Question of the Day - 02 November 2024

Well, the Sahara is only six years younger than the Flamingo, so that qualifies as "from the old days" in our book. 

But the answer to your question is no. Nothing remains of the original Flamingo. Not even a little piece of it dates back to the original buildings.

The Fabulous Flamingo, which cost $6 million to open in December 1946, had 105 rooms, built courtyard-style. A long succession of remodels and expansions began in 1953 and the joint changed hands several times between 1955 and 1970.

Those owners included Thomas Hull, who built the El Rancho Vegas; Al Parvin, who bought and sold a number of Vegas casino-hotels over the next 20 years; a group of south Florida investors, which included Meyer Lansky; and Kirk Kerkorian, who used it as a sort of “hotel school” for the core staff of the huge International, now the Westgate, that he was planning at the time.  

In 1970, Hilton Corporation acquired the Flamingo, thus becoming the first major hotel chain to enter the Nevada market. Hilton embarked on a colossal expansion program that added 500-room towers in 1977, 1980, 1982, and 1986; a 728-room tower in 1990; and a 908-room tower in 1993.

The 1993 expansion required tearing down the original bungalows, so that the pool area could be expanded to 15 acres. Also demolished was the four-story Oregon building at the back of the property where Bugsy Siegel himself had a suite on the top floor. It was replaced with a Hilton Grand Vacations Club timeshare tower.

However, in a rare demonstration of nostalgia for Hilton (and Las Vegas), the Flamingo erected a little brick shrine to Bugsy, directly across from the Garden Wedding Chapel in the flamingo habitat. It has a plaque commemorating his life and a bas relief of his mug.

That, along with the name of the casino’s 200-seat theater, Bugsy’s Cabaret, is as close as the Flamingo comes to anything original.