Staying power
I have a very specific fond memory of the Flamingo Las Vegas. It was probably 2005, the first year I covered the World Series of Poker live at the Rio. My brother came to visit and, having seen all he was going to see at the WSOP, decided to enter a small daily poker tournament at the Flamingo. He wasn’t particularly good at poker – just dabbled a little online – but he somehow won the thing and several hundred dollars ($700, maybe?). He had brought a friend along on the trip and promised us that if he won the tourney, he’d treat us to a fancy steak dinner. My brother was going to make good on that promise, but the other two of us were starving and didn’t want to wait for a sit-down meal, so we said screw it, let’s go to In-N-Out Burger. We had never been, heard it was great, and sure enough, we loved it. So ended a fun day in Las Vegas.
If I recall correctly my wife and I also played a table game there once and the dealer actually slapped my wife’s hand when she showed me her cards. That was certainly a quick lesson on casino rules and etiquette.
On Sunday, the Flamingo turned 75 years old. It was the third casino built on the Las Vegas Strip and currently ranks as the oldest still in operation on the famous stretch of road. It is also the last remaining casino on the Strip that was built before 1950. A colorful history
The Flamingo was originally the project of Billy Wilkerson, founder of The Hollywood Reporter, owner of nightclubs on Sunset Boulevard, and a compulsive gambler. He ran into financial troubles during development because of his gambling, so along came infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel and his partners, who bought two-thirds of the project. Eventually, Wilkerson was out completely.
Opened on December 26, 1946, the Flamingo is considered the luxury casino-hotel resort on the Strip, a harbinger of the Las Vegas’s future. It also had a very unique look for the time, waving […]
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