Flamingo

  • Flamingo Casino Logo
  • Flamingo Casino on the Vegas Strip

When looking for a Las Vegas good time, look no further than The Flamingo. The oldest currently operating casino on the strip, it still has the good old-time vibe and isn’t trying to be some new fancy hotel/casino.

Across the street from Caesars Palace, the neon-lit, art deco-style casino hotel opened in 1946. Rooms have vintage Vegas artwork and flamingo-pink accents, with flat-screen TVs, WiFi, iPhone docks, whirlpool tubs and exciting Strip views.

Property map of the Flamingo

Property Map of The Flamingo Casino/Hotel.

The lush gardens tucked behind the room towers seem removed from Vegas entirely. With live pink Chilean flamingos, swans, ducks, turtles and koi frolicking in the ponds and playing under three-story waterfalls, and stunning swimming pools, the Flamingo seems less like a casino and more like an exotic resort.

Animals and water attractions aren’t the only entertainment provided by the Flamingo. For fun family entertainment, brother and sister duo Donny and Marie bring their song styling’s and undeniable charm to Flamingo Las Vegas, the celebrity tribute show “Legends in Concert,” and not to mention Olivia Newton-John herself is appearing in “Summer Nights,” a residency that runs on certain dates through Jan. 2, 2016. For late night adult entertainment, the women of “X Burlesque” offer some naughtiness and help to bring out the burlesque in you.

With its brilliant façade of pink and orange, the Flamingo is still as colorful as the history behind it.

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel’s original Flamingo is gone, torn down in 1993, but the hotel that bears the name continues to live up to its long-standing reputation. Although well-known singer and comedian Jimmy Durante headlined the grand opening, with music by Cuban band leader Xavier Cugat, the evening was a flop. Some of Siegel’s Hollywood buds were in attendance, such as actors George Sanders, Sonny Tufts and George Jessel. Poor weather kept many other Hollywood guests from arriving. Since gamblers had no rooms at the hotel at the time, they took their winnings and gambled elsewhere. The casino lost $300,000 in the first week it was open, but a re-opening later that summer brought about positive changes.

It is widely believed that Siegel’s partners were convinced that he wasn’t giving them a “square count,” and had him killed while he was reading the paper June 20, 1947, so he never go to experience the full glory of the Flamingo Casino and Hotel.

Surviving a series of ownership and name changes, the hotel is known today as The Flamingo Las Vegas, owned and operated by Harrah’s Entertainment.

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