The film Bugsy was a story about a gangster named Bugsy Siegel, credited with having turned Las Vegas into a gambling and resort town. What was the name of the Las Vegas hotel founded in 1946 by Bugsy Siegel?

The Flamingo Hotel & Casino, an iconic establishment on the Las Vegas Strip, first opened its doors in 1946 under the direction of notorious gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. While the initial concept for a luxurious European-style hotel came from Hollywood Reporter founder Billy Wilkerson, he ran short on funds. This allowed Siegel and his mob associates to take over the project, transforming it into the Flamingo. The name itself is a subject of some debate; one popular story suggests Siegel named it for his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, who was nicknamed "The Flamingo" because of her long legs and red hair. Another account credits Wilkerson, who was fond of the exotic birds he had seen on a trip to Florida.

The grand opening on December 26, 1946, was a star-studded event, but it was ultimately a financial failure. The hotel portion of the resort was not yet complete, leading gamblers to take their winnings to other establishments. The casino lost a significant amount of money in its first week and was forced to close just two weeks after opening. It reopened in March 1947 as The Fabulous Flamingo and began to turn a profit.

Despite the eventual success of the Flamingo, Siegel's mismanagement and suspected skimming of profits led to his murder just a few months after the grand opening, a crime that remains officially unsolved. Following his death, his partners took over management of the resort. Today, the Flamingo stands as the oldest still-operating resort on the Las Vegas Strip, a lasting legacy of Siegel's vision to create a glamorous gambling oasis in the desert. A monument to the infamous gangster can be found in the hotel's courtyard.