Looking back on 75 years at Las Vegas’ iconic Flamingo hotel and casino
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As anyone with basic knowledge of Las Vegas history knows, celebrity mobster Bugsy Siegel was the owner of the Flamingo hotel and casino when it opened its doors on December 26, 1946.
It was his passion project in the desert and would bring sleek art deco glamour to the proto-Strip, which at that time consisted of a couple of Old West-themed gambling houses. And it would precipitate Siegel’s assassination within six months of opening, likely over his mismanagement and skimming at the resort.
Bugsy’s end was only the beginning of the stalwart Flamingo, which stands today as the oldest still-operating resort on the Strip. Here are some of the most notable events from its first 75 years.
Not long after Siegel was gunned down in LA in 1947, his associates Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway—who were his partners in another successful Vegas venture, the El Cortez—understood what Siegel had set in motion. They made style and luxury accessible to the everyman and solidified them as cornerstone aspects of Vegas’ resort age.
The property changed hands in 1960, to a Miami group that included Morris Lansburgh and Daniel Lifter, the first of many sales over its lifetime. In 1967, the Flamingo sold to Kirk Kerkorian. In 1970 it sold to Hilton, which spun off its gaming division, Flamingo included, in 1998. In 2005 it sold to its current owner, Harrah’s Entertainment, also known as Caesars Entertainment, along with the rest of the Harrah’s portfolio.
The inimitable Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton, landed his first Vegas headlining gig in 1963 at the Flamingo. Newton was just 21 at the time but had been grinding for years as a lounge act and opener for big names of the era. Newton, who has held residencies up and down the Strip in the ensuing decades, will return to the Flamingo for a limited engagement beginning on January 24.
The Flamingo hotel, at the time the Flamingo Hilton, underwent its first expansion in 1976, growing to 1,250 guest rooms. More expansions followed in the ’80s and ’90s. The property now encompasses some 3,500 guest rooms and suites.
The last of the original structures was torn down in 1993. That includes Bugsy’s suite, also known as the Presidential Suite. But Bugsy’s presence remains—a monument to the gangster now sits in the courtyard.
The Wildlife Habitat opened in 1995, housing pink-feathered, spindly-legged flamingos. In addition to eight Chilean flamingos, the habitat houses more than 60 other exotic birds—including a rehabilitated pelican that cannot fly and must live the rest of its life in captivity—plus 20 turtles and more than 30 large fish. The habitat, accredited by the Zoological Association of America and a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Association, covers four acres and holds 400,000 gallons of freshwater in its nine ponds.
Siblings Donny and Marie Osmond embarked on a lengthy residency in 2008. The duo’s residency started as a six-week engagement but didn’t close until 2019. They performed more than 1,700 shows in those 11 years.
The Flamingo completed a $156 million hotel renovation in late 2018 that refreshed more than two-thirds of its guest rooms. Got a big group? Consider one of the new rooms or suites outfitted with bunk beds.
On June 4, 2020, when Gov. Steve Sisolak lifted the unprecedented pandemic-forced casino closures after nearly three months, the Flamingo was one of the first resorts back—and also among the first in the Vegas Caesars family to reopen, along with similarly iconic Caesars Palace.
Bugsy’s back. Guests can now enjoy a fine filet, a smooth bourbon and atmosphere to spare at the $10 million Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse, which opened in July 2020.
