It’s a great day at the Center for Gaming Research. The second in the Occasional Papers Series has been published. Here’s the info:
Larry Gragg. “The Powerful Mythology Surrounding Bugsy Siegel,” Occasional Paper Series 2. Las Vegas: Center for Gaming Research, University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2010.
Abstract: Journalists, authors, filmmakers, and historians have been interested in Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel for over six decades. Collectively, they have crafted a cohesive mythological narrative of Siegel’s life one focused upon “rags to riches” success and his contributions to the development of Las Vegas, Nevada. Most attribute to Siegel the inspiration for not only the Flamingo Hotel-Casino, but also for the glamorous, classy, flashy resort city Las Vegas became after World War II. This paper describes the development of the myth since Siegel’s murder in 1947 as well as how it has been sustained.
Keywords: Bugsy Siegel, casinos, organized crime, Las Vegas, Flamingo
View the paper here (pdf)
Siegel is one of the most popular figures in Las Vegas/casino history, and it’s good to see someone examine the mythology around him.
I drove over 50,000 trips driving taxi passengers. In that eight years I must have heard the ‘Bugsy Myth’ several hundred times from guys in the backseat saying things like “Look Honey. This is Bugsy Seigel’s Dream.”
I never tried correcting people from expounding the myth. Why embarrass a guy in front of his wife? But I’ve grown really tired of the ‘Bugsy Story.
DGS seems to be the main person that has exposed this myth, but also analyzed it well (and described the need for this myth) in his ‘Suburban Xanadu’ book.
There are lots of Vegas myths.
#1. Thomas Hull’s car had a flat and ironically he decided to build a casino on that very spot.
#2. Nearly everyone that worked in a 1950s Vegas casino was part of the Mafia (and they ran the casinos much better back then).
#3. Bugsy stopped to take a pee and right then and there found his dream location and decided to name it after his girlfriends long (flamingo-like) legs.
#4. The blinking lights of the Silver Slipper kept Howard Hughes awake at night (in his Desert Inn room) so he bought the hotel.
All these theatrical and dramatized myths are basically ‘bad history’ being told, re-told, and over-told to the point where myth replaces fact. Too many historians rely on myths and prior writings, and keep perpetuating falsehoods.
Vegas was around long before Bugsy came along. Wilkerson came up with the idea of building a Beverly Hills Hotel style casino in Vegas. Even if he is rightfully given proper credit, that idea wasn’t too very revolutionary. It was an idea that was a simple step forward in the evolution of Vegas. It’s like this article says thru the term “incremental improvements”.
I prefer giving ‘visionary status’ to the hundreds of great architects, designers and marketing people that worked hard to develop the image of Las Vegas. If we are going to label anyone a visionary let’s give that title to Steve Wynn. But even in his case, he was simply evolving and blending various concepts and then hiring great designers and architects to develop his basic idea. (And yes, he deserves ample credit).
As for Bugsy. He hi-jacked a hotel already under development. He ran the Flamingo for a total of only about 7 months. And his involvement in the EL Cortez was likewise only about 4 months.
There’s no ‘great vision’ that came from the mind of this thug. He was simply a good thief, con-man and all-around arrogant jack o’lantern.
As for his death and who really killed him? I have a completely different belief (just as valid as any used so far), which I plan to post on my blog.
As wrong as my theory might be, I am at least a historian who doesn’t merely repeat the prevailing myths. That’s why I especially urge everyone to read DGS’ analysis of Bugsy Seigel (in Suburban Xanadu). I wish the world had more ‘creative-historians’ like Dr. SChwartz (meaning people who use creative logic to find the truth).
This was an interesting report and I was glad to see it posted. But, I sure wish the Bugsy Fable would die the same brutal death as Mr. BS.
My time to read is usually s group of stolen moments, here and there. I printed the paper to read it because the page layout made that easier that scrolling the monitor up and down. It is a good paper, well written and researched. I find the female perspective on Seigel to be most interesting. They always describe him as charming and a gentleman. Rose Marie has some other interesting insights about Seigel on “The Real Las Vegas” documentary, which is sold by the History Channel and used to play constantly in the Las Vegas hotel rooms.