The Flamingo was the 3rd Hotel & Casino to be opened on the Las Vegas Strip. Bugsy Siegel opened the casino on December 26, 1946, even though the hotel was not finished and very much still under construction. The Flamingo lost $300,000 the first week it opened. Gamblers won big and took the money back to their hotels and played there instead, as the Flamingo had no rooms open yet for the gamblers. The Flamingo stayed open a total of 2 weeks before they shut it down to complete construction. It was on March 1, 1947 when the Flamingo re-opened and was now known as The Fabulous Flamingo.

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