In 1981, when a Cessna 310 crash-landed in a lake at the Las Vegas Country Club, a popular rumor quickly spread that the plane was linked to the mafia and carrying a secret stash of $2.7 million in cash, supposedly part of a money laundering operation gone wrong. This fueled local intrigue, given Las Vegas’s notorious ties to organized crime. Las Vegas has a deep history as a mid-20th-century hotspot, transforming from a small desert town into the world-renowned entertainment and gambling capital.