The Flamingo Casino Las Vegas: A Timeless Icon on the Strip

Opened in 1946 by mob-raised bootlegger and Genovese crime family associate Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, The Flamingo Vegas is one of the oldest Strip hotels, boasting an extensive history. The legendary Flamingo Las Vegas hotel and casino, located at the center of the Strip, is known for its history with checkers.

Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo History:
The Flamingo is the oldest resort on the Strip that is still fully operational. Famous gangster Bugsy Siegel was the owner of the Flamingo Hotel & Casino when it opened its doors on Dec. 26, 1946. It was a passion project for celebrity mobster Bugsy Siegel to put in the desert, bringing elegant, Art Deco glamor to a proto-Strip that consisted of Old West-themed gambling houses.

The Flamingo Hotel and Casino triggered Siegel’s murder six months after it opened, most likely due to mismanagement and graft by Siegel in running the resort. Siegel’s murder marked the beginning for the Flamingo hotel and casino’s proto-Strip. Opened in 1946 by mobsters-turned-bootleggers and Genovese crime family associate Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, Las Vegas’s Flamingo is one of the oldest resorts on the Strip, boasting an extensive history.

Before the Flamingo, Vegas casinos were smaller, Wild West-themed joints, lacking the flash and style associated with the Strip. When the Flamingo opened its doors in 1946, the Miami Beach-styled, art-deco resort was at odds with the Old West-themed hotel trend. Few resorts offered luxury accommodations and high-end entertainment in Western settings–if the Flamingo Casino had an early claim, it was being the first to ditch its Dude Ranch aesthetic for a more cosmopolitan style.

The concept for the Flamingo casino initially came from Billy Wilkerson, the founder of The Hollywood Reporter and the owner of several hot spots on the Sunset Strip, including Ciro’s. The Flamingo began construction under the ownership of Billy Wilkerson, who was the owner at the time of The Hollywood Reporter and a handful of nightclubs on Sunset Strip. The Flamingo opened when construction on the hotel was completed on March 1, 1947, and it was subsequently very successful.

The Flamingo held a three-night grand opening in December 1946, and large crowds showed up for all three nights, defying general opinion. The 1946 Flamingo held its location for six years before undergoing a makeover in 1952, receiving new signage and a champagne-colored tower on its street side. In 1967, the Flamingo received a new enclosed drive and a second-floor restaurant overlooking a newly built Caesars Palace.

The hotel’s initial owner was Benjamin Siegel, who oversaw all of Flamingo’s construction. Proprietor Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel gets much of the credit for opening the Flamingo, but his idea for building the Flamingo in southern Nevada came from his former business partner, Billy Wilkerson. The original idea for the Flamingo hotel, which opened in 1947, was Billy Wilkerson’s nightclub ownership in Hollywood, but it would always be associated with his partner/financier, Hollywood mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.

Mobster Bugsy Siegel forced Billy Wilkerson’s departure in April, and the Fabulous Flamingo reported profits in May, but not enough to save Siegel. After hearing of construction on The Flamingo, Bugsy Siegel bought the controlling interest in the project, and with help from other mobsters, The Flamingo was funded and opened in December of 1946, touted as the greatest resort in the West. Billy Wilkerson wanted to recreate the Sunset Strip in Vegas, with a European-styled hotel featuring luxury rooms, spa, fitness center, show rooms, a golf course, nightclubs, and high-end restaurants.

The Flamingo was the first true luxury hotel on the Strip, setting the precedent for the comfort, amenities, and entertainment options that have been securely interwoven into the town’s fabric ever since. The Flamingo has outlasted Strip casinos that came before — it is the only one built before 1950 that is still standing — as well as several of those that followed. It has been a part of Las Vegas and of the evolution of the Las Vegas Strip, from Old West to super-luxury, from gangsters to corporate executives.