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Overview
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
The Golden Age of Las Vegas
The Downfall of Organized Crime
Overview
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
• Las Vegas prior to Siegel’s Arrival
• Siegel’s Background
• Siegel’s Arrival to Las Vegas
• The Flamingo
• Siegel’s Death
Overview
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
The Golden Age of Las Vegas
• Organized Crime Claims Stake to Las Vegas
• The 1950s and 60s
Overview
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
The Golden Age of Las Vegas
The Downfall of Organized Crime
• Howard Hughes’ Arrival to Las Vegas
• Hughes’ Purchases
• Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
Las Vegas: Early 1900s
• Boulder Canyon Project– 1928
– 42,000+ laborers
• Legalization of gambling– 1931
• Implementation of lenient divorce laws
– 1931
– 6 weeks residency
3 events during early 1900s that
would lead to the arrival of Siegel
Las Vegas: Early 1900s
Las Vegas found itself as a tourist
destination
• Hoover Dam
• Gambling
• Divorce
Stage was now set for the arrival one of
the most infamous and feared mobsters of
the 20th century
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
Leader of the Bug and
Lansky crime organization
in New York
Alleged president of
Murder Inc.
• Executed people for $$$
Moved to Las Vegas after
being arrested for murders
in L.A.
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
On an earlier visit, Siegel saw a lucrative
business opportunity in Las Vegas
―I figured it this way. If people will take a trip out to the
ocean to gamble, they’ll go to a desert too—especially if
it’s legal and they don’t have to worry about getting
pinched. So one day I drive into Nevada looking for a
nice desert spot and I picked this one because the price
is right and it’s on the main road to LA‖
-Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
Siegel was ambitious
• Wanted to expand New
York Mob’s influence to
the west coast
• Dreamed of
―building a luxurious hotel and high class casino,
a place where high-rollers and penny-ante
operators alike would come to strike it rich, all the
while leaving their money for the mob‖
-(Carpozi 5)
Siegel’s Arrival to Las Vegas
Meets Billy Wilkerson
• Shares the same vision: to turn Las Vegas
into a gambling paradise
• In the process of building a hotel
Jan 1945: Wilkerson is deeply in debt
• Siegel convinces the New York Mob to
finance $1,000,000 investment
• Siegel now controls the project
Siegel’s Arrival to Las Vegas
Siegel was now ready to begin his dream
―he foresaw an oasis in the desert where travelers from
coast to coast could come and enjoy the fun, gambling
and entertainment‖
-(Carpozi 27)
The Flamingo
Siegel called his hotel oasis the Flamingo
• Construction began in 1945
• Original expense of $1,200,00
• Ended up costing $6,000,000
– Materials were hard to come by because of WW II
– Siegel knew little about construction and workers
often stole from the project site
The Flamingo
Siegel came under pressure for the high
construction costs
• Mob partners wanted Siegel to cut his loses
or scale back the project
– Siegel refused
• At one point Siegel threatens
the life of notorious mobster
Charles ―Lucky‖ Luciano
The Flamingo
Despite pressure, Siegel promised to open
the Flamingo in December 1946
• Construction was not complete
• Mob partners wanted him to wait
December 26, 1946 the Flamingo opened
…the Flamingo was a turning point because it combined the
sophisticated ambience of a Monte Carlo casino with the luxury of a
Miami Beach-Caribbean resort. The Flamingo liberated Las Vegas
from the confines of its western heritage.
-Eugene P. Moehring
The Flamingo
The Grand opening was a disaster
• Bad weather
• Siegel could not fly in his Hollywood friends
After 2 weeks and a $300,000 loss, the
Flamingo closed
March 1947 reopened after construction
was complete
• Made a profit
• Too late for Siegel
Siegel’s Death
June 20, 1947—Siegel murdered
• Shot 5 times
• Bungalow in Hollywood
Lucky Luciano order
a ―hit‖ on Siegel
• Suspected Bugsy of
skimming $$$ from
the Flamingo
Siegel’s Death
Mob leaders took control of the Flamingo
Though Siegel did not live to witness it, he
opened the door to Las Vegas for the mob
Success of the Flamingo spurred
development and cemented organized
crime’s investment in Las Vegas
Organized Crime Claims Stake
Siegel had awoken the mob to possibilities
in Las Vegas
The 20 year span following the Flamingo
and Siegel’s death was truly a ―Golden
Period‖
• Las Vegas was in the hands of the mob
Organized Crime Claims Stake
The mob begins to build some of the most lavish resorts
• Borrowed $$$ from the Teamster pension fund through the Teamster’s head, Jimmy Hoffa
• Capital was used to build the:– Aladdin
– Circus Circus
– Sands
– Dunes
– Tropicana
Organized Crime Claims Stake
The effect of this building boom can best
be described by David Spanier:
Such men [mobsters] set the style of Vegas, in the formative
years, rather like the cowboy set the image of the west.
Townspeople took it all quite calmly, and rather bragged about
the fact that ―that fellow from Murder Inc. has come to Las
Vegas and is going to build the most fabulous place that
anyone ever heard of…‖ The only attitude I ever got out of
the town was ―Hooray! He’s going to bring money into the
town.‖ Tourists, too, have always been fascinated by the
gangsters in their midst…
The 1950s and 60s Casinos provided continuous
entertainment from dusk till dawn• Hosting the likes of
– Don Rickles
– Buddy Hackett
– Alan King
– Nat King Cole
– Dean Martin
– Jerry Lewis
– Frank Sinatra
– Sammy Davis Jr.
– Elvis Presley
The 1950s and 60s
Showgirls became the unofficial icon of
Las Vegas
• Huge productions
• First topless show
introduced at the
Desert Inn
Hotels made $$$ off entertainment
• Initially a scheme to get people to gamble
• Flourished into an industry in itself
The 1950s and 60s
During the period, mob leaders were
careful to ensure their continued
operations
• Many politicians were indebted to the mob
– Organized crime invested millions into the city
• Mob bosses kept gang wars from tainting Las
Vegas
The 1950s and 60s
Even with the measures to steer clear of
law enforcement, a city-wide clean up
effort began in the 1960s
• Pressure from the FBI and attorney general
In spite of this crackdown, the mob
continued to flourish
Still, organized crime’s reign in Las Vegas
would soon end
Hughes’ Arrival to Las Vegas
Howard Hughes, the world’s wealthiest
man, arrived in Las Vegas on November
27, 1966
Hughes moved into
the mob-controlled
Desert Inn
• Rented the entire top floor
Hughes’ Purchases
Hughes asked to vacate the Desert Inn—
early 1967
• Hughes refused
• Instead purchased the Desert Inn for
$13,250,00 in cash
Hughes seen as a savior for the city—
rescuing Las Vegas from the mob
Hughes’ Purchases
Hughes wanted to change Las Vegas
• A glamorous, wholesome city
• This matched the clean-up act taking place in the city at the time
Hughes wielded enormous political and economic power
• State officials soon realized that Hughes’ power, fame, and wealth could help Las Vegas
Hughes’ Purchases
In 1967 Hughes began purchasing casinos
Same year, the Nevada State Legislature
passed the Corporate Gaming Act
• In essence opened the doors for corporations
to own casinos
Hughes’ Purchases Hughes became aware of the Desert Inn’s
potential and was determined to obtain as many casinos as possible
From 1966—1970 Hughes purchased:
• 6 casinos
• $30,000,000 in land
• An airport
• An airline
• A TV station
Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
Hughes dispelled many corporations’ fears
about investing in mob-controlled Las Vegas
Respected chains and companies were now
ready to invest in Las Vegas
Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
Hughes paved the way for corporations
and Wall Street investors
Corporate America could invest far more
than the mob could illegally skim for
casinos in years
Mob leaders saw an opportunity to sell-out
and retire
• Thus ended more than 20 years of Las
Vegas’ control by organized crime
Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
With the capital available from corporations, Las Vegas had little need for the mob
• Mid 1970s: the Nevada Gaming Control Board begins penalizing and refusing gaming licenses to know mobsters
• Mid 1980s: organized crime has mostly all disappeared
Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
Corporations continued to buy resorts until
the late 1980s
In the 1990s new resorts began to be
constructed
Many iconic resorts from the 1950s and
60s, including the Dunes and Sands, were
demolished to make way
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