Las Vegas Vacation Diary
Day Twenty: The Flamingo Hotel
We packed suitcases in the morning and then went to the Flamingo for the Buffet lunch. After lunch we strolled through the tropical birds displays and the gardens.
They have a lovely wedding chapel set deep in the gardens, but they also offer outdoor weddings in the gazebo. Also the swimming area can be seen hidden in the foliage of the trees and flowers. However, when you come to the hotel via the monorail you see the other side of the pool that is situated right beneath the walkway to the monorail. Not at all secluded from that angle! |
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For a picture gallery of the Flamingo: Las Vegas Dreaming - Flamingo
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The highlight of the gardens was the Bugsy Siegel memorial. Bugsy Siegel was the Gangster who started the Las Vegas Strip. He was sent out to cash in on legal gambling. Mobsters soon began flocking to the Strip and building casinos and hotels. Once these wise guys stepped into Nevada they became pillars of the Las Vegas Community rather than members of the East Coast underworld. |
Bugsy Siegel started it all and enjoyed the high life in Las Vegas, but he came to a sad end when he was shot in his girl friends apartment in Los Angeles. Had he stayed in his special suite at the top fo the Flamingo, he might have gotten away by sliding down the fireman's pole in the back closet and leaping into the car that was always waiting for his getaway.
The Mobs had a big part to play in Las Vegas development, drawing capital for the initial building of Caesars Palace from the Teamsters Union and through self-funding. But while they had cash cows in the casinos, they had no way of selling out until Howard Hughes came along.
Howard Hughes was a respected business man and in his last years, he bought quite a few of the properties from the Mob figures. Hughes made Las Vegas respectable, and the Mobsters mostly retired from the business as the respected fore fathers of Las Vegs.
The major hotels started to buy into Vegas as well, and soon it was a “legitimate” town. Steve Wynn and other developers saw the potential and with regular banking capital and help from Wall Street could develop the Strip on the grand scale that it needed. Steve Wynn built the plush Mirage and the rest is history. |
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Day 21
To the Airport to fly via America West to Texas. The big business news is that US Airways and America West are merging. But the service seems the same today as when we flew a week ago. We had a whole Japanese Tourist group in front of us in the queque. We were there in plenty of time, so no problem.
We are rather focused on baggage weight after we had them charge us for an overweight bag this morning. America West has a 50 pound limit per bag.
Qantas and American Airlines have changed the baggage allowance from
70 to 50 pounds while we have been here. We get a special dispensation
for buying our tickets before a certain date, but the price of oil is
going to affect the whole flying experience.
I am now typing away madly at airport before the power on the laptop
gives out. Goodbye, Las Vegas, until the next time. It was a wonderful
vacation!
