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122-642: The conference took place at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba . The reported organizer of the Havana Conference was crime boss Lucky Luciano. At the beginning of World War II , Luciano was serving a 30-to-50-year prison term for pandering . In 1942, U.S. military intelligence officers approached Joseph "Socks" Lanza and Meyer Lansky with a proposal for Luciano. At that time, Lanza was one of the Mafia bosses who controlled Manhattan's Fulton Fish Market , its workers, and

244-533: A $ 1 million resort, the project costs increased to $ 6 million due to mismanagement by Siegel. In addition to Lansky, Siegel would receive loans from other mafia figures such as Frank Costello . The resort was built by Del Webb Construction . The company's construction managers had a difficult time getting their pay, which prompted owner Del Webb to nervously ask Siegel for the money himself at one point. Siegel, in response, said, "You'll get paid, don't worry about it. We (mobsters) only kill each other." Siegel

366-443: A 17-story tower and two 8-story towers. The Flamingo hotel includes 3,460 rooms. A 1,000-room renovation took place from 2000 to 2001, and 2,400 others were renovated in 2004. Another renovation of 2,300 rooms was completed in 2012, at a cost of $ 10 million. Further room renovations took place from 2017 to 2018. The designer, Forrest Perkins, used gold and pink in the upgraded rooms and described them as contemporary retro-chic with

488-482: A 72,299 sq ft (6,716.8 m ) casino and a 28-story hotel with 3,460 rooms. The resort was originally proposed by Billy Wilkerson , founder of The Hollywood Reporter , who purchased the land in 1945. Early the following year, he partnered with a trio of mobsters to obtain financing. Among his partners was Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel , who proceeded to take over the $ 1 million project, to Wilkerson's dismay. Construction costs rose under Siegel's management, with

610-400: A Hollywood nightclub owner and one of the founders of The Hollywood Reporter . By the mid-1940s, it was still unfinished. This Flamingo Hotel project became Siegel's obsession. Siegel persuaded his longtime friend and business associate Meyer Lansky to help him sell New York and Chicago crime bosses on investing in this project. Siegel promised the bosses that the hotel and casino would be

732-495: A final price of $ 6 million. The Flamingo's casino opened on December 26, 1946, followed by a three-story hotel on March 1, 1947. It is the oldest continuously operating resort on the Strip, and was the third to open there. Siegel was killed by an unknown shooter in June 1947, and numerous ownership changes would take place in the years to come. Hilton Hotels Corporation bought the resort in

854-605: A focus on the 70-year history of the Flamingo. Upon opening, the Flamingo included a pool area surrounded by tropical landscaping. A new tropical pool area, covering 15 acres (6.1 ha), was added in the 1995 expansion; it includes a free animal habitat attraction. Known as the Wildlife Habitat, it covers 4 acres (1.6 ha). The Wildlife Habitat has featured numerous exotic birds throughout its history, such as Chilean flamingos , black-necked swans , and pelicans. It

976-624: A free man. Luciano agreed to the proposal and assisted the government. After the war ended, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey agreed to Luciano's pardon on the condition that he never be allowed back into the U.S. In February 1946, after a lavish farewell party on the ocean liner, Luciano sailed back to Italy. He first settled in Lercara Friddi , Sicily, then moved to Palermo , Naples , and Rome. After being forced out of Rome by Italian police, he finally settled in Naples and immediately started planning

1098-569: A heart attack at the Naples, Italy airport while picking up movie producer Martin Gosch. Martin Gosch had helped Luciano write an autobiographical screenplay, but the Mafia Commission wouldn't allow the film to be made. Gosch along with Richard Hammer used the screenplay to write the book "The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano" in 1975. Luciano's longtime associate and eventual nemesis, Vito Genovese, died

1220-647: A joint U.S. and Sicilian La Cosa Nostra narcotics operation that would eventually grow into one of the largest global narcotics operations ever. This famous joint U.S.-Sicilian operation came to be known as the Pizza Connection and was cemented between the two mafia organizations at the famous mafia summit held at the Grand Hotel des Palmes in Palermo, Sicily in October, 1957. Salvatore and Ugo Caneba assisted Luciano and were

1342-447: A mirrored backdrop. For teenage visitors, the Flamingo added its 7-11 Club in 1960, named for its hours of operation during the evening. A convention hall was added the following year. The present-day Flamingo includes 73,000 sq ft (6,800 m ) of meeting space, which underwent a $ 6.5 million renovation in 2017. By 1988, the Flamingo had six restaurants, including a buffet. The 167-seat Burger Joint opened in 2010, and

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1464-906: A murderer, thief and rapist -- all the things that society shouldn't aspire to be." By 2000, the resort's employee dining room had been named Bugsy's Backroom Cafe. A steakhouse bearing his name would open to the public two decades later. The Flamingo name has been applied to gambling operations elsewhere in Nevada, including the Flamingo Hilton Reno (1989), and the Flamingo Hilton Laughlin (1990). The name has also been used for riverboat casinos , including one opened in New Orleans (1994), and another one in Kansas City, Missouri (1996). In 1998, Hilton's gambling properties, including

1586-704: A natural death in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in 1969. Luciano and Genovese are buried 100 feet from each other in the same cemetery in New York. List of the organized crime figures who attended the Havana Conference on December 20, 1946 at the Hotel Nacional in Havana , Cuba . While Luciano knew that Vito Genovese had tipped off the U.S. government to his whereabouts in Cuba, he did not live to learn that it

1708-471: A new sign installed at the Dunes resort in 1964. The champagne tower was demolished in 1968, when a new roadside sign was added along the Strip. It was designed by Bill Clarke of Ad-Art. The 120-foot-high sign was torn down in 1989, to help make way for Hilton's new O'Sheas Casino . A smaller version of this sign, added during the 1980s, was present along Flamingo Road until 2002. In 1976, Heath and Company

1830-434: A plush casino and hotel owned by Lansky and his silent partner, Cuban president Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar . Luciano agreed and the Havana Conference was set. In December 1946, the Havana Conference started as planned. To welcome Luciano back from exile and acknowledge his continued authority within the mob, all the conference invitees brought Luciano cash envelopes. These "Christmas Presents" totalled more than $ 200,000. At

1952-470: A protracted investigation period before he could obtain a gaming license . The sale agreement was soon terminated. American businessman Kirk Kerkorian acquired the Flamingo in 1967, making it part of his International Leisure Company. In 1970, Hilton Hotels Corporation bought a 44-percent interest in Kerkorian's company. The following year, Hilton increased its ownership stake further, and renamed

2074-461: A real sense, it was Bugsy Siegel's hotel." Hal Rothman , a history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas , also considered Wilkerson's involvement "more of a footnote," stating in 2000, "He had an idea but he wasn't able to pull it off. The Flamingo he envisioned probably was very different from the one Siegel envisioned." By May 1946, the project had been named the Flamingo, although it

2196-431: A renovation in 1999. It has four pools, and offers a popular dayclub, known as Go Pool, which includes DJ music. The club launched in 2007. The 1953 renovation project included the addition of a "champagne tower" along the Strip, featuring neon lights depicting bubbles. It rose more than 50 feet, and would remain as the tallest free-standing structure on the Strip into the next decade, eventually being eclipsed by

2318-564: A return to the United States. In early fall 1946, Luciano received a sealed envelope from a recently deported U.S. mafioso, which contained three words, "December-Hotel Nacional." In late September, Luciano obtained two Italian passports issued in his real name, Salvatore Lucania , with visas for Mexico, Cuba, and several South American nations. Luciano was now able to visit the Western Hemisphere and meet with criminal associates from

2440-599: A shelter for a Cuban Indian girl of the same name who fled from her Spanish persecutors. The Cuban novelist Cirilo Villaverde immortalized Guanche Cathaysa in his literary work, La Cueva de Taganana . Flamingo Hotel Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly the Flamingo Hilton ) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada . It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment . The Flamingo includes

2562-455: A small motel on part of the land, known as Rancho Aloha. Later that year, Folsom sold 33 acres (13 ha) of the land to Billy Wilkerson , founder of The Hollywood Reporter . He also owned three popular nightclubs on the Sunset Strip : Cafe Trocadero , Ciro's , and LaRue. Wilkerson was a heavy gambler and a frequent visitor to Las Vegas. He bought the land from Folsom for $ 84,000;

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2684-400: A small time street dealer in the late 1910s. In 1928, after the murder of Arnold "The Big Bankroll" Rothstein , Luciano and Louis "Lepke" Buchalter took over Rothstein's large drug importation operation. Since the 1920s, Cosa Nostra had been involved in drug importation ( heroin , cocaine , and marijuana ) into North America. In the 1930s, the organization started transporting narcotics from

2806-423: A smart and profitable investment. The Flamingo project immediately ran into problems. Siegel appointed his girlfriend Virginia Hill as a project overseer. As a result, contractors were stealing from Siegel. They would sell him materials one day, then steal them from the building site at night, then resell them to him the next day. The Flamingo project was also impacted by the rising cost of materials and labor from

2928-525: A suitcase containing $ 2 million to Luciano, his share of the U.S. rackets he still controlled. The most pressing items on the conference agenda were the leadership and authority within the New York mafia, the mob-controlled Havana casino interests, the narcotics operations, and the West Coast operations of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel , especially the new Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas . Luciano, absent from

3050-399: A time Cuba was a prime travel destination for people in the U.S. In 1933, after Fulgencio Batista 's September 4 coup against the transitional government, The National Hotel was the residence of Sumner Welles , a special envoy sent by U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to mediate the crisis. Soon after, on October 2–3, 1933, it was the site of a bloody siege that would become known as

3172-412: A wing of the ten-storey hotel and create luxury suites for high-stakes gamblers. Batista endorsed Lansky's idea even though there were objections from American expatriates such as Ernest Hemingway . Under Lansky's impetus, a wing of the grand entrance hall was refurbished to include a bar, a restaurant, a showroom and a luxurious casino. It was operated by Lansky and his brother Jake, with Wilbur Clark as

3294-526: Is disputed as to who came up with the name: Siegel or Wilkerson. Mobster Lucky Luciano , in a purported memoir published in 1975 after his death, credited Siegel with the name. According to the memoir, Siegel had once owned an interest in Florida's Hialeah Park Race Track , which was known for its on-site flock of flamingos. Siegel purportedly viewed the bird as a good-luck charm. Lansky also supported this version of events. Another story says that Siegel named

3416-514: The Agrigento province for Lucky Luciano and his partner Don Giuseppe Settecasi, the capo-provincial of Agrigento . A top Luciano lieutenant in the "Caneba Network" of mainland Italy was Antonio Farina, who would ship the narcotics to their U.S. partners in New York's Mangano crime family including Albert Anastasia, Frank "Don Cheech" Scalise , Jack Scarpulla, Peter Beddia and Matthew "Matty" Cuomo. Long time Luciano ally Frank "Fingers" Coppola ran

3538-618: The Battle of the Hotel Nacional of Cuba . The conflict pitted officers of the Cuban army, holed up in the hotel, who had been instrumental in the overthrow of Gerardo Machado but opposed Batista, against the non-commissioned officers and other ranks of the Cuban army, who supported Batista. Their successful assault on the hotel left over forty combatants dead and caused extensive damage to the building, including shell and bullet holes. The National Hotel

3660-1023: The Bonanno crime family , Frank "Cheech" Livorsi of the Luciano crime family , and Joseph "Joe Bandy" Biondo of the Mangano crime family . These East Coast contacts would then distribute the drugs all along the East Coast. Other Luciano lieutenants working mainland Italy included American deportees, Frank Barone and Giuseppe Arena in Rome, Frank Pirico, Frank Saverino and Giovanni Maugeri in Milan , Salvatore DiBella in Naples , and former Mangano crime family soldier, Joseph "Joe Peachy" Pici in Milan and Genoa . Other U.S. distribution groups that worked with Luciano and his allies were "The Bellanca Gang", brothers Antonio, Joseph, and Sebastiano "Benny Blanca" Bellanca and Gaetano "Tommy" Martino of

3782-533: The Cuban Missile Crisis , anti-aircraft guns were set up on the site of the Santa Clara Battery and an extensive series of tunnels were built under the property, which are now open to the public on guided tours. After years of neglect due to the reduction in tourism following the revolution, the hotel was mainly used to accommodate visiting diplomats and foreign government officials. The collapse of

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3904-549: The East Asia Golden Triangle and South America to Cuba and into Florida. The American mob had a longtime association with the government of Cuba concerning gambling interests such as casinos along with their legitimate business investments on the Caribbean island. This put them in a position to use their political and underworld connections to make Cuba one of their narcotics importation layovers or smuggling points where

4026-538: The El Cortez hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas . Construction on Wilkerson's resort project was underway by March 1946, shortly after the end of World War II . That month, the Civilian Production Administration issued a freeze order that prohibited new construction without its approval. This was done to conserve construction materials for veteran housing, although Siegel successfully argued that

4148-649: The Mangano crime family . Then there was the group of Settimo "Big Sam" Accardi , Joseph "Hoboken Joe" Stassi and his brothers James "Jake" and Anthony, Anthony Granza, Vincent Ferrara and Louis Cirillo who worked for Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia and Carlo "Carl" Gambino . Even with all the growing animosity Lucky Luciano couldn't leave out his old associate, Vito "Don Vito" Genovese who had his group of distributors including Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo , Vincent "Vinnie Bruno" Mauro, Frank "The Bug" Caruso , Salvatore "Sam" Maneri, Vincent "Chin" Gigante and even Joseph "Joe Cago" Valachi who were all associated with

4270-540: The Port Adelaide Football Club , died on September 9, 2012, after falling 30 feet (9 m) from a rooftop of the hotel. The incident occurred at the start of a post-season holiday for McCarthy and other Port Adelaide players. They had arrived in Las Vegas only a few hours before the incident. After reviewing evidence, police said that McCarthy had attempted to jump off the roof onto a palm tree , but fell to

4392-482: The "Commission", had been formed to oversee criminal activities, control rules, and set policies. Cosa Nostra thus became the top criminal organization within the National Crime Syndicate . Luciano could easily have declared himself as Maranzano's heir in 1932; instead, he decided to exercise control behind the scenes. This arrangement had worked until Vito Genovese's return from Italy. Officially, Genovese

4514-595: The "Papalia-Agueci Network" of the Magaddino crime family of Buffalo and led by members Johnny "Pops" Papalia and Alberto Agueci of Hamilton and Toronto , Ontario . At first the Mafia's operation was one of many individual operations connected or affiliated to the French-Corsican Mob or Unione Corse 's famous " French Connection " heroin distribution ring. By the late 1950s the Sicilians and Americans organized

4636-566: The Allies' invasion of Sicily and had the greatest political connections of all the Sicilian bosses. Also, Don Pasquale Ania, a powerful boss in Palermo who had connections to legitimate pharmaceutical companies because large-scale heroin manufacturing in Italy was legal at the time. During the Havana Conference, Luciano detailed the proposed drugs network to the bosses. After arriving in Cuba from North Africa,

4758-458: The American mafia, probably with support from other crime bosses. Therefore, Luciano decided to resurrect the boss of all bosses position and claim it for himself. He hoped the other bosses would support him, either by officially affirming the title or at least by acknowledging that he was still "First Amongst Equals". At the conference, Luciano allegedly presented the motion to retain his position as

4880-407: The American mafia, probably with support from other crime bosses. Therefore, Luciano decided to resurrect the boss of all bosses position and claim it for himself. He hoped the other bosses would support him, either by officially affirming the title or at least by acknowledging that he was still "First Amongst Equals". At the conference, Luciano allegedly presented the motion to retain his position as

5002-435: The American underworld scene for several months, was especially concerned with the situation in New York. Boss Vito Genovese had returned to New York from exile in Italy and was not content with assuming a minor role in the organization. The Havana Conference convened on December 20, 1946. Delegates were present representing New York City, New Jersey, Buffalo, Chicago, New Orleans, and Florida. The largest delegation of bosses

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5124-606: The Flamingo Club. That was the main working title until Siegel entered the picture." Wilkerson's son attributed the claim to his father's attorney, Greg Bautzer . According to a 2013 biography of Bautzer, Wilkerson was inspired by prominent bars in New York such as the Stork Club and began thinking of birds, leading to the Flamingo name. Michael Green, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada , said "The Flamingo name probably

5246-672: The Flamingo Hilton, were spun off as Park Place Entertainment (later renamed to Caesars Entertainment, Inc.). The deal included a two-year license to use the Hilton name. Park Place opted not to renew that agreement when it expired in late 2000, and the property was renamed Flamingo Las Vegas the following year. In 2005, Harrah's Entertainment purchased Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and the property became part of Harrah's Entertainment. The company changed its name to Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2010. Australian footballer John McCarthy , of

5368-507: The Flamingo after his girlfriend, Virginia Hill , for her red hair and long legs. Hill would also blush with pinkness while consuming alcohol, further evoking a flamingo. An early name, Hotel Wilkerson, was used prior to Siegel's involvement. Wilkerson's son stated that the Flamingo name was thought up by his father: "He had a particular liking for exotic birds and named several of his projects after them. After considering several ideas, all variations on exotic birds, he finally settled on

5490-431: The Flamingo, which had been struggling financially. Adler and other investors soon formed a new ownership company for the resort, Flamingo Club, Inc., later known as Flamingo Hotel Corporation. In 1948, real estate developer Morris Rosen stated that he was contractually entitled to shares in the company, accusing Adler of withholding stock ownership. Greenbaum and other stockholders bought out Adler later that year, and

5612-620: The Havana Conference by discussing a topic that would greatly affect his authority within the American Mafia; the position of capo di tutti capi ("boss of all bosses"). The last official boss of all bosses had been Salvatore Maranzano , who was murdered in September 1931. By the end of 1931, Luciano had eliminated this top position and re-organized the Italian mafia into "Cosa Nostra" , or "This Thing of Ours" . A board of directors, commonly called

5734-535: The Hotel Nacional. Hotel Nacional de Cuba The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba , opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea and the city. The Hotel Nacional was designed by the New York architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White , financed by the National City Bank of New York , and constructed in fourteen months by

5856-509: The Jewish crime bosses were allowed input on any joint business ventures, such as the Flamingo Hotel . Luciano opened the Havana Conference by discussing a topic that would greatly affect his authority within the American Mafia; the position of " capo di tutti capi " or "boss of all bosses". The last official boss of all bosses had been Salvatore Maranzano , who was murdered in September 1931. By

5978-585: The Sicilian "Partinico Clan". This was a satellite group affiliated with the Detroit Partnership or Zerilli crime family led by boss Joseph "Joe Z." Zerilli and fellow bosses and Detroit allies, John "Papa John" Priziola, Angelo Meli , and Rafaelle Quasarano. The Detroit crime family then shipped the narcotics to their New York contacts, Giovanni "Big John" Ormento , of the Lucchese crime family , Carmine "Lilo" Galante and Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola of

6100-453: The U.S. In late October, Luciano traveled from Italy to Caracas , Venezuela , Mexico City, and finally Havana. Lansky greeted his old friend on his arrival in Cuba. Following Luciano's orders, Lansky had organized a conference in Havana the week of December 22 of crime bosses from all over the United States. Lansky quickly suggested that Luciano purchase a $ 150,000 interest in the Hotel Nacional,

6222-587: The U.S. engineering firm of Purdy and Henderson . The structure contains a mix of styles, including Sevillian , Roman , Moorish and Art Deco . The Palladian style entrance portico [1] has two stylized column capitals and quoins of coral stone. The layout of the Hotel Nacional is based on two Greek crosses , giving the majority of the rooms a view of the ocean. The 6 typical floors have 74 rooms and 5,912.4 m (63,641 sq ft). of floor area. The eighth floor (top floor) has 66 rooms and an area of 4,675.3 m (50,325 sq ft). The footprint of

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6344-574: The U.S. government knew that Luciano was in Cuba and was pressuring the Cuban Government to expel him. Since Luciano was going to have to return to Italy, he should turn over leadership of the Luciano Family to Genovese and retire. Positive that Genovese had tipped off the US government to his presence in Cuba, Luciano finally snapped. He proceeded to beat Genovese and eventually broke three of his ribs; it

6466-558: The USSR in 1991 forced the Cuban communist party , anxious for foreign exchange reserves , to reopen Cuba to tourists. In 1956, singer Nat King Cole was contracted to perform in Cuba and wanted to stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, but was not allowed to because the hotel was segregated. The hotel had earlier turned away black celebrities including Joe Louis , Marian Anderson , Jackie Robinson and Josephine Baker . Cole honored his contract, and

6588-412: The United States. A longstanding myth has been the supposed refusal of Luciano and Cosa Nostra to deal in narcotics. In reality, only a few bosses such as Frank Costello and the other bosses who controlled lucrative gambling empires opposed narcotics. The anti-drug faction believed that Cosa Nostra did not need narcotics profits, that narcotics brought unwanted law enforcement and media attention, and that

6710-517: The assistance of his cousin, Buffalo crime family boss Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino led the American mafia's expansion into Canada. Bonanno's and Magaddino's crime families in New York and Buffalo opened up Montreal and Toronto in the 1950s as satellite groups or individual operations connected with the famous French Connection, but eventually the satellite groups would grow into their own powerful crime families and control massive narcotics distribution networks that still operate even today, all of

6832-457: The building measures approximately 159 m x 81 m. The structure of the building is a steel frame, while the decorative elements including ground floor details, columns, wall facings, and much of the paving, are in coral stone. The hotel opened as The National Hotel of Cuba on December 30, 1930, operated by the American managers of the Plaza Hotel , Savoy-Plaza Hotel and Copley Plaza Hotel , at

6954-406: The bushes and fired four shots into the room. Siegel was hit twice in the head and twice in the torso and died instantly. At the end of the Havana Conference, the tension between Luciano and Genovese allegedly reached a boiling point, according to "The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano", by Martin Gosch and Richard Hammer. Meeting with Luciano in his room at the Hotel Nacional, Genovese told him that

7076-570: The case between Adler and Rosen was settled. From 1955 to 1960, the property was operated by Albert Parvin of the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation. Parvin owned 30% of the stock while businessman Harry Goldman owned 7.5%; other investors included singer Tony Martin and actor George Raft . In 1960, the Flamingo was sold for $ 10.5 million to a group including Morris Lansburgh and Daniel Lifter, Miami residents with reputed ties to organized crime. Lansky allegedly served as middleman for

7198-466: The casino and make money. After two weeks, the Flamingo closed to resume construction. The completed hotel opened a few months later. The Flamingo started making a small profit, but the Mafia investors had finally lost patience with Siegel. On June 20, 1947, Siegel was home alone at Hill's mansion in Los Angeles reading a newspaper by a living room window. A gunman with a military M-1 carbine rose up from

7320-601: The concert at the Tropicana was a huge success. The following year, he returned to Cuba for another concert, singing many songs in Spanish. There is now a tribute to him in the form of a statue and a jukebox in the Hotel Nacional. Jean-Paul Sartre stayed at the hotel just after the Revolution in 1960, with his wife, the philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir . The couple interviewed Che Guevara , and Sartre wrote 'Sartre visits Cuba', which

7442-594: The conference in his film The Godfather Part II . Delegates were present representing New York City, New Jersey, Buffalo, Chicago, New Orleans and Florida, with the largest delegation of bosses from the New York-New Jersey area. Several major bosses from the Jewish Syndicate were at the conference to discuss joint La Cosa Nostra-Jewish Syndicate business. According to conference rules, the Jewish delegates could not vote on Cosa Nostra rules or policies; however,

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7564-428: The country if the Flamingo failed. Following a discussion, the delegates voted to execute Siegel. The delegates assigned Chicago Outfit consigliere, Charles "Trigger Happy" Fischetti to oversee the contract. The actual hit would be given to Jack Dragna , the Los Angeles crime family boss. Dragna, who despised Siegel, then gave the contract to Mob hitman, John "Frankie" Carbo , a Lucchese crime family soldier. At

7686-427: The deal, receiving $ 200,000. The ownership group held the Flamingo for seven years. Lansky, Lansburgh, and others involved in the Flamingo would later be charged with federal tax evasion relating to the resort's income, years after selling the property. A Japanese business group, led by millionaire Kenji Osano, agreed to purchase the Flamingo in 1967. However, due to his foreign citizenship, Osano would have faced

7808-460: The demolition of the original Oregon wing. It closed on October 17, 1993, and was demolished two months later. The final high-rise building, with 612 rooms, was completed in January 1995. The high-rise additions were designed by architect Homer Rissman. A timeshare property, part of Hilton Grand Vacations , was also built on the Flamingo's rear acreage during the 1994-95 expansion. It includes

7930-526: The docks in Lower Manhattan. Lansky had broader power in cities along the Atlantic Seaboard. Military intelligence was worried about possible Nazi sabotage of docks and other shipping facilities in New York and other East Coast ports. The government told Luciano that if his family was able to protect East Coast ports from sabotage, he would be pardoned at the end of the war and deported to Italy as

8052-454: The drugs could be stored. They were then placed on sea vessels before they continued on to Canada and the United States via Montreal and Florida among the ports used by Luciano's associates. With Luciano's deportation to Italy, he now had the opportunity to import heroin from North Africa via Italy and Cuba into the US and Canada. Luciano made connections with Sicily's biggest bosses such as Don Calogero "Calo" Vizzini of Villalba who assisted

8174-410: The early 1970s, and renamed it the Flamingo Hilton, a name it would retain until 2001. The first 28-story addition was completed in 1978, and others would follow over the next two decades, with the final one finished in 1995. The three-story hotel, the last remaining structure from the original Flamingo, was demolished in 1993, helping make way for the final high-rise addition. A portion of this property

8296-503: The end of 1931, Luciano had eliminated this top position and re-organized the Italian mafia into "La Cosa Nostra", or "This Thing of Ours". A board of directors, commonly called the "Commission", had been formed to oversee criminal activities, control rules, and set policies. La Cosa Nostra thus became the top criminal organization within the National Crime Syndicate . Now Luciano could easily have declared himself as Maranzano's heir in 1932; instead, Luciano decided to exercise control behind

8418-500: The first night dinner hosted by Lansky, Frank Costello , and Joe Adonis , Luciano was presented with the money. The official cover story for the Havana Conference was that the mobsters were attending a gala party with Frank Sinatra as the entertainment. Sinatra flew to Havana with Al Capone cousins, Charlie , Rocco , and Joseph Fischetti from Chicago. Joseph "Joe Fish" Fischetti, an old Sinatra acquaintance, acted as Sinatra's chaperone and bodyguard. Charlie and Rocco Fischetti delivered

8540-568: The front man. The new wing of the hotel, consisting of Wilbur Clark's Casino Internacional, the adjoining Starlight Terrace Bar, and the Casino Parisién night club (home of the Famous Dancing Waters), opened in 1956 with a performance by Eartha Kitt , who became the hotel's first black guest. The casino and clubs were an immediate success. According to an unpublished article sent to Cuban Information Archives around 1956–57, "The bar

8662-406: The general public considered it to be a very harmful activity (unlike gambling). The pro-drug faction said that narcotics were far more profitable than any other illegal activity. Furthermore, if Cosa Nostra ignored the drug trade, other criminal organizations would jump in and eventually diminish Cosa Nostra's power and influence. Luciano himself had a long involvement in the drug trade, starting as

8784-418: The ground. The Flamingo occupies 19 acres (7.7 ha) at the center of the Las Vegas Strip . Flamingo Road , the nearest cross-street, is named after the resort. Although its original buildings have been demolished, the Flamingo remains as the oldest continuously operating resort on the Strip. As of 2005, it had more than 4,000 employees. Wilkerson originally hired George Vernon Russell to design

8906-410: The help of his U.S. associates. Many of Luciano's partners in the narcotics empire were Havana Conference delegates such as Joseph "The Old Man" Profaci who was once the biggest importer of olive oil and tomato paste in the United States and quietly used his food importation business to smuggle narcotics for decades, Gaetano "Tommy Brown" Lucchese , a longtime Luciano ally from their days as children in

9028-605: The high asking price had been the subject of dispute during negotiations. Rancho Aloha was demolished to help make way for a new casino resort planned by Wilkerson. Wilkerson lacked the money to finance the resort project on his own. In February 1946, he received a $ 1 million check from G. Harry Rothberg, in exchange for a two-thirds interest in the project for his mobster partners. They included Moe Sedway , Gus Greenbaum , and another individual Wilkerson would meet in March 1946: Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel . The trio were already involved in

9150-604: The hotel project had already begun construction prior to the order. A few months after joining the project, Siegel made himself the on-site boss. With approval from mobster Meyer Lansky , an off-the-books financier, Siegel created the Nevada Projects Corporation. The company was formalized in July 1946, with the intent of building a resort to Siegel's specifications. Wilkerson was dismayed by this, and his relationship with Siegel soon deteriorated. Originally planned as

9272-476: The hotel's debut. Siegel forced Wilkerson out of the Flamingo less than three weeks after the hotel's opening, and Wilkerson rarely spoke of the property after that. Siegel was killed by an unknown shooter on June 20, 1947. Shortly after his death, Sedway, Greenbaum and mobster David Berman took possession of the Flamingo. Berman ran a skimming operation at the resort, on Lansky's behalf. In July 1947, businessman Sanford Adler paid $ 3 million to purchase

9394-453: The last moment Siegel got a reprieve. The partly completed Flamingo was scheduled to open December 26. Longtime Siegel friend Lansky convinced the delegates to see how the hotel did in its opening. The delegates agreed, and then took a break for Christmas Day. The delegates soon learned that the Flamingo opening night was a flop. The enraged mobsters demanded Siegel's head. Lansky again convinced them to wait. He argued that Siegel could still save

9516-605: The main sources were French underworld clans that made up the core of the Unione Corse Syndicate, or French Mob. The Corsican Clan was headed by powerful bosses Antoine D'Agostino, Jean Baptiste Croce, and Paul Mondolini, while the Marseilles Clan was made up of four groups. These four powerful groups included brothers Antoine and Barthelemy "Meme" Guerini, brothers Dominique and Jean Venturi, brothers Marcel, Xavier and Jean Francisci, and Joseph Orsini. Auguste Joseph Ricord

9638-507: The mid-1930s, the New York and Chicago crime families had been sent west to establish and oversee a race wire service, gambling activities in Los Angeles and Nevada , and supervise narcotics shipments from Mexico . In a short while, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel had become a popular and visible figure in Hollywood 's most glamorous circles. The Flamingo Hotel was the creation of Billy Wilkerson ,

9760-558: The mob would ship the narcotics to US ports that it controlled, primarily New York City, New Orleans, and Tampa. The narcotics shipped to the New York docks would be overseen by the Luciano crime family (later the Genovese) and the Mangano crime family (later the Gambino). In New Orleans, the operation would be overseen by the Marcello crime family , led by Carlos "Little Man" Marcello . In Tampa,

9882-525: The months that followed, and as a direct result, the Intercontinental Hotels division of PanAm reported a net loss of $ 154,000 in 1959, after reporting a profit of $ 200,000 in 1958. Fidel Castro nationalized the hotel in June 1960, seizing it from Intercontinental Hotels, which resulted in the hotel chain posting a net loss of $ 71,000 in 1960. Castro finally closed the casino in October 1960, almost two years after his overthrow of Batista. During

10004-424: The narcotics networks mentioned help destroy the myth that Charlie Luciano and La Cosa Nostra were against narcotics. When Cuban president Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar was eventually overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959, the mob had to look elsewhere for a landing and storage facility for their narcotics shipments. The next item on the agenda at the Havana Conference was what Lansky called the "Siegel Situation". In

10126-505: The narcotics shipments would be overseen by the Trafficante crime family led by Santo Trafficante, Jr. The Havana Convention delegates voted to approve the plan. Luciano built a massive drug organization spanning Italy and America. One of Luciano's narcotics lieutenants in Siculiana , Sicily was his old associate from New York, Nicola "Zu Cola" Gentile who oversaw all drug operations in

10248-473: The on-site residence. Because he feared for his life, the suite included four-inch-thick concrete walls. He also had secret tunnels built into the residence, in the event that he needed to make an emergency getaway. After his death, the penthouse would be rented out to the public, and the original hotel structure would become known as the Oregon wing. The first hotel addition came in 1958, with two buildings at

10370-621: The other bosses. This symbolic gesture was meant to prevent another bloody gang war such as the Castellammarese War of 1930–1931. With Luciano solidifying his personal position and squashing Genovese's ambition for now, Luciano brought up discussion of the mob's narcotics operations in the United States. In September 1955, Kirkeby Hotels Corp. sold the Hotel Nacional to a newly formed Cuban company, Corporacion Intercontinental de Hoteles, S.A., with Pan Am 's Intercontinental Hotel Corp. division assuming partial ownership and also management of

10492-478: The other bosses. This symbolic gesture was meant to prevent another bloody gang war such as the Castellammarese War of 1930–1931. With Luciano solidifying his personal position and squashing Genovese's ambition for now, Luciano brought up discussion of the mob's narcotics operations in the United States. One of the key topics at the Havana Convention was the global narcotics trade and the mob's operations in

10614-464: The overseers of the famous heroin operation they controlled from mainland Italy to the United States, the Caneba Network which supplied high grade pharmaceutical quality heroin. Luciano's narcotics network was big and complex and he had many of his old, deported former U.S. allies to help him run his empire throughout the late 1940s. The main drug imported by Luciano's network at the time was heroin and

10736-429: The post World War II building boom. The bottom line was that a project projected to cost $ 1.5 million would eventually reach $ 6 million. To make matters worse, the bosses suspected Siegel and Hill of stealing project money. Lansky and the bosses had discovered that Hill was taking frequent trips to Zürich , Switzerland and depositing money in a bank account. They suspected that Siegel was skimming money and might flee

10858-455: The project, although Siegel was not impressed with him and instead hired Richard Stadelman as architect for the casino, restaurant, and shops. The hotel rooms were designed by Tom Douglas. The Sands resort opened on the Strip in 1952, and was considered more luxurious than the Flamingo, which began a remodeling and expansion project in response. Work concluded in 1953, increasing the casino, bar and restaurant space. The project architect

10980-640: The property. Alphons Landa, a prominent Washington attorney, represented Pan Am and arranged for other clients and friends to acquire shares in the hotel's ownership at the same time. Dave Beck, President of the Teamsters and Roy Fruehauf of the Fruehauf Trailer Corporation were silent partners for at least two years. Fruehauf would sell his interest in the hotel in May 1957; other investors would lose everything when Castro came to power. Lansky planned to take

11102-437: The rear of the property. Designed by Douglas Honnold, they both were two stories and added 92 new rooms in total. In 1961, the Flamingo added 200 additional rooms in a four-story structure. The following year, construction began on another building with an equal height and the same number of units. The first high-rise addition, rising 28 stories and built parallel with the Strip, was completed in 1978. An northward extension

11224-532: The resort as the Flamingo Hilton. In 1972, Hilton bought out the remaining shares of International Leisure. Hilton executive Horst Dziura served as the resort's vice president and managing director, and later became its president. He oversaw a transformation of the property during a nearly two-decade period, with various high-rise additions being made between 1978 and 1995. The original casino structure had been long demolished by 1991. The original low-rise hotel structure, including Siegel's on-site residence,

11346-488: The restaurant closed, as planned, on May 30, 2024. Jimmy Durante and Rose Marie performed on opening night, and the latter became a frequent entertainer there in the years to follow. Other notable early performers included Tony Martin , Lena Horne , Louis Armstrong , and Della Reese . Wayne Newton became a headliner at the Flamingo in 1963, and had a residency there during 2006. He began another residency in 2022. Comedian George Wallace also entertained at

11468-497: The same time. In December 2003, the resort added a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant and gift shop, located along the Strip. Its construction required the removal of two prior restaurants. An adjacent Margaritaville "minicasino", with 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m ) of gaming space, was opened in October 2011, replacing Steakhouse 46. The addition cost $ 10 million, and featured 220 slot machines and 22 table games. The Margaritaville casino operated until 2018, and

11590-713: The scenes. This arrangement had worked until Vito Genovese's return from Italy. Officially, Genovese was now just a caporegime; however, he had made it clear that he intended to take control of the Luciano crime family . Since Luciano's deportation in 1946, Luciano ally Frank Costello had been the acting boss of the Luciano family. As a result, tensions between the Costello and Genovese factions had started to fester. Luciano had no intention of stepping down as family boss; he had to do something about Genovese. Luciano also realized that Genovese threatened his overall authority and influence within

11712-466: The streets of New York and who, along with his Lucchese crime family 's narcotics distribution arm, the 107th St. Crew, which controlled all heroin distribution in Harlem, New York. Without a doubt one of the architects of the American heroin network and a partner of Luciano is well known and powerful New York mafia boss, Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno , the patriarch of the Bonanno crime family , who along with

11834-415: The three resorts, the Flamingo was the southernmost property at that time. The Flamingo originally lacked a hotel, which was still under construction. The casino suffered financially because of this, as gamblers stayed at its two nearby competitors. The Flamingo's casino closed on February 6, 1947, to better coordinate preparations for the hotel section. The casino reopened on March 1, 1947, coinciding with

11956-606: The top boss in La Cosa Nostra. Then Luciano ally, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia seconded the motion. Anastasia voted with Luciano because he felt threatened by Genovese's attempts to muscle in on his waterfront rackets. Checkmated by the Luciano-Costello-Anastasia alliance, Genovese was forced to swallow his ambitions and plan for the future. To further embarrass Genovese, Luciano encouraged Anastasia and Genovese to settle their differences and shake hands in front of

12078-480: The top boss in La Cosa Nostra. Then Luciano ally, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia seconded the motion. Anastasia voted with Luciano because he felt threatened by Genovese's attempts to muscle in on his waterfront rackets. Checkmated by the Luciano-Costello-Anastasia alliance, Genovese was forced to swallow his ambitions and plan for the future. To further embarrass Genovese, Luciano encouraged Anastasia and Genovese to settle their differences and shake hands in front of

12200-403: The vibrancy or brightness of what we promised on the outside." A $ 130 million expansion took place from 1994 to 1995, enlarging the casino further. As of 2017, the Flamingo includes 72,299 sq ft (6,716.8 m ) of gaming space. The Flamingo opened with 105 rooms. It was originally a three-story hotel, but included a fourth-story penthouse for Siegel, who oversaw construction of

12322-481: Was "Joe Bananas" Bonanno who revealed to New York City newspapers as to Luciano's whereabouts in Cuba in February 1947. Joseph Bonanno was a respected and feared Don, who was ruthless, ambitious and had aspired to being crowned capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses) like his former boss and mentor Salvatore Maranzano . This information of Joseph Bonanno's treachery was picked up by former FBI agent William Roemer , who

12444-474: Was Billy's, because he was modeling it along the lines of the Miami Beach hotels, and the flamingo idea was prominent down there." Siegel debuted the Flamingo's casino on December 26, 1946. Opening ceremonies took place over several days, with various celebrities in attendance. Approximately 200 VIPs to the opening each received a hand-painted ceramic flamingo statue, gifted to them by Siegel. The Flamingo

12566-433: Was Max Horowitz, of the firm Pereira & Luckman . A $ 2.5 million renovation was launched in 1967, under Kerkorian's ownership. The project included more gaming space, extending the resort to the sidewalk along the Strip. The casino floor was remodeled in 1992 to feature a wider array of colors, better complementing the resort's exterior. According to the project's interior designer Zoltan Kovacs, "The casino had none of

12688-428: Was also demolished as part of the 1995 expansion, helping make way for a new pool area and animal habitat. A memorial plaque for Siegel was added to this area, and an entertainment venue was also named after him. The 50th anniversary of Siegel's murder was not commemorated by the Flamingo Hilton, with a spokesman saying, "Although he was a founder of this property, he was certainly not a role model. We're talking about

12810-527: Was also once the home of African penguins , but they had been moved to the Dallas Zoo by 2006. The Wildlife Habitat has also featured water turtles and various fish, including catfish, grass carp , koi , and white sturgeon . The habitat's animals are chosen based on their ability to adapt to the Southern Nevada climate. The resort's pool area became one of the most popular in Las Vegas following

12932-496: Was also redeveloped as a new 15-acre (6.1 ha) pool area, accompanied by an animal habitat which includes flamingos. The resort has hosted numerous entertainers, including an 11-year residency for musical duo Donny and Marie Osmond that concluded in 2019. The Flamingo occupies property originally owned by one of Las Vegas's first settlers, Charles "Pops" Squires . In 1944, Margaret Folsom bought his 40-acre (16 ha) tract for $ 7,500. In 1945, she opened and briefly operated

13054-602: Was another boss that became part of the Unione Corse in the 1960s-70s. These two clans ruled the French underworld from the late 1940s to the late 1960s, supplying Luciano and his mafia allies with large amounts of heroin until the heroin ring known as the French Connection started to crumble in 1972 with the arrest of one of its biggest bosses, Auguste Joseph Ricord. The Luciano narcotics empire continued to grow and prosper with

13176-584: Was behind the recent surge of heroin into the United States. When Cuba refused to comply, Anslinger took his case to President Harry S. Truman . The U.S. government then halted all shipments of medical supplies to Cuba while Luciano was still on the island. Later in February, the Cubans caved in; they arrested Luciano and sent him back to Italy. When his plane landed there, the Italians arrested Luciano, but released him soon after. Lucky Luciano died on January 26, 1962, of

13298-402: Was built on the Las Vegas Strip , known then as U.S. Route 91 . It is sometimes credited as the first resort to open on the Strip, although it was preceded by two earlier properties: El Rancho Vegas in 1941, and Hotel Last Frontier in 1942. The Flamingo was, however, the first Strip resort to feature an upscale and modern design, in contrast to the western-themed El Rancho and Frontier. Of

13420-583: Was built on top of a hill which was home to one of the most historic caves on the island. The hill of Taganana, located in the coastal outcrop of Punta Brava near the cove of San Lázaro took its name from a cavern in the Canary Islands where the princess Guanche Cathaysa took refuge. She was captured and sold by the Castilians as a slave in 1494. The 7-year-old Guanche girl from Taganana (in Santa Cruz de Tenerife)

13542-617: Was commonly credited as the project's original visionary until the 1990s, when Wilkerson's son set out to correct the record. Wilkerson's involvement is further chronicled in The Man Who Invented Las Vegas , a biographical book written by his son and published in 2000. Historian Frank Wright of the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society said in 1996, "It was Bugsy who took over the building when Wilkerson ran short of funds. Bugsy finished it and opened it, so in

13664-421: Was finished two years later. By 1983, a third addition of equal height had been completed, giving the Flamingo Hilton a total of 2,250 rooms. This made it among the world's largest hotels . Two more additions, also 28 stories, were completed in 1988 and 1990; some of the property's older low-rise hotel structures were demolished to make way for the latter addition. The final hotel expansion project required

13786-399: Was from the New York-New Jersey area. Several major bosses from the Jewish Syndicate were at the conference to discuss joint La Cosa Nostra-Jewish Syndicate business. According to conference rules, the Jewish delegates could not vote on Cosa Nostra rules or policies; however, the Jewish crime bosses were allowed input on any joint business ventures, such as the Flamingo Hotel . Luciano opened

13908-480: Was given the information by several of his former FBI colleagues. Bill Roemer details this on pages 132-42 in his 1990 book, War of the Godfathers . The film The Godfather Part II has an homage to the Havana Conference when Michael Corleone travels to Havana to have a meeting with several other mob bosses. Bugsy also has the climatic debate and decision on whether to and when to execute Bugsy Siegel set at

14030-447: Was hired to revamp the facade with new neon signage, at a cost of $ 1.5 million. The project was overseen by Raul Rodriguez, a designer at Heath. Rodriguez initially struggled for creative inspiration, as the Flamingo lacked a theme other than its namesake bird, on which he would ultimately base his design. The project was completed in 1977. It included prominent neon signs depicting flamingo plumage, in addition to neon flamingos against

14152-512: Was now just a caporegime ; however, he had made it clear that he intended to take control of the Luciano crime family . Since Luciano's deportation in 1946, Luciano ally Frank Costello had been the acting boss of the Luciano family. As a result, tensions between the Costello and Genovese factions had started to fester. Luciano had no intention of stepping down as family boss; he had to do something about Genovese. Luciano also realized that Genovese threatened his overall authority and influence within

14274-864: Was published in Havana in 1961, narrating his experiences. The hotel has since named the room he stayed in after him. In its 80+ years of existence, the Hotel Nacional has had many important guests, including artists, actors, athletes and writers such as Winston Churchill , the Duke and Duchess of Windsor , Jimmy Carter , Frank Sinatra , Ava Gardner , Rita Hayworth , Mickey Mantle , Johnny Weissmuller , Buster Keaton , Jorge Negrete , Agustín Lara , Rocky Marciano , Tyrone Power , Rómulo Gallegos , Errol Flynn , John Wayne , Marlene Dietrich , Gary Cooper , Marlon Brando , Ernest Hemingway , Yuri Gagarin , scientist Alexander Fleming , Minnesota (United States) Governor Jesse Ventura , and innumerable Ibero-American Heads of State and European monarchs. The Santa Clara Battery

14396-444: Was replaced two years later by Center Cut Steakhouse. The latter closed in 2019, and opened a year later as Bugsy & Meyer's Steakhouse, named after Siegel and Lansky. It includes a hidden speakeasy -style bar. Television personality Lisa Vanderpump is scheduled to open Pinky's in mid-2024, marking her third restaurant on the Strip. Chef Gordon Ramsay will also open his seventh Strip restaurant, Gordon Ramsay Burger, around

14518-514: Was restored soon after and reopened. In 1939, it was renamed Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Chicago developer Arnold Kirkeby acquired the property in July 1943 and operated it for over a decade as part of his Kirkeby Hotels chain. Beginning on December 20, 1946 the hotel hosted the Havana Conference , an infamous mob summit run by Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky and attended by Santo Trafficante Jr. , Frank Costello , Albert Anastasia , Vito Genovese and many others. Francis Ford Coppola dramatised

14640-609: Was taken captive along with four other youngsters (Cathayta, Inopona, Cherohisa and Ithaisa). Cathayta was sold as a slave with her companions in Valencia, in April 1494. It is believed that after this she spent the rest of her life somewhere in Spain as a Menina for some woman of the Spanish high society. In Cuba, in a parallel legend that states that one of the caves under the Taganana hill served as

14762-595: Was tended by local bartenders, and the casino managed by gentlemen from Las Vegas." By the spring of 1957 the casino, sublet by the hotel for a substantial rent to Lansky, was bringing in as much cash as the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. In late 1958 the casino was sold to Michael McLaney and Carroll Rosenbloom . Following the Cuban Revolution in January 1959, Havana's casinos were briefly shut down, but were quickly reopened after protests by casino workers left out of work. The Nacional suffered heavy financial losses in

14884-567: Was three days before Vito could travel again. When Genovese felt better, Luciano and Anastasia put him on a plane to the States. Luciano also threatened to kill Genovese if he ever mentioned this incident to anyone. In February 1947, the New York City papers got wind of the fact that Luciano was in Cuba. U.S. drug agent Harry Anslinger (called "that S.O.B Asslinger" by Luciano) demanded that Cuba deport Luciano to Italy. Anslinger claimed that Luciano

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