Flamingo Las Vegas

Land background and hotel design (1945)

The Flamingo site occupies 40 acres originally owned by one of Las Vegas' first settlers, Charles "Pops" Squires. Squires paid $8.75 an acre for the land. In 1944, Margaret Folsom bought the tract for $7,500 from Squires, and she then later sold it to Billy Wilkerson. Wilkerson was the owner of The Hollywood Reporter as well as some very popular nightclubs in the Sunset Strip: Cafe Trocadero, Ciro's and La Rue's (Hollywood).^[1]

In 1945, Wilkerson purchased 33 acres on the east side of U.S. Route 91, or about a mile south of the Hotel Last Frontier, in preparation for his vision. Wilkerson then hired George Vernon Russell to design a hotel influenced by European style. Wilkerson also requested that the hotel be different than the "sawdust joints" on Fremont Street. He planned a hotel with luxurious rooms, a spa, a health club, a showroom, a golf course, a nightclub, an upscale restaurant and a French style casino. Because of high wartime material costs, Wilkerson ran into financial problems almost at once, finding himself $400,000 short and hunting for new financing.

Development under Bugsy Siegel (1945)

Bugsy's original Flamingo Las Vegas in 1947

In late 1945, mobster Bugsy Siegel and his "partners" came to Las Vegas. Vegas reportedly piqued Siegel and his mob's interest because of its legalized gambling and off-track betting. At the time, Siegel held a large interest in Trans America Wire, a racing publication.^[2]

Siegel began by purchasing El Cortez on Fremont Street for $600,000. His expansion plans were hampered by unfriendly city officials aware of his criminal background, so Siegel began looking for a site outside the city limits.^[3] Hearing that Wilkerson was seeking extra funding, Siegel and his partners posed as businessmen and directly bought a two-thirds stake in the project.^[3]

Siegel took over the final phases of construction and convinced more of his underworld associates, such as Meyer Lansky to invest in the project. Siegel reportedly lost patience with the project's rising costs, and he once mentioned to his builder, Del Webb, that he had personally killed 16 men. Reportedly, when Webb appeared scared upon hearing that, Siegel reassured him, "Don't worry – we only kill each other."^[4]

Siegel had also built a secret ladder in the "Presidential Suite" to escape if necessary. The ladder led down to an underground garage where a chauffeured limo was also waiting.^[5]

The Flamingo Hotel & Casino opens (1946)

"The West's Greatest Resort Hotel", matchbook advertising the Flamingo resort, circa 1946

Siegel finally opened The Flamingo Hotel & Casino on December 26, 1946, at a total cost of $6 million. Billed as "The West's Greatest Resort Hotel", the 105-room property – and first luxury hotel on the Strip^[6] – was built 4 miles (6.4 km) from Downtown Las Vegas. During construction, a large sign announced the hotel as a William R. Wilkerson project. The sign also read Del Webb Construction as the hotel's primary contractor and Richard R. Stadelman (who later made renovations to the El Rancho Vegas) as the building architect.

Allegedly, Siegel named the resort after his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, who loved to gamble and was nicknamed "Flamingo". It is reported that Siegel called her this because of her long, skinny legs.^[7] Organized crime king, Lucky Luciano, wrote in his memoir that Siegel once owned an interest in the Hialeah Park Race Track and viewed the flamingos who populated nearby as a good omen. The "Flamingo" name is reported to have been given to the project at its inception by Wilkerson.^[8]

Siegel's homicide (1947)

Siegel's trouble with the Flamingo began when, a year after its official groundbreaking, the resort had produced no revenue and drained the resources of its mob investors. Then Meyer Lansky charged – at a major mob conference in Cuba – that either Siegel or Hill was skimming from the resort's building budget. This charge was amplified at a time when Hill was revealed to have taken $2.5 million and had gone to Switzerland, where the skimmed money was believed to be going.

Las Vegas Sun' Ad Congratulating Flamingo's Grand Opening in 1945

"There was no doubt in Meyer's mind," Luciano recalled in his memoir, "that Bugsy had skimmed this dough from his building budget, and he was sure that Siegel was preparing to skip as well as skim, in case the roof was gonna fall in on him." Luciano and the other mob leaders in Cuba asked Lansky what to do. Torn because of long ties to Siegel, whom he considered like a brother, Lansky nevertheless agreed that someone stealing from his friends had to die. At first, Lansky persuaded the others to wait for the Flamingo's casino opening: if it was a success, Siegel could be persuaded in other ways to repay. Luciano concurred and persuaded the others to agree.

Bugsy Siegel Memorial at Flamingo Las Vegas in 2012

The splashy opening – stars present included Spanish band leader Xavier Cugat (whose band provided the music), George Jessel, George Raft, Rose Marie, and Jimmy Durante as entertainment, with guests including Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Cesar Romero, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, and others – was a flop. Lansky managed to persuade the mob chiefs to reprieve Siegel once more and allow the Flamingo more time. But by January 1947 Siegel had to order the resort closed until the hotel could be finished.

The Flamingo re-opened in March despite the hotel not being complete, and this time, the results proved different. By May, the resort reported a $250,000 profit, allowing Lansky to point out that Siegel was right about Las Vegas after all. But it wasn't quite enough to save Siegel. On June 20, 1947, relaxing in the Beverly Hills house he shared with Hill, who was away at the time, Siegel was shot to death.

A memorial plaque exists on the Flamingo site near the outdoor wedding chapel.^[9]

Post-Siegel ownerships (1947–1960)

Casino management changed the hotel name to The Fabulous Flamingo on March 1, 1947. After Siegel's death, Moe Sedway and Gus Greenbaum, magnates of the nearby El Cortez Hotel, took possession of it. Under their partnership, it became a non-exclusive facility affordable to almost anyone. They made the enterprise extremely successful. In the year 1948 alone, it turned a $4 million profit.^[10] The Fabulous Flamingo presented lavish shows and accommodations for its time, becoming well known for comfortable, air conditioned rooms, gardens, and swimming pools. Often credited for popularizing the "complete experience" as opposed to merely gambling, its staff became known for wearing tuxedos on the job. Among the many entertainers who performed there between 1947 and 1953 were Martin and Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Danny Thomas, Tony Martin, Marge and Gower Champion, Polly Bergen, Lena Horne, The Mills Brothers, Alan King, Betty Hutton, Billy Eckstine, Sophie Tucker, Pearl Bailey, and Spike Jones. Rose Marie, who was one of its first entertainers under Siegel's ownership in 1946, remained loyal to the property for the rest of her life, only performing at other casinos with permission from "the boys" at the Fabulous Flamingo, according to her last words.

In 1953, the hotel's management spent $1 million in renovations and remodeling. The original entrance and signage was destroyed. A new entrance with an upswept roof was built and a pink neon sign was designed by Bill Clark of Ad-Art. A neon-bubbled "Champagne Tower" sign with pink flamingos rimming the top was also installed in front of the hotel.^[11] From 1955 to 1960, the property was operated by Albert Parvin of the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation.^[12] Parvin owned 30% of the stock while businessman Harry Goldman owned 7.5%; other investors included singer Tony Martin and actor George Raft.^[13]

Recent years (1960–present)

In 1960, it was sold for $10.5 million to a group including Samuel Cohen, Morris Lansburgh, and Daniel Lifter, Miami residents with reputed ties to organized crime.^[12][14] Lansky allegedly served as middleman for the deal, receiving $200,000.^[12][13]

The Flamingo name has been applied to gambling operations elsewhere, such as this New Orleans riverboat, circa 1997

Kirk Kerkorian acquired the property in 1967,^[15] making it part of Kerkorian's International Leisure Company, but the Hilton Corporation bought the resort in 1972, renaming it the Flamingo Hilton in 1974. The last of the original Flamingo Hotel structure was torn down on December 14, 1993, and the hotel's garden was built on-site. The Flamingo's four hotel towers were built (or expanded) in 1977, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1990, and 1993. A 200-unit Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare tower was opened in 1993.^[16]

In 1998, Hilton's gaming properties, including the Flamingo, were spun off as Park Place Entertainment (later renamed to Caesars Entertainment). The deal included a two-year license to use the Hilton name. Park Place opted not to renew that agreement when it expired in late 2000, and the property was renamed Flamingo Las Vegas.^[17]

In 2005, Harrah's Entertainment purchased Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and the property became part of Harrah's Entertainment company. The company changed its name to Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2010.

On September 9, 2012, Port Adelaide Football Club AFL footballer John McCarthy died after falling 30 feet (9 m) from a rooftop of the hotel. The incident occurred at the start of a post-season holiday for McCarthy and other Port Adelaide players. They had arrived in Las Vegas only a few hours before the incident.^[18][19][20] After reviewing evidence, police said that McCarthy had attempted to jump off the roof onto a palm tree, but fell to the ground.^[21]

Film

The 1964 film Viva Las Vegas and the 1960 version of Ocean's 11 were filmed at the hotel, as was a flashback sequence from the 2001 version of the latter film. In the 1960 version, the Flamingo was one of the five Las Vegas casinos robbed by characters played by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr. and others.

The 1991 film Bugsy starring Warren Beatty depicted Bugsy Siegel's involvement in the construction of the Flamingo, though many of the details were altered for dramatic effect. For instance, in the film, Siegel originates the idea of the Flamingo, instead of buying ownership from Billy Wilkerson, and is killed after the first opening on December 26, 1946, rather than the second opening of the Flamingo in 1947.

Television

The Netflix original series Lilyhammer featuring E-Street Band guitarist and singer Steven Van Zandt features a nightclub in Lillehammer, Norway, named the Flamingo. During its construction, Van Zandt's character, Giovanni Henriksen (aka Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano), referenced the hotel and casino, as well as Benjamin Siegel, as his inspiration for the nightclub.

Music

The début solo album from The Killers' lead singer Brandon Flowers, Flamingo, is named after the casino.

Literature

Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar Zeta Acosta stayed at the Flamingo while attending a seminar by the National Conference of District Attorneys on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs held at the Dunes Hotel across the street. Several of their experiences in their room are depicted in Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.

The Flamingo figures prominently in the Tim Powers novel Last Call. In the novel, the Flamingo is supposedly founded on Siegel's mythical/mystical paranoia of being pursued and killed for his archetypal position as the "King of the West", known mythologically as "Fisher King". Supposedly the Flamingo itself was meant to be a real-life personification of "The Tower" card of the tarot deck.