It’s a city that shouldn’t exist. An oasis in the desert, a mirage — it’s a city of buzzing neon, flowing fountains, and fortunes made and lost. A city of hedonism: concerts, casinos, showgirls, and all-you-can-eat buffets. But how did Vegas become “Sin City”? A place that promotes a fantasy of adult freedoms: a vacation from boundaries, rules, accountability? A place where people from all over the world visit to be their wildest, most uninhibited selves, even if it’s just for just a couple nights? We’re going to tell you the history of that city.

From a railroad stop, to the mob, to the luxury resort and casino...this is Spectacle Season 2: The Making of Las Vegas. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing "Spectacle: Las Vegas" from Sony Music Entertainment

Historical True Crime — assassins, gangsters, mobsters and lawmen; manhunts, scandals and unexplained phenomena. Stories of the wildest and darkest chapters of America's past.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Documentary

True crime

Willie Sutton and a small group of inmates execute an improbable escape from Holmesburg Prison. In the process, Willie cements his legacy as an escape artist. But his notoriety lands him a spot on the FBI’s new Ten Most Wanted list. Willie hides in various places in New York and plans his next big robbery, but his time is running out. A young man named Arnold Schuster recognizes the most wanted fugitive in America and makes a fateful report to police.

Bring the Arts home with Marquee TV! Sign up at Marquee.tv and receive 3 months for just 99 cents when you use the promo code AMERICA.
 
Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons:
blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join
 
Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.
 
On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured
 
For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WILLIE SUTTON Ep. 5 | “Most Wanted”

Willie Sutton and his crew execute their most dramatic robbery, but the success proves to be short-lived. Willie finds himself a guest of the Pennsylvania prison system and promptly starts scheming ways to break out of Eastern State Penitentiary. He and a group of inmates use a classic escape idea, but it backfires in comical fashion. After Willie is transferred to Holmesburg Prison, he dreams up his most daring escape plan.

Bring the Arts home with Marquee TV! Sign up at Marquee.tv and receive 3 months for just 99 cents when you use the promo code AMERICA.
 
Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons:
blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join
 
Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.
 
On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured
 
For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WILLIE SUTTON Ep. 4 | “Maximum Security”

Willie Sutton is back in Sing Sing prison and it doesn’t take him long to develop a plan to escape. But when the plan hits an unexpected snag, Willie teams up with a fellow inmate for a new idea that is even more audacious. The second plan works, and Willie restarts his career as a bank robber. Willie targets branches of a bank in Philadelphia and New York and pulls off his most lucrative heist to date.

Bring the Arts home with Marquee TV! Sign up at Marquee.tv and receive 3 months for just 99 cents when you use the promo code AMERICA.
 
Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons:
blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join
 
Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.
 
On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured
 
For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WILLIE SUTTON Ep. 3 | “Escape Artist”

Willie Sutton survives his first stint in prison and tries to go straight after his release. But before long, he’s back in the bank robbing business. This time, he discovers the perfect strategy to rob a bank with ease and without violence. Willie and his new partner, Marcus Bassett, go on a spree, but all good things come to an end. Bassett’s lifestyle leads Willie into a police trap.

Bring the Arts home with Marquee TV! Sign up at Marquee.tv and receive 3 months for just 99 cents when you use the promo code AMERICA.
 
Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons:
blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join
 
Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.
 
On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured
 
For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WILLIE SUTTON Ep. 2 | “Man of Many Faces”

Willie Sutton grows up in a tough Irish neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York where he idolizes the gangsters who run the local docks. At the age of 10, he commits his first serious theft. Future crimes and false accusations force him to go on the run before he joins a gang of professional thieves. When he’s 24, he makes his debut as a bank robber. But his first attempt produces less than stellar results.

Bring the Arts home with Marquee TV! Sign up at Marquee.tv and receive 3 months for just 99 cents when you use the promo code AMERICA.

Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons:
blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join

Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.
 
On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured
 
For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing "Spectacle: Las Vegas" from Sony Music Entertainment

Download our free app to listen on your phone