The Rise and Fall of Bugsy Siegel: From Hitman to the Builder of Las Vegas

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, an American gangster, was instrumental in the building of the Las Vegas Strip.

Bugsy Siegel was one of America's most renowned gangsters in the 1930s and 1940s. He conducted gambling and smuggling rings in New York, brushed elbows with Hollywood icons in Los Angeles, and poured money into the construction of hotels in Las Vegas.

Bugsy Siegel's Journey To Power

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who was born on February 28, 1906 to Jewish immigrants, grew up in New York City. Siegel, who was raised in a destitute home, turned to crime as a way to generate money and support himself.

He indulged in burglary, scammed Jewish pushcart vendors on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and befriended future criminal leader Meyer Lansky, among others. Siegel and Lansky established the famed "Bugs and Meyers Mafia," smuggled alcohol with mobsters, and conducted a murder-for-hire enterprise that later became known as "Murder Corp."

Friends referred to Siegel as "crazy as a bedbug" as a result of his rage and mood swings. According to the History Channel, Siegel despised his renowned moniker.

Once, he explained, "my friends call me Ben." "Strangers and men I dislike call me Bugsy, but not to my face."

Regardless of his name, it was evident that Siegel was destined for the major leagues. Siegel, along with Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia, and Vito Genovese, undoubtedly participated in the 1931 murder of Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria.

By 1937, Bugsy Siegel had essentially taken over New York. The mob then transferred him to Los Angeles to carry out the same activities on the West Coast.

Los Angeles To Las Vegas

In Los Angeles, Bugsy Siegel was prosperous.He established gambling dens and offshore gambling ships, drug shipments (perhaps establishing the drug trade between the United States and Mexico), and other illegal activities.

In 1946, he learned about a business opportunity in Las Vegas, a hotel and casino named the Flamingo that had run out of money.

Siegel, according to the Las Vegas Sun, admired the success of El Rancho Vegas, a resort located on the modern-day Vegas Strip. He concluded that he could accomplish the same feat with the flamingo. He only needed the funds.

Hence, Bugsy Siegel contacted his underworld contacts, including his old friend Meyer Lansky. However, he informed the gangsters that the hotel could be built for only $1 million more than its original budget of $1.2 million.

The Flamingo's building costs, however, increased rapidly. The construction of the Flamingo cost a stunning $6 million due to Siegel's poor management and his girlfriend Virginia Hill's constant stealing of funds.

To make matters worse, the opening day of the Flamingo was marred by rain, so none of Siegel's Hollywood acquaintances were present. Moreover, the players who did visit the casino appeared to have been very fortunate, winning approximately $300,000 in the first two weeks.

Despite the fact that Bugsy Siegel eventually managed to turn things around — by the spring of 1947, the Flamingo was turning a profit - mobsters were reportedly unhappy over the hotel's price tag.

The Violent Demise Of Bugsy Siegel

On June 20, 1947, Bugsy Siegel was reading a newspaper in Virginia Hill's Beverly Hills house when a barrage of bullets suddenly came through the glass. An unidentified gunman fired nine rounds from a.30 caliber carbine, striking Siegel four times and causing him to lose an eye.

Who killed Bugsy Siegel? No one knows for certain who eliminated the mobster to this day. Other sources, such as the Las Vegas Sun, say that Siegel's destiny was decided in Havana, Cuba. Early in 1947, the guys, including Siegel's pal Lansky, voted to eliminate him.

They could not overlook his mismanagement of the Flamingo and the millions of dollars he had lost them.