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If you’ve seen the movie Bugsy, you probably think you know exactly what happened on the Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas opening date. In the Hollywood version, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel stands alone in a deserted, rain-slicked lobby while a thunderstorm rages outside. It’s a tragic, lonely image of a visionary failing in real-time.
Honestly? That’s mostly a lie.
The real story of December 26, 1946, is much weirder, way more chaotic, and involves a lot of hand-painted ceramic birds. It wasn't a ghost town. It was a half-finished construction site packed with Hollywood A-listers who were basically treading over drop cloths while Jimmy Durante cracked jokes.
The December 26, 1946 Chaos
Most people assume the Flamingo was the first resort on the Strip. It wasn't. It was actually the third. But it was the first one to ditch the "Old West" sawdust-on-the-floor vibe for something called "Miami Modern."
On that Thursday after Christmas in 1946, Siegel was desperate. The project was bleeding money. Costs had ballooned from an estimated $1.2 million to over $6 million (that’s over $90 million in 2026 money). He needed cash flow, so he forced the doors open even though the hotel rooms weren't even finished.
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Imagine checking into a luxury resort today and being told, "The casino is open, but you have to sleep down the street at a motel because we haven't finished the plumbing in your room." That’s basically what happened.
Who actually showed up?
Contrary to the "empty lobby" myth, the place was actually crawling with celebrities. Siegel used his Hollywood connections to fly in some of the biggest names of the era:
- George Raft (the quintessential movie mobster)
- Vivian Blaine
- Sonny Tufts
- Charles Coburn
- Jimmy Durante (who was the headliner)
Siegel even commissioned 200 hand-painted ceramic flamingo statues as gifts for the VIPs. If you ever find one of those at a garage sale, buy it. They are worth a fortune now because they are some of the only surviving relics from that specific night.
Why the Opening Date was Sorta a Disaster
So, if the stars were there, why did the opening fail?
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It came down to logistics. Because the hotel wing wasn't ready, guests had no reason to stay. They’d gamble for an hour, get bored or lose some cash, and then drive back to the El Rancho or the Last Frontier where they actually had a bed.
The weather didn't help either. While the movie shows a monsoon, historical records from the The Mob Museum suggest it was just a dismal, rainy night that kept the locals away. In the first week, the casino lost $300,000. For a guy like Siegel, who was playing with "the boys'" money from back East, that was a death sentence.
The Second "Opening"
Because the December date was such a flop, the Flamingo actually closed its doors again in February 1947. They needed to actually finish the building.
The Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas opening date that actually mattered for the books was March 1, 1947. That’s when the hotel rooms finally opened. By then, the "Fabulous Flamingo" started making money, but the clock was already ticking for Bugsy. By June, he was dead—shot through a window in Beverly Hills.
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Myths vs. Reality of the Flamingo’s Early Days
We need to clear up some of the common misconceptions people have when they look into this.
- The Name: People love to say Siegel named it after his girlfriend Virginia Hill because of her "long, skinny legs." While she was nicknamed "Flamingo," the original developer, Billy Wilkerson, had already picked the name before Siegel ever took over the project.
- The First Casino: As mentioned, the Flamingo wasn't first. The El Rancho Vegas (1941) and the Last Frontier (1942) beat it to the punch. The Flamingo was just the first to bring the glamour.
- The Architecture: The original 1946 structure is completely gone. The last piece of the "original" Flamingo was torn down in 1993 during a massive renovation. If you’re standing there today, you’re standing on the site, but you aren't touching anything Bugsy touched.
Why the Date Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why we still care about a botched opening from nearly 80 years ago. It’s because the Flamingo set the template. Before December 26, 1946, Las Vegas was trying to be "The Old West." It was cowboy hats and spurs.
The Flamingo brought the "carpet joint" era. It was about air conditioning, tuxedo-clad dealers, and high-end entertainment. Every mega-resort you see today—the Bellagio, the Wynn, the Caesars Palace—is essentially a descendant of the risk Siegel took on that rainy December night.
Visiting the Legend Today
If you’re heading to Vegas and want to soak up the history, you can’t see the 1946 lobby, but you can do a few things to get the vibe:
- The Wildlife Habitat: It’s free and features actual Chilean flamingos. It's a nod to the original tropical theme.
- The Bugsy Siegel Memorial: There’s a stone pillar and plaque near the wedding chapel that commemorates where his original suite used to be.
- The Vintage Neon: The current neon "feather" sign is a classic, though it’s a later iteration of the 1950s "Champagne Tower" that once defined the skyline.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs:
- Check the archives: If you want the deepest dive, the UNLV Special Collections has the original architectural blueprints from the Wilkerson era.
- Skip the movies: Read The First 100 or visit the Mob Museum in Downtown Vegas to see the actual surveillance photos and financial ledgers from 1946.
- Look for the "Pink" History: Many people don't realize the Flamingo changed names multiple times, including a long stint as the "Flamingo Hilton."
The Flamingo remains the oldest continuously operating resort on the Strip. Even if the opening was a mess and the founder got whacked, the fact that it’s still standing (in some form) is a miracle in a city that loves to implode its history.