One of the most iconic hotel casinos in Las Vegas turned 78 on Thursday.
Flamingo Las Vegas opened its casino doors on December 26, 1946, and has remained a destination for visitors and entertainers for decades while other casinos built in that era are no longer standing.
One of the longest-running hotel names in all of Las Vegas, the Caesars Entertainment-owned property features a 28-story hotel that offers more than 3,400 rooms in the center of the Strip. Flamingo houses a casino, sportsbook, a handful of shows, and a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, among other eating choices.
Flamingo has long been associated with the infamous gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and was mob-controlled in its early days.
Famous personalities Wayne Newton, Louis Armstrong, Donny and Marie Osmond, Toni Braxton, and Gladys Knight are some of the acts to have performed there over the years.
The property has been featured in numerous television and film shows. It’s also known for the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat.
How it all began
The land Flamingo sits on was purchased by former Hollywood Reporter founder Billy Wilkerson in 1945. The Los Angeles club owner and big-time gambler partnered with mobsters, including Siegel and Meyer Lansky, to fund the hotel's construction.
Siegel oversaw the construction project, forced Wilkerson out, and added a three-story hotel on-site in March 1947. Siegel ran Flamingo until he was shot and killed on June 20, 1947.
Flamingo changed ownership hands several times over the next decade. In 1960, Lansky was part of a group of mobsters charged with tax evasion concerning Flamingo.
Corporate takeover
After another ownership change in the late 1960s, Hilton Hotels Corporation invested in the property and bought the entire stake in 1972. During that era, the name changed to Flamingo Hilton.
The original three-story hotel was demolished in 1993 and replaced with a more modern Vegas resort tower.
Caesars Entertainment, which was known as Harrah’s Entertainment in the early 2000s, acquired Flamingo in 2005.
