1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: a show that rolls the dice on history seven days 4 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: a week. I'm Gabelusier, and today we're talking about one 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: of the most feared gangsters in American history and how 6 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: he got involved in the legendary Flamingo Hotel. The day 7 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: was December nine. Notorious gangster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel opened the 8 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: glamorous Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 9 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: grand opening featured entertainment by singer and comedian Jimmy Durant 10 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: with music by Cuban band leader Xavier Kuga. The event 11 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: was attended by some of Siegel's famous Hollywood friends, including 12 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: actors Clark Gable, George Sanders, and Joan Crawford. Despite the 13 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: glitzy guest list, the hotel's opening weekend was a total bust, 14 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: and the fallout from that failure ultimately caused siegell his life. 15 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: Benjamin Siegel was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 16 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: nineteen o six. He got involved with neighborhood crime as 17 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 1: a teenager and eventually partnered with future mob Syndicate leader 18 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: Meyer Landski. The pair formed a criminal gang on Manhattan's 19 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: Lower East Side called the Bugs and Meyer Mob. They 20 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: mostly dealt in bootlegging, but eventually the gang joined forces 21 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: with the Syndicate, a unified group of mobsters from the 22 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: city's various national gangs. In the nineteen twenties, Siegel made 23 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: a name for himself as one of the founding members 24 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: of Murder Incorporated, the so called enforcement branch of the Syndicate. 25 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: In his role as a hitman, he allegedly murdered more 26 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: than thirty people and orchestrated the killings of countless others. 27 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: Fellow gang members gave Siegel the nickname Bugsy because they 28 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: said his quick and vicious temper often made him act 29 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: quote crazy as a bedbug. Siegel hated the name because 30 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: it reminded him of the poverty he had experienced as 31 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: a child. Anyone who dared call him bugs to his 32 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: face quickly came to regret it. By the mid nineteen thirties, 33 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: Murder inc. Had attracted enough heat that Lansky had to 34 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: send Siegel out of town. The displaced mobster set up 35 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: shop in Los Angeles, where he helped expand the syndicates 36 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: drug trade. Siegel had no problem adapting to a West 37 00:02:55,919 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: Coast lifestyle. He began hosting lavish parties at his mansion 38 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: in Beverly Hills and befriended celebrities like Carrie Grant and 39 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: Virginia Hill, an actress who later followed Siegel to Las Vegas. 40 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen forties, Vegas wasn't the tourist destination 41 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: we know it as today. What would later become the 42 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: iconic Las Vegas Strip was simply Highway ninety one at 43 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: the time. The change began in nineteen forty one with 44 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: the opening of the L Rancho Vegas Resort and then 45 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: the Last Frontier Resort a year later. Both establishments offered 46 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: deluxe accommodations, top tier entertainment, and of course, legalized gambling. 47 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: It was the latter, in particular that caught the attention 48 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: of the mob. In nineteen forty five, Landsky sent Siegel 49 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: to survey the prospect of building their own hotel in 50 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: casino in downtown Vegas. When he arrived, Siegell liked what 51 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: he saw and quickly purchased a six thousand dollar steak 52 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: in the L. Cortes Hotel on Fremont Street. Meanwhile, not 53 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: far away, a man named Billy Wilkerson was trying to 54 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: build a new resort on Highway ninety one. As the 55 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: founder of the Hollywood Reporter and the owner of several 56 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: popular nightclubs in l A's Sunset Strip, Wilkerson wanted to 57 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: bring the glamour of Hollywood and Europe to Las Vegas. 58 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: Unlike the other resorts, this one wouldn't be themed to 59 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: the Western frontier. Instead, it would have a cosmopolitan style, 60 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: complete with an upscale restaurant, a Monte Carlo style French casino, 61 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,919 Speaker 1: and bdays in all the bathrooms. The only problem was 62 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: that Wilkerson's vision far exceeded his wallet. The high cost 63 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: of building materials immediately following World War Two depleted his 64 00:04:55,279 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: bank account faster than expected. That's when Bugsy Siegel in 65 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: the New York Mob stepped into lend a hand. Siegel 66 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: sold his steak in the l Cortez, then pulled his 67 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: profits with the syndicate's money and delivered a one million 68 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: dollar loan to Wilkerson. The arrangement didn't last long, however, 69 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: with Wilkerson soon deciding that it was safer to just 70 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: sell his steak in the resort. Rather than stay in 71 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: business with the mob, Siegel took control of the project 72 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: and immediately started making changes to the blueprints. He tweaked 73 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: the design to better resemble the resorts in Havana, Cuba, 74 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: where Lansky and the syndicate had been investing. There's a 75 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 1: long standing rumor that Siegel named the resort after his 76 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 1: Hollywood girlfriend, Virginia Hill, whose nickname was the Flamingo on 77 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: account of her red hair and long legs. It's true 78 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: that was her nickname, and the actress certainly spent a 79 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: lot of time at the casino. However, Billy Wilkerson had 80 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,280 Speaker 1: been using the Flamingo name well before Siegel and Hill 81 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: came into the picture. Apparently the shared Flamingo nickname was 82 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: pure coincidence. Siegel relished his role as supervisor, but he 83 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: wasn't very good at it. Construction dragged on and went 84 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: millions of dollars over budget, leading his partners in New 85 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: York to wonder if Siegel was skimming money from the project. 86 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: He kept them at bay by promising major profits that 87 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: would more than make up for the money spent, but 88 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: unfortunately for him, that big money never came. After months 89 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: of hype, the Flamingo finally opened on December, but almost 90 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: nothing when As planned, Siegel had reserved multiple private planes 91 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: to fly in a list celebrities like Lucille Ball, Ava Garner, 92 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: and Veronica Lake. However, due to bad weather, most of 93 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: the guests stayed home. To make matters worse, the majority 94 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: of the hotel rooms were unfinished, so even though twenty 95 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: eight thousand people came to the Flamingos opening weekend, most 96 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: of them had to find a room somewhere else, and 97 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: they took their winnings with them. As a result, the 98 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: casino ultimately lost between three hundred thousand and five hundred 99 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: thousand dollars during its first week of operation. The response 100 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: was so bad that within a month of opening, the 101 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: Flamingo ran out of cash and had to close down. Amazingly, 102 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: Lansky went to bat for his old friend and was 103 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: able to convince the other syndicate leaders to give Siegel 104 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: a second chance. After borrowing money from his fellow mobsters, 105 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: Siegel made some renovations and reopened the resort in March 106 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: of ninety seven, this time calling it the Fabulous Flamingo. 107 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: Things went better the second time around, and April, the 108 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: hotel had finally turned a profit. Sadly, the turnaround came 109 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: too late to save either Siegel's reputation or his life. 110 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: To the syndicate, the hotel's newfound success was further proof 111 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: that Siegel hadn't been straight with them in the first place. 112 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: They were convinced that he had pocketed money from the 113 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: project and then lied about the hotel's troubles to account 114 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: for what he stole. The exact details of what happened 115 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: next are unknown, but it's widely believed that Siegel's partners 116 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: had him killed for his alleged betrayal. What we know 117 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: for certain is that on June twent an unknown gunman 118 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,439 Speaker 1: shot and killed Siegel as he sat reading the newspaper 119 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: in Virginia Hills living room in Beverly Hills. A few 120 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: minutes after the hit, three syndicate leaders strolled into the 121 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 1: lobby of The Fabulous Flamingo and assumed control of the 122 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: whole oppera ration. Despite its checkered past, the Flamingo continued 123 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: to rake in cash for the syndicate and helped establish 124 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: a new standard for over the top luxury in Las Vegas. 125 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: Its success inspired further investment in the city, and pretty 126 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: soon the modern Las Vegas Strip was born. As for 127 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: the Flamingo, it changed hands several times over the years 128 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: and is currently owned and operated by Caesar's Entertainment. Nothing 129 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: remains of the original architecture, with the last of its 130 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: original structures being demolished in It said that Seagel's private suite, 131 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: including his bulletproof class and secret escape tunnel, was among 132 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: the last things to be destroyed, like the ship of Theseus. 133 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:52,679 Speaker 1: Even though the original Flamingo is long gone, its present 134 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: form is still considered the oldest operating hotel and casino 135 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: on the Las Vegas Strip. Today. Management tends to downplay 136 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: the resort's connection to a ruthless killer, and understandably so, 137 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: but they haven't completely forgotten their founder either. Bugsy's bar 138 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: inside the Flamingo still churns out cocktails in his honor, 139 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: and if you look hard enough, you'll find a plaque 140 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: dedicated to him in the hotel garden. Siegel's legacy is 141 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: bathed in blood and neon light, sickening and captivating at 142 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: the same time, All laid out. It doesn't make for 143 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: the prettiest view, but it's a perfect fit for Sin City. 144 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you now know a little 145 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 146 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 147 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if you 148 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: have any comments or suggestions, you can always write to 149 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: us at this day at I heart Media a dot com. 150 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks 151 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 152 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another Day in History class. For more podcasts 153 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 1: for my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 154 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.