{"id":1528419,"date":"2021-12-27T14:33:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T19:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vegasslotsonline.com\/news\/?p=130221"},"modified":"2021-12-27T14:33:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T19:33:00","slug":"las-vegass-first-mob-built-casino-the-flamingo-celebrates-its-75-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/plato-data\/las-vegass-first-mob-built-casino-the-flamingo-celebrates-its-75-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas\u2019s First Mob-Built Casino the Flamingo Celebrates Its 75 Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"<br \/>\n<h2>Strip\u2019s oldest still-operating resort<\/h2>\n<p>The oldest still-operating resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Sin City\u2019s first mob-built casino, the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel &amp; Casino, has turned 75.<\/p>\n<p>Emmy Award-winning journalist Kayla Astrinos shared news of a<em> KTNV<\/em> half-hour tribute to the Flamingo as it celebrated its 75th anniversary on Sunday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tonight is the night! Tune in to \u201cDesert Diamond: The Flamingo turns 75\u201d tonight at 6:30 p.m. Look back at its history, key moments &amp; what has kept it going all these years. <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/107.21.231.196\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/las-vegass-first-mob-built-casino-the-flamingo-celebrates-its-75-anniversary.png\" alt=\"?\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jarahwright?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jarahwright<\/a> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DaveKTNV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DaveKTNV<\/a> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KTNV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@KTNV<\/a> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yA3l0nHU3l\">https:\/\/t.co\/yA3l0nHU3l<\/a> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3nq7sHLm8B\">pic.twitter.com\/3nq7sHLm8B<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kalyna Astrinos (@KalynaAstrinos) <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KalynaAstrinos\/status\/1475173909519601664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>According to a Flamingo news release, the iconic resort is offering guests \u201canniversary-themed offers at the resort, from a social media sweepstakes to hotel, spa and wedding packages.\u201d The offers are part of the Flamingo\u2019s 75th anniversary celebrations and will run until the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>The Flamingo is also honoring its team members with \u201c75 Days of Appreciation,\u201d while the resort will be hosting VIP casino guests for an exclusive anniversary dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Senior vice president and GM Dan Walsh said in the news release that in its 75-year history, the Flamingo \u201chas continued to evolve and thrive, though most of the resorts built around its era are long gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The difference 25 years makes<\/h2>\n<p>For most people familiar with the history of Las Vegas, that celebrity mobster Benjamin \u201cBugsy\u201d Siegel was the owner of the Flamingo when it opened to the public on December 26, 1946, is common knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>What has changed in the 25 years since the Flamingo turned 50 in 1996 is that the brand no longer shies away from its connection to Siegel and the mob.<\/p>\n<p>Hilton hotels purchased the Flamingo in the early 1970s and would later rename it the Flamingo Hilton. Flamingo Hilton spokesman Terry Lindberg said back in 1996 that the \u201cBugsy image was not something that was particularly endearing to the Flamingo or Hilton.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"boxout\">Lindberg stated Siegel was \u201cnot George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. We\u2019re talking about a robber, rapist and murderer. Those are not endearing qualities. We want to remember the history of the Flamingo without glamorizing it. We\u2019ve made a conscious decision to distance ourselves from the Bugsy heritage.\u201d Siegel got gunned down in the Beverley Hills home of his girlfriend in 1947, and the murder remains unsolved. The <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> quotes Larry Gragg, an emeritus history professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology as saying that, within 15 minutes of Siegel\u2019s murder some 300 miles away, mobsters Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway strolled into the Flamingo and declared that they were taking over.<\/div>\n<p>While crime families had been dabbling in ownership of other casinos in Vegas, the Flamingo was the first mob-built casino in town. It\u2019s Miami Beach, art deco style was a drastic trendsetter, breaking the mold of Old West-themed properties and heralding the Strip\u2019s first real luxury resort, complete with glamorous amenities and entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>Copy editor at the <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> Karl Kistner took to Twitter on Monday to share a quote from Vegas journalist Geoff Schumacher, who reckons Siegel\u2019s Flamingo accelerated the growth of the Strip:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI imagine, it\u2019s possible that if Bugsy Siegel hadn\u2019t built a luxury resort on Highway 91 as he did, we still may have ended up with the Las Vegas Strip. But he certainly accelerated that progress.\u201d <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uVn0a8kJLQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/uVn0a8kJLQ<\/a> via <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reviewjournal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@reviewjournal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Karl Kistner (@KistnerKarl) <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KistnerKarl\/status\/1475383804638359553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Acknowledgment that Siegel and the mob were part of Flamingo\u2019s history became part of the brand narrative in 2020, with the opening of the Bugsy and Meyer\u2019s Steakhouse, a retro-style eatery named for Siegel and his mob associate Meyer Lansky.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>embracing the Siegel connection was simply \u201cacknowledging the true history of the Flamingo\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Sean McBurney \u2014 president of regional operations for Caesars Entertainment, the current operators of the Flamingo \u2014 said that embracing the Siegel connection was simply \u201cacknowledging the true history of the Flamingo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McBurney added the mob connection was \u201csomething that\u2019s unique to Flamingo\u201d but added the brand stopped short of \u201ccondoning the method of operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Ability to change<\/h2>\n<p>The Flamingo has been sold many times throughout its history. In 1967, US businessman Kirk Kerkorian purchased it and cut all ties with the mob, shifting focus to corporate gaming. Kerkorian made a success out of the Flamingo before selling to Hilton in 1972. In 2005, the Flamingo changed hands again to current owner Caesars\u2019 subsidiary, Harrah\u2019s Entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>The oldest, most storied resort on the Strip has, however, always kept its finger on the Vegas pulse. When the dawn of monster integrated resorts hit Sin City in the late 1980s, the Flamingo changed with the times. By 1993, it had added over 3,500 rooms and a 200-unit timeshare tower, and in 2018 it unveiled a $156m hotel renovation. In June 2020, the Flamingo <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vegasslotsonline.com\/news\/2020\/05\/22\/caesars-to-kick-off-casino-reopening-plan-with-flamingo-caesars-palace\/\">was<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>one of the first Las Vegas resorts<strong> <\/strong>to reopen<\/a> after the pandemic&#8217;s first wave.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/business\/casinos-gaming\/the-flamingo-one-of-strips-most-iconic-resorts-turns-75-2502240\/\">According to the <em>Review-Journal<\/em><\/a>, as the Flamingo turns 75, its past is \u201ca reflection of the Strip\u2019s history and the iconic corridor\u2019s ability to reinvent itself time and time again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vegasslotsonline.com\/news\/2021\/12\/27\/las-vegass-first-mob-built-casino-the-flamingo-celebrates-its-75-anniversary\/\">Las Vegas\u2019s First Mob-Built Casino the Flamingo Celebrates Its 75 Anniversary<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vegasslotsonline.com\/news\">Latest Online Gambling News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vegasslotsonline.com\/news\/2021\/12\/27\/las-vegass-first-mob-built-casino-the-flamingo-celebrates-its-75-anniversary\/\">Source: https:\/\/www.vegasslotsonline.com\/news\/2021\/12\/27\/las-vegass-first-mob-built-casino-the-flamingo-celebrates-its-75-anniversary\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1528420,"template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","type":"","auto_type":false,"post":"","stream":"","stream_url":"","waveform_data":[],"duration":0,"bpm":0,"downloadable":false,"download_url":"","purchase_title":"","purchase_url":"","post-count-all":0,"like_count":0,"download_count":0,"editor_note":"","copyright":"","captions":[]},"genre":[102],"artist":[110],"mood":[],"activity":[],"station_tag":[5646,5580,7859,5207,3620,3705,5804,5452,5387,5559,5922,5256,6167,7264,6363,5597,5600,5929,5601,5214,5730,5731,8290,3638,5405,5464,177,8265,10175,3820,6351,3821,3747,5713,5409,10369,3643,3715,3646,6976,3647,7260,6352,10334,3719,3654,5736,5264,7380,5419,7211,5225,3832,3754,3755,7363,3833,5480,3757,6391,10548,10345,3664,5428,6308,5884,3674,3675,7351,11733,3840,5634,5958,5745,5746,5696,8445,6358,8229,3761,7824,3689,3690,3692,3694,3847,6467,3732,5499,7926,5784,8083,7957,3697,3852,3853,5279,3703],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/station\/1528419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/station"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/station"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1528420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1528419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=1528419"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=1528419"},{"taxonomy":"mood","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mood?post=1528419"},{"taxonomy":"activity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/activity?post=1528419"},{"taxonomy":"station_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/station_tag?post=1528419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}