A favorite of Howard Hughes, the Flamingo Hotel, located on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, was one of the earliest modern casinos. In 1931, the Nevada State Legislature legalized gambling, making way for the future of Las Vegas. Most early Las Vegas casinos were themed in the Old West Frontier style. The Flamingo changed that.

In 1945, Billy Wilkerson, the owner of the famous Hollywood nightclubs Ciro's and La Rue's, started a project to build a casino six miles south of Las Vegas along Highway 91, a popular route into the city. Wilkerson hit some monetary troubles and Ben "Bugsy" Siegel, a known mobster, stepped in. Bugsy Siegel had a vision that changed Las Vegas forever. He designed the hotel, named "Flamingo" after his mistress Virginia Hill, as a casino and resort, luxurious and in the style of Beverly Hills clubs to attract the stars.

In a time when construction materials were in short supply, Siegel had no problem finding supplies. He received lumber and pipes from movie studios, marble from the Mexican black market, and other supplies from Nevada Senator Pat McCarran, who rerouted supplies from other projects. After spending six million dollars, the Flamingo opened its doors on December 26, 1946 to disastrous results; the house lost $200,000 that night.

Within the next two month, the hotel closed and reopened as the Fabulous Flamingo. In June 1946, an unknown assailant killed Bugsy Siegel in Hollywood. Between Siegel's death and 1970, the hotel changed hands several times. In 1971, the Hilton Corporation bought the hotel and renamed it the Hilton Flamingo. Throughout the years, various owners renovated the hotel, but in 1993 the final section, the Oregon wing, of the original hotel was demolished. This area contained Bugsy Siegel's private suite. Today the Flamingo Las Vegas is comprised of 6 high-rise towers and over 3 thousand rooms.

Podcast Written and Narrated by Kelcie Lloyd, Public History Student at the University of West Florida.