So I just got back from Vegas and while I had a great time, I did not get to do much ghost hunting. We did go to the Flamingo Hotel where there are tales of "bugsy", still hanging around the area. Now, bugsy is a mobster that used to own the hotel, but was killed because he was "skimming off the top" from his partners. Below is a short description about Bugsy.
The original Flamingo Hotel was started in 1945 by Billy Wilkerson. He owned the Hollywood Reporter as well as several night clubs in Las Angeles. As the story goes, Mr. Wilkerson was addicted to gambling and would make frequent trips to Las Vegas where he would lose... a lot. His wife suggested to him that he should make his own hotel/casino so that he could lose to himself. He purchesed land in Las Vegas and hired George Vernon Russell to design him a hotel. The high cost of finding building materials during World War II quickly left Wilkerson in deep financial trouble. Wilkerson was soon "pursuaded" to take on partners in his venture by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel the famed mobster of Murder, Inc. Bugsy had no experience in designing a hotel so costs continued to mount. The hotel finally opened the day after Christmas in 1946.
The hotel was named after Bugsy's nickname for his girlfriend, Virginia Hill. According to the tour guid on the Haunted Vegas Tour this was due to her having died her hair red. According to Wikipedia, Ms. Hill earned this nickname because of... well... other reasons.
When the mob bosses back east discovered that Bugsy had been skimming off the top, allegedly because of a tip by Virginia Hill who was a mob informant, his death was ordered. Despite the bullet proof glass and protective measures he had built into his Las Vegas apartment at the Flamingo. His assassins smartly took him out while he was visiting Las Angeles in a far less fortress-like atmosphere.
The hotel changed hands a few times before being sold to the Hilton company. The las remnants of the original hotel was torn down in 1993 and replaced with the lavish gardens that include the wedding chapel and a memorial to Bugsy Siegel.
Here are a couple of cool pictures I took. Thought you guys might like them.
Bugsy likes pretty girls with beer..... Check out "sitting" on the bench with my friend Karen right by the beer.
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