$8,000,000,000

24 hrs

35,000,000

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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