I watched "Bugsy" over the weekend, a film that I really enjoy for the West Coast scenery and some terrific acting, even if it is highly fictionalized. Anyway, this post almost ended up in the movies thread until I figured it might fit better right here.

Myth: Ben Siegel "invented" the city of Las Vegas.

Reality:

1) Prior to Siegel's Flamingo, the strip already had two casinos: The Last Frontier and El Rancho Vegas.

2) The Flamingo was already being constructed when Siegel muscled his way in, in typical Mob/bully fashion.

3) The Mob was already active in Vegas for at least a few years prior to Siegel's presence, through ownership of several downtown gambling joints and the telegraph service that bookies used to keep track of horse races from coast to coast.

But give Siegel credit for this: If he didn't "invent" Las Vegas, he transformed it, insofar as Vegas meaning glitter, glamour, over-the-top tackiness and escape. It's also a nice balance of myth and reality that a single visionary with a taste for the good life recognized a sleepy western watering hole as the prime spot for an American Monte Carlo in the desert.