experience opened this week and is billed as the most technologically advanced interactive presentation of historical artifacts ever devised and is projected to receive over 1,500,000 visitors a year to its 26,000 square foot total immersion facility. In the heart of a city literally built by the mob, this exciting new attraction required the assistance of Strategic Funding to provide the largest merchant cash advance in the history of the specialty finance industry, to get the doors open after years of development.
The Experience transports visitors from the days of Murder Incorporated and the Mafia's national syndicates up to the present day modern metropolis. The technology developed by former Disney Imagineers engages all the senses as it transports the visitor on an individualized life experience which personally addresses the visitor by name in their own language as part of a total immersion journey through the rise and fall of the Mob in Las Vegas. The Mob Experience has created an environment where the boundaries between the artificial and reality becomes so thin that the visitor sees, hears, feels, smells and interacts with the people, places and historical artifacts like never before. The brainchild of Jay Bloom a former JP Morgan Chase investment banker and his partner Louis Ventre another Wall Street veteran. The Mob Experience has set itself apart in a city filled with the unusual and creative. In a world fascinated with organized crime and an obsession with movies like The Godfather, Casino and Goodfellas, as well as TV shows like The Soprano’s and Boardwalk Empire – the idea for the Las Vegas Mob Experience grew and was born. “We wanted to create a unique experience where visitors could actually feel what it was like to be there,” said Bloom in a recent interview. “We created a highly personalized journey through use of RFID technology enabling visitors to interact with celebrity guide holograms in their native language.” Celebrity guides currently include James Caan, Mickey Rourke, Frank Vincent, Steven Shirripa and Tony Sirico who have all played significant roles in the movies and television shows of this genre and have captured wide recognition.
Creativity in design and development were not the only innovations brought by this team of former Wall Streeters. The financing of this project during one of the most challenging economic times for both the nation and Las Vegas was no small task. Seed money was provided by the partners, friends, family and one time clients of the duo, but as time passed and the budget grew to almost $14 million, Bloom and Ventre turned to Strategic Funding to help them complete the financing. “Strategic provided us with a very unique financing solution that gave us the final $4 million needed to complete the project and launch the company,” said Ventre. “Without their help and creativity, especially in this difficult economy, our completion may have not happened,” he continued. Andrew Reiser, the CEO of Strategic Funding added, “This was a very exciting project for us and we were eager to make this transaction along with our exclusive syndicate partner Vion Receivables Investments in what represents the largest merchant cash advance ever provided to a single company. Typically Strategic works with traditional small businesses who are seeking $10,000 to $200,000 in commercial financing for their restaurant or retail shop, but this challenge gave us a transformational opportunity to fill the void left by traditional banks. With support from our exclusive investment partner, Vion, we see outstanding opportunities in larger companies like the Las Vegas Mob Experience and are expanding our business model to seek out other firms with similar requirements.”
As Las Vegas grew out of the desert sands, The Las Vegas Mob Experience overcame the harsh economy with the same tenacity that captures a lost era, chronicles Las Vegas’ early years and tells the stories of the real men behind the myths. The Las Vegas Mob Experience neither glorifies nor vilifies the Mob, it simply presents a historically accurate view of what guests will decide are either a group of ruthless gangsters or ordinary individuals who fought their way through a cut throat world and lived extraordinary lives.
About Strategic Funding
Strategic Funding (www.sfscapital.com) is a leading provider of specialty financing to emerging entrepreneurial businesses throughout the United States. Strategic is the most trusted name in merchant cash advance products which permit small businesses to sell a portion of their future receivables in a factoring transaction giving clients access to working capital. Having positioned itself as a leader in this market estimated at over $1 Billion by building the most comprehensive enterprise software platform, it has set itself apart from competitive companies. This database technology was the genesis of the “Strategic Partner” program which promotes syndication among numerous cash advance companies and private investors seeking to participate in merchant cash advance products. Established in 2006, Strategic has its headquarters in New York City and maintains regional offices in Williamsburg, VA; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL and Seattle, WA – serving over 2,500 active clients in all 50 states. The company serves the needs of small to mid-sized businesses who have little or no access to traditional bank financing or SBA loans.