$8 billion was generated in Las Vegas over 24 hours from 35 million visitors. The document discusses the history of organized crime in Las Vegas from Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's development of the Flamingo casino in the 1940s, which established the mob's presence, through the 1950s-60s golden years of the mob's control. Howard Hughes' arrival and purchases of casinos in the late 1960s paved the way for corporate investment and ended the mob's reign, as corporations had more capital to invest than the mob could illegally skim.

3. $8,000,000,000
24 hrs
35,000,000

4. Overview
 Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
 The Golden Age of Las Vegas
 The Downfall of Organized Crime

5. Overview
 Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
• Las Vegas prior to Siegel’s Arrival
• Siegel’s Background
• Siegel’s Arrival to Las Vegas
• The Flamingo
• Siegel’s Death

6. Overview
 Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
 The Golden Age of Las Vegas
• Organized Crime Claims Stake to Las Vegas
• The 1950s and 60s

7. Overview
 Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel and the Flamingo
 The Golden Age of Las Vegas
 The Downfall of Organized Crime
• Howard Hughes’ Arrival to Las Vegas
• Hughes’ Purchases
• Corporations Invest in Las Vegas

8. Las Vegas: Early 1900s
 3 events during early 1900s that
would lead to the arrival of Siegel
• Boulder Canyon Project
– 1928
– 42,000+ laborers
• Legalization of gambling
– 1931
• Implementation of
lenient divorce laws
– 1931
– 6 weeks residency

9. Las Vegas: Early 1900s
 Las Vegas found itself as a tourist
destination
• Hoover Dam
• Gambling
• Divorce
 Stage was now set for the arrival one of
the most infamous and feared mobsters of
the 20th century

10. Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
 Leader of the Bug and
Lansky crime organization
in New York
 Alleged president of
Murder Inc.
• Executed people for $$$
 Moved to Las Vegas after
being arrested for murders
in L.A.

11. Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
 On an earlier visit, Siegel saw a lucrative
business opportunity in Las Vegas
―I figured it this way. If people will take a trip out to the
ocean to gamble, they’ll go to a desert too—especially if
it’s legal and they don’t have to worry about getting
pinched. So one day I drive into Nevada looking for a
nice desert spot and I picked this one because the price
is right and it’s on the main road to LA‖
-Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel

12. Benjamin ―Bugsy‖ Siegel
 Siegel was ambitious
• Wanted to expand New
York Mob’s influence to
the west coast
• Dreamed of
―building a luxurious hotel and high class casino,
a place where high-rollers and penny-ante
operators alike would come to strike it rich, all the
while leaving their money for the mob‖
-(Carpozi 5)

13. Siegel’s Arrival to Las Vegas
 Meets Billy Wilkerson
• Shares the same vision: to turn Las Vegas
into a gambling paradise
• In the process of building a hotel
 Jan 1945: Wilkerson is deeply in debt
• Siegel convinces the New York Mob to
finance $1,000,000 investment
• Siegel now controls the project

14. Siegel’s Arrival to Las Vegas
 Siegel was now ready to begin his dream
―he foresaw an oasis in the desert where travelers from
coast to coast could come and enjoy the fun, gambling
and entertainment‖
-(Carpozi 27)

15. The Flamingo
 Siegel called his hotel oasis the Flamingo
• Construction began in 1945
• Original expense of $1,200,00
• Ended up costing $6,000,000
– Materials were hard to come by because of WW II
– Siegel knew little about construction and workers
often stole from the project site

16. The Flamingo
 Siegel came under pressure for the high
construction costs
• Mob partners wanted Siegel to cut his loses
or scale back the project
– Siegel refused
• At one point Siegel threatens
the life of notorious mobster
Charles ―Lucky‖ Luciano

17. The Flamingo
 Despite pressure, Siegel promised to open
the Flamingo in December 1946
• Construction was not complete
• Mob partners wanted him to wait
…the Flamingo was a turning point because it combined the
sophisticated ambience of a Monte Carlo casino with the luxury of a
Miami Beach-Caribbean resort. The Flamingo liberated Las Vegas
from the confines of its western heritage.
 December 26, 1946 the Flamingo opened
-Eugene P. Moehring

18. The Flamingo
 The Grand opening was a disaster
• Bad weather
• Siegel could not fly in his Hollywood friends
 After 2 weeks and a $300,000 loss, the
Flamingo closed
 March 1947 reopened after construction
was complete
• Made a profit
• Too late for Siegel

19. Siegel’s Death
 Lucky Luciano order
a ―hit‖ on Siegel
• Suspected Bugsy of
skimming $$$ from
the Flamingo
 June 20, 1947—Siegel murdered
• Shot 5 times
• Bungalow in Hollywood

20. Siegel’s Death
 Mob leaders took control of the Flamingo
 Though Siegel did not live to witness it, he
opened the door to Las Vegas for the mob
 Success of the Flamingo spurred
development and cemented organized
crime’s investment in Las Vegas

21. Organized Crime Claims Stake
 Siegel had awoken the mob to possibilities
in Las Vegas
 The 20 year span following the Flamingo
and Siegel’s death was truly a ―Golden
Period‖
• Las Vegas was in the hands of the mob

22. Organized Crime Claims Stake
 The mob begins to build some of the most
lavish resorts
• Borrowed $$$ from the Teamster pension
fund through the Teamster’s head, Jimmy
Hoffa
• Capital was used to build the:
– Aladdin
– Circus Circus
– Sands
– Dunes
– Tropicana

23. Organized Crime Claims Stake
 The effect of this building boom can best
be described by David Spanier:
Such men [mobsters] set the style of Vegas, in the formative
years, rather like the cowboy set the image of the west.
Townspeople took it all quite calmly, and rather bragged about
the fact that ―that fellow from Murder Inc. has come to Las
Vegas and is going to build the most fabulous place that
anyone ever heard of…‖ The only attitude I ever got out of
the town was ―Hooray! He’s going to bring money into the
town.‖ Tourists, too, have always been fascinated by the
gangsters in their midst…

24. The 1950s and 60s
 Casinos provided continuous
entertainment from dusk till dawn
• Hosting the likes of
– Don Rickles
– Buddy Hackett
– Alan King
– Nat King Cole
– Dean Martin
– Jerry Lewis
– Frank Sinatra
– Sammy Davis Jr.
– Elvis Presley

25. The 1950s and 60s
 Showgirls became the unofficial icon of
Las Vegas
• Huge productions
• First topless show
introduced at the
Desert Inn
 Hotels made $$$ off entertainment
• Initially a scheme to get people to gamble
• Flourished into an industry in itself

26. The 1950s and 60s
 During the period, mob leaders were
careful to ensure their continued
operations
• Many politicians were indebted to the mob
– Organized crime invested millions into the city
• Mob bosses kept gang wars from tainting Las
Vegas

27. The 1950s and 60s
 Even with the measures to steer clear of
law enforcement, a city-wide clean up
effort began in the 1960s
• Pressure from the FBI and attorney general
 In spite of this crackdown, the mob
continued to flourish
 Still, organized crime’s reign in Las Vegas
would soon end

28. Hughes’ Arrival to Las Vegas
 Howard Hughes, the world’s wealthiest
man, arrived in Las Vegas on November
27, 1966
 Hughes moved into
the mob-controlled
Desert Inn
• Rented the entire top floor

29. Hughes’ Purchases
 Hughes asked to vacate the Desert Inn—
early 1967
• Hughes refused
• Instead purchased the Desert Inn for
$13,250,00 in cash
 Hughes seen as a savior for the city—
rescuing Las Vegas from the mob

30. Hughes’ Purchases
 Hughes wanted to change Las Vegas
• A glamorous, wholesome city
• This matched the clean-up act taking place in
the city at the time
 Hughes wielded enormous political and
economic power
• State officials soon realized that Hughes’
power, fame, and wealth could help Las
Vegas

31. Hughes’ Purchases
 In 1967 Hughes began purchasing casinos
 Same year, the Nevada State Legislature
passed the Corporate Gaming Act
• In essence opened the doors for corporations
to own casinos

32. Hughes’ Purchases
 Hughes became aware of the Desert Inn’s
potential and was determined to obtain as many
casinos as possible
 From 1966—1970
Hughes purchased:
• 6 casinos
• $30,000,000 in land
• An airport
• An airline
• A TV station

33. Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
 Hughes dispelled many corporations’ fears
about investing in mob-controlled Las Vegas
 Respected chains and companies were now
ready to invest in Las Vegas

34. Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
 Hughes paved the way for corporations
and Wall Street investors
 Corporate America could invest far more
than the mob could illegally skim for
casinos in years
 Mob leaders saw an opportunity to sell-out
and retire
• Thus ended more than 20 years of Las
Vegas’ control by organized crime

35. Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
 With the capital available from
corporations, Las Vegas had little need for
the mob
• Mid 1970s: the Nevada Gaming Control
Board begins penalizing and refusing gaming
licenses to know mobsters
• Mid 1980s: organized crime has mostly all
disappeared

36. Corporations Invest in Las Vegas
 Corporations continued to buy resorts until
the late 1980s
 In the 1990s new resorts began to be
constructed
 Many iconic resorts from the 1950s and
60s, including the Dunes and Sands, were
demolished to make way

38. Questions?