Bugsy Siegel opens Flamingo Hotel

Bugsy Siegel opens the Flamingo Hotel & Casino

On December 26, 1946, mobster Bugsy Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel & Casino, a luxurious, unfinished resort that became the first of Las Vegas's modern, mob-funded gambling palaces, kicking off the Strip's glamorous era, though its initial failure led to Siegel's assassination months later, paving the way for its eventual legendary status.