Billy Wilkerson

The Flamingo Hotel project was started by Billy Wilkerson in 1945.

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Wilkerson was the publisher of the Hollywood Reporter and owner of

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three popular Sunset Strip nightclubs in Los Angeles

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(Ciro's, The Trocadero and The Macambo).

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Wilkerson's architect (George Vernon Russel) designed The Flamingo in the same 'L.A. Modern' style he used in designing Wilkerson's earlier Sunset Strip nightclubs.

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William R. 'Billy' Wilkerson purchased a piece of land and broke ground to begin construction on a hotel he would later sell to Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel.

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During construction, Benjamin Siegel gained control of the project and brought it to a brilliantly extravagant completion by opening on December 26, 1946, as promised.

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