Bugsy Siegel

Bugsy Siegel was the first to envision the Strip (and do something
about it). Bugsy, inspired by the legal gambling in Nevada, went back
East, and convinced his “friends” to finance his dream: A super casino where people could come, gamble their money, and relax. The Flamingo (name inspired by his nickname for his girlfriend, Virginia Hill), opened New Years Eve in 1946 on Las Vegas Blvd. Other early Strip hotels of that time included the El Rancho and the Last Frontier. Even though The Flamingo was not an immediate success, it had an impact, and was the anchor for what the Strip would become some twenty years later.