| |
KF5JRV > TODAY 26.12.18 14:22l 51 Lines 2418 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 27867_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Dec 26
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<OK2PEN<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 181226/1219Z 27867@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.17
Well-known singer and comedian Jimmy Durante headlined the
entertainment, with music by Cuban band leader Xavier Cugat. Some of
Siegel’s Hollywood friends, including actors George Raft, George
Sanders, Sonny Tufts and George Jessel were in attendance.
The grand opening, however, was a flop. Bad weather kept many other
Hollywood guests from arriving. And because gamblers had no rooms at the
hotel, they took their winnings and gambled elsewhere. The casino lost
$300,000 in the first week of operation.
Siegel and his New York “partnersö had invested $1 million in a property
already under construction by Billy Wilkerson, owner of the Hollywood
Reporter as well as some very popular nightclubs in the Sunset Strip.
Wilkerson had wanted to recreate the Sunset Strip in Las Vegas, with a
European style hotel with luxuious rooms, a spa, health club, showroom,
golf course, nightclub and upscale restaurant. But he soon ran out of
money due to the high cost of materials immediately after the war.
Siegel, who held a largest interest in the racing publication Trans
America Wire, was drawn to Las Vegas in 1945 by his interest in
legalized gambling and off-track betting. He purchased The El Cortez
hotel for $600,000 and later sold it for a $166,000 profit.
Siegel and his organized crime buddies used the profits to influence
Wilkerson to accept new partners. Siegel took over the project and
supervised the building, naming it after his girlfriend Virginia Hill,
whose nickname was “The Flamingoö because of her red hair and long legs.
Two weeks after the grand opening, the Flamingo closed down. It
re-opened March 1, 1947, as The Fabulous Flamingo. Siegel forced
Wilkerson out in April, and by May, the resort reported a profit, but it
wasn’t enough to save Siegel.
Convinced that Siegel wasn’t giving them a “square count,ö it is widely
believed that his partners in organized crime had him killed while he
was reading the paper June 20, 1947, at Hill’s Beverly Hills mansion.
Hill was in Paris, having flown the coop after a fight with Siegel 10
days prior. The crime remains unsolved to this day.
Surviving a series of name and ownership changes, the hotel is known
today as The Flamingo Las Vegas, owned and operated by Harrah’s
Entertainment. The property offers 3,626 hotel rooms and a
77,000-square-foot casino.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
