Canadian World Traveller Winter 2021-22 Issue

The secrets, liaisons, conspiracies and feuds
continue to fascinate and linger in the hotel’s
75-year-old history. The newly opened Bugsy
& Meyer's Steakhouse pays homage to that
legacy and the speakeasy tradition.
13
“The bigger the mobster, the more stars you
had,” said Gia Silvaggio, the hotel’s
spokesperson.
With Hollywood friends like Cary Grant,
Frank Sinatra and Jean Harlow, there’s no
doubt Bugsy was in the big league when it
came to the underworld. Stars visited the
casino, too. But they didn’t visit Bugsy for
long. Six months after opening the Flamingo,
an unknown sniper gunned Bugsy down in
his California home. The grisly murder made
headlines around the world but did nothing
to deter tourists from coming to the
Flamingo. In fact, oddly enough, it had the
opposite effect, attracting visitors who were
intrigued by Vegas’s mob connection.
“If you were cool, you never went through
the front door,” said Silvaggio.
And so ‘the boys’, meaning Bugsy and
Meyer, his partner in crime, as well as
Hollywood stars and other VIPs, would go
through kitchen doors and other secret
entrance ways to their private bars and parties,
far away from the plebs.
Today, you’ll need to do the same to dine at
the steakhouse. The entrance appears to be
a bakery, complete with shelves stocked with
bread and other baked goods (which are not
for sale though people often try to buy them).
Inside the so-called bakery is a discrete hallway
whose walls are lined with pictures of
Bugsy and his family. Next, you’ll pass a window
looking into the kitchen and a glass display,
showcasing premium cuts of beef like
60-day dry-aged rib eyes and tomahawks.
Only then will you have entered the restaurant’s
Havana room. With the lush tropical
plants, colourful Flamingo murals and artdeco
touches, like rose-tinted cutlery, you’re
instantly transported to the glamourous era
of pre-Castro’s Cuba. Enjoy the sublime
steaks as well as seafood specialities with
1920s’ Havana-inspired cocktails with an
emphasis on premium rums.
True to its heritage, there’s more to this space
than meets the eye. A secret. You can’t see it.
But those inside can see you. Equipped with
a wall of one-way glass, the Count Room,
named for the secure room where casinos
count their money, is a secret lounge whose
entrance is known only to insiders (that now
includes yourself) and servers. The ambiance
is mafia-esque with a long, polished, wooden
bar whose shelves hold elixirs of all sorts,
dimmed lighting and Bugsy memorabilia,
including the pink flamingo Bugsy would
personally give his guests.
“So, if these walls could talk,” I asked the
bartender as he presented me with a perfectly
crafted cocktail. “What would they say?”
Maybe it was the atmosphere or the strength
of the cocktail, but I could have sworn he
whispered, “I could tell you, but I’d have to
kill you.”
The Mob Museum
To find out more about the Flamingo’s mafia
connection, be sure to visit the Mob Museum.
Located in downtown Vegas, the National
Museum of Organized Crime and Law
Enforcement, as it’s officially known, has
exhibits that include a piece of bullet-holed
wall from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,
an actual courthouse and a firearm training
simulator.
In the basement, you’ll discover another
speakeasy. Aptly named The Underground,
this bar has its own in-house distillery, a hidden
VIP area, 1920s memorabilia and creative
cocktails. Bathtub Fizz, served in a mini
ceramic bathtub, is a fun wink at prohibitionera
history, when bootleggers leased small
stills to families to make illegal liquor at
home.
A new exhibit focuses on Bugsy Siegal and
the origins of the Flamingo Hotel. Artifacts
on display include casino checks, a grand
opening invitation (sent to Hollywood
celebrities, of course), legal agreements, a
pistol and an original slot machine. A touchscreen
reveals images and chronicles stories
of the hotel’s 75 years.
History? In Vegas? Most definitely.
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Canadian World Traveller Winter 2021-22