Benjamin Siegel – Father of Las Vegas

It was in Williamsburg on 28th February 1906 that Benjamin Siegel was born. He is popularly called Bugsy. He was a Mafia boss, who created a legacy for being among them most feared and infamous gangsters of the period and well known for gambling and bootlegging operations, including developing Las Vegas’ Flamingo Casino.

His early life

Siegel was brought up in Williamsburg’s crime ridden section and his parents were Jewish immigrant. He extorted money as a teenager from those pushcart peddlers from the Lower East side of New York City. Over time, he had befriended Meyer Lansky and the two in 1918 had formed Meyer-Bugs Mafia gang, a contract killer group, operating with the name Murder, Inc. Being Al Capone’s friend,  he had once helped Capone to hide when there was a warrant on his name.

By the age of 21, Siegel had made huge money. It was his good looks, charm and charisma that made him to be adored by the others. Although a well known womanizer, he went on to marry Esta Krakower, his childhood sweetheart on 28th January 1929.

Life as a Mafia

Charles Luciano, the Mafia kingpin during the latter part of the 1920s and other Italian gangsters had organized into becoming a national syndicate, where Siegel played a significant role. Siegel was ordered to kill Masseria, the Sicilian mobster and Anastasia, which he did on 15th April 1931. He moved to California to hide away from his enemies in 1937 and befriended several Hollywood celebrities and studio owners like Louis B. Mayer and Jack Warner and stars like Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Gary Cooper, Carey Grant, etc.

He is also reported to have taken over local unions in California and staged strikes for movie studios to be compelled to make payments to him. His involvement in a murder and the subsequent trial following which his preferential treatment of receiving special food and female visitors made his name to get tarnished.

He met Virginia Hill, an actress in Los Angeles, who was also Chicago Mob’s money runner.  The two in 1945 had shifted base to Las Vegas, where he planned to develop in the desert of Nevada, a gambling mecca. He too funds of about $5 from eastern crime syndicate to construct Flamingo Casino and Hotel.

However, with progress of the construction, his expenses soared and due to dishonest contracts as well as disgruntled upaid builders, problems rose. Since he was not able to open up Flamingo successfully, the loan amount was demanded back by the syndicate, failing which Siegel was killed on 20th June, 1947 at his Hollywood bungalow.