I flew to Griffin with the speed of storm-force winds. Her mom - yes, Kathy - had photos of the flamingos in her possession. Closed.ĭuring a coffee break in which I contemplated failure, Times editor Justine Griffin messaged. I drove to Anclote River Park, in case they had decided to find new scenery. I considered hopping the fence but decided that was not the way to get in the newspaper. I headed to Fred Howard Park, where cyclists saw them Wednesday, but the park was closed post-storm.
Can you imagine rolling by one on a bike?
Flamingos are so ubiquitously associated with Florida kitsch and culture and yet remain largely a mystery outside of zoos and theme parks. I wondered if I could find these birds and bask in their majesty. They were spotted on the Sanibel Causeway, then at Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs, later on Treasure Island Beach. The theory is that Hurricane Idalia swept up the pink birds, a literal wind beneath their wings, and pushed them farther north than they intended to go. Over the past week, folks around Florida have photographed groups of flamingos - a “flamboyance,” for your next trivia night - and posted photos online.
#FLAMINGO CASINO SERIES#
Surviving a series of name and ownership changes, the hotel is known today as The Flamingo Las Vegas.“I thought we might get lucky and they’d be back,” Griffin said, teetering along a sea wall. Hill was in Paris, having flown the coop after a fight with Siegel 10 days prior. Siegel forced Wilkerson out in April, and by May, the resort reported a profit, but it wasn’t enough to save Siegel.Ĭonvinced that Siegel wasn’t giving them a “square count,” it is widely believed that his partners in organized crime had him killed while he was reading the paper June 20, 1947, at Hill’s Beverly Hills mansion. It re-opened March 1, 1947, as The Fabulous Flamingo. Two weeks after the grand opening, the Flamingo closed down. Siegel took over the project and supervised the building, naming it after his girlfriend Virginia Hill, whose nickname was “The Flamingo” because of her red hair and long legs. Siegel and his organized crime buddies used the profits to influence Wilkerson to accept new partners. He purchased The El Cortez hotel for $600,000 and later sold it for a $166,000 profit. Siegel, who held a largest interest in the racing publication Trans America Wire, was drawn to Las Vegas in 1945 by his interest in legalized gambling and off-track betting. But he soon ran out of money due to the high cost of materials immediately after the war. Wilkerson had wanted to recreate the Sunset Strip in Las Vegas, with a European style hotel with luxuious rooms, a spa, health club, showroom, golf course, nightclub and upscale restaurant. Siegel and his New York “partners” had invested $1 million in a property already under construction by Billy Wilkerson, owner of the Hollywood Reporter as well as some very popular nightclubs in the Sunset Strip. The casino lost $300,000 in the first week of operation. And because gamblers had no rooms at the hotel, they took their winnings and gambled elsewhere. Bad weather kept many other Hollywood guests from arriving. The grand opening of the Flamingo Hotel, however, was a flop. Some of infamous gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel’s Hollywood friends, including actors George Raft, George Sanders, Sonny Tufts and George Jessel were in attendance. Well-known singer and comedian Jimmy Durante headlined the night's entertainment, with music by Cuban band leader Xavier Cugat.
Mobster Bugsy Siegel opens the glitzy Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 26, 1946.
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