Flamingo Las Vegas
The Flamingo Las Vegas is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment and is located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The property offers a casino along with 3,626 hotel rooms.
The hotel is sometimes referred to as the pink hotel from the pink neon on the building similar to the color of flamingos. The site is landscaped in a Caribbean theme, with gardens that house an exhibit of flamingos and penguins as part of a wildlife habitat.
The Flamingo has a Las Vegas Monorail station at the rear of the property.
The Pink Flamingo Hotel & Casino (as it was originally named), had only 77 rooms when it was built and opened by Bugsy Siegel and his partner Meyer Lansky on December 26, 1946.
"The Flamingo" was named after the pet name for Virginia Hill, the dancer. She earned the name dancing in Mexican casinos, where she would raise her skirts to show off her long legs while swinging her flaming red hair.
Funding for the casino came from mob money. Seigel supervised its construction. When it had been discovered that Bugsy was skimming money from the building funds, his death was ordered and management for the casino changed hands.
The Flamingo changed names to The Fabulous Flamingo on
March 1, 1947.
The Flamingo hotel boasted lavish shows and glorious accommodations for its day. The casino became well known for its comfortable, air conditioned rooms, beautiful gardens and fabulous swimming pools. The Flamingo helped popularize the concept of offering a "complete experience" as opposed to simple gambling.
Kirk Kerkorian acquired the property in 1967.
The hotel was acquired by the Hilton Corporation in 1972 and became the Flamingo Hilton in 1974. The last of the original Flamingo Hotel structure was torn down on December 14, 1993 and the hotel's garden was built on the site, complete with a plaque to Bugsy Siegel.
In the 1998 spin off of Hilton's gaming operations, ownership was changed to Park Place Entertainment which was renamed to Caesars Entertainment in 2004.
In September 1999 the Flamingo Hilton and its sister property in Laughlin, Nevada ended their long standing relationship with Hilton Hotels. The Hilton name was removed and the property was renamed the Flamingo Las Vegas.
To enhance the hotel's Caribbean theme, a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant was opened in 2004.
