The Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas was started by Los Angeles restaurateur and gambler Billy Wilkerson, not Bugsy Siegel, as many people erroneously believe. Wilkerson ran out of money part way through the project and Siegel made him an "offer he couldn't refuse." Siegel did finish the Flamingo and opened it in December 1946. (The movie "Bugsy" is certainly misleading--listen carefully to the dialog.) Source: book "The Man Who Built Las Vegas" by W. R. Wilkerson (the founder's son). Two Internet hyperlinks where you can verify this:

The Man Who Invented Las Vegas

Bugsy Siegel's Las Vegas history

[This message has been edited by root17 (edited 08-07-2000).]