Now Performing in the Red Skelton Tribute Theater 167 East Wears Valley Road Suite #17 (Shops of Pigeon Forge) Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
The Flamingo Hotel and Casino Las Vegas NV
The Flamingo Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada ( most people refer to it as Las Vegas ) and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
The Flamingo's architectural theme is reminiscent of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style of Miami and South Beach. It has a garden courtyard with a wildlife habitat featuring flamingos. It was the third resort to open on the Strip, and the oldest resort on the Strip still in operation today. ( which in itself is an amazing thing since Vegas seems to love imploding old casino's and build mega-resorts )
The Flamingo site occupies 40 acres and was originally owned by one of Las Vegas' first settlers, Charles "Pops" Squires. Squires paid $8.75 an acre for the land. In 1944, Margaret Folsom bought it for $7,500 from Squires, and she then later sold it to Billy Wilkerson. Wilkerson was the owner of the Hollywood Reporter as well as some very popular nightclubs in the Sunset Strip. Wilkerson then hired George Vernon Russell to design a hotel that was more in the European style and something other than the "sawdust joints" on Fremont Street. He planned a hotel with luxurious rooms, a spa, health club, showroom, nightclub and upscale restaurant. Due to high wartime materials costs, Wilkerson ran into financial problems almost at once, finding himself $400,000 short and hunting for new financing.
Bugsy Siegel began looking for a site outside the city limits to build a casino. Hearing that Wilkerson was seeking extra funding, Siegel and his partners, posing as businessmen, approached him and bought a two-thirds stake in the project Siegel finally opened The Flamingo Hotel & Casino at a total cost of $6 million on December 26, 1946. It was billed as the world's most luxurious hotel,...at that time.
Siegel named the resort after his girlfriend Virginia Hill, who loved to gamble and whose nickname was Flamingo, a nickname Siegel gave her due to her long, skinny legs.
Casino management changed the hotel name to The Fabulous Flamingo on March 1, 1947, and in time the Flamingo presented lavish shows and accommodations for its time, becoming well known for comfortable, air conditioned rooms, gardens, and swimming pools.
The Flamingo's four hotel towers were built (or expanded) in 1967, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1990, and 1995. A 200-unit Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare tower was opened in 1993. The Flamingo name has been applied to gambling operations elsewhere, such as this New Orleans riverboat In 1998, Hilton's gaming properties, including the Flamingo, were spun off as Park Place Entertainment (later renamed to Caesars Entertainment). The deal included a two-year license to use the Hilton name. Park Place opted not to renew that agreement when it expired in late 2000, and the property was renamed Flamingo Las Vegas.
