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N0KFQ > TODAY 26.12.13 17:24l 65 Lines 2733 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 26
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Sent: 131226/1548Z 9323@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.57
Dec 26, 1946:
Bugsy Siegel opens Flamingo Hotel
On December 26, 1946, in Las Vegas, Nevada, mobster Benjamin
"Bugsy" Siegel opens The Pink Flamingo Hotel & Casino at a total
cost of $6 million. The 40-acre facility wasn't complete and
Siegel was hoping to raise some revenue with the grand opening.
Well-known singer and comedian Jimmy Durante headlined the
entertainment, with music by Cuban band leader Xavier Cugat. Some
of Siegel's Hollywood friends, including actors George Raft,
George Sanders, Sonny Tufts and George Jessel were in attendance.
The grand opening, however, was a flop. Bad weather kept many
other Hollywood guests from arriving. And because gamblers had no
rooms at the hotel, they took their winnings and gambled
elsewhere. The casino lost $300,000 in the first week of
operation.
Siegel and his New York "partners" had invested $1 million in a
property already under construction by Billy Wilkerson, owner of
the Hollywood Reporter as well as some very popular nightclubs in
the Sunset Strip. Wilkerson had wanted to recreate the Sunset
Strip in Las Vegas, with a European style hotel with luxuious
rooms, a spa, health club, showroom, golf course, nightclub and
upscale restaurant. But he soon ran out of money due to the high
cost of materials immediately after the war.
Siegel, who held a largest interest in the racing publication
Trans America Wire, was drawn to Las Vegas in 1945 by his
interest in legalized gambling and off-track betting. He
purchased The El Cortez hotel for $600,000 and later sold it for
a $166,000 profit.
Siegel and his organized crime buddies used the profits to
influence Wilkerson to accept new partners. Siegel took over the
project and supervised the building, naming it after his
girlfriend Virginia Hill, whose nickname was "The Flamingo"
because of her red hair and long legs.
Two weeks after the grand opening, the Flamingo closed down. It
re-opened March 1, 1947, as The Fabulous Flamingo. Siegel forced
Wilkerson out in April, and by May, the resort reported a profit,
but it wasn't enough to save Siegel.
Convinced that Siegel wasn't giving them a "square count," it is
widely believed that his partners in organized crime had him
killed while he was reading the paper June 20, 1947, at Hill's
Beverly Hills mansion. Hill was in Paris, having flown the coop
after a fight with Siegel 10 days prior. The crime remains
unsolved to this day.
Surviving a series of name and ownership changes, the hotel is
known today as The Flamingo Las Vegas, owned and operated by
Harrah's Entertainment. The property offers 3,626 hotel rooms and
a 77,000-square-foot casino.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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