With all the excitement, glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, the rich and famous — and the not so rich and famous — are regular visitors. Some, however, keep coming back even after they’re dead. Considering its decidedly colorful — and often shady — history, it’s no surprise that Las Vegas is home to several haunted hot spots. Back in the heyday of the mafia, famous gangsters literally flocked to Las Vegas. Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, in particular, saw the potential of this gambling mecca, and persuaded his mafia bosses to invest in the most luxurious hotel and casino the area had ever seen. The cost to build The Flamingo ended up being more than three times the original estimate, and despite a glamorous grand opening, the casino was a flop. The Flamingo started to turn a nice profit just a few months later, but the Crime Syndicate never forgave Bugsy for embezzling its money to build it. While relaxing in his Beverly Hills home on the evening of June 20, 1947, Bugsy was shot once in the head and four times in the body. Though much of the original Flamingo he helped to build is no longer in existence, Bugsy's ghost is said to remain, haunting the Presidential Suite, where he resided while in the city. Sightings have also been reported by the pool, in the wedding chapel, and around the Bugsy Monument in The Flamingo’s rose garden. No doubt you've heard the phrase, "Elvis has left the building." At the Las Vegas Hilton, The King never left. Apparently during the late 60s and early 70s, Presley performed often at The International, a hotel-casino that once stood at its current location on Paradise Road. The King is said to hang out around the backstage elevators of the Hilton, perhaps waiting to go onstage just one more time.
On the corner of Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard, where
Bally’s
now stands, the MGM once had a glamorous hotel and casino. On November 21, 1980, it burned to
the ground. It was a horrific, tragic event, with some guest jumping to their death when rescue
ladders could not reach their upper floor windows. A total of 84 people died that day, making
it the second largest hotel fire in terms of lives lost United States history. |
Eventually a new hotel-casino was erected at the site of this devastating tragedy. And though Bally's is owned and operated by a different company, and none of the original MGM remains, the spirits of the people who died so tragically in 1980 are said to still linger. Try a tour of Bally's hotel corridors at night; you may run into some ghostly guests who have never quite checked out.
The Union Plaza Hotel, now called the Plaza Hotel and Casino, was built at the site of the former downtown train station. Some say the showroom of the hotel is haunted by the ghost of a stagehand who committed suicide years ago. Perhaps regretting his final decision once the deed was done, this ghost is said to hang around, playing pranks on those who remain in his former environment. His hallmark, besides the occasional cold spot, is misplacing people's belongings. A few of those who work the showroom insist the restless soul is the spirit of the great Houdini himself. And since the magic show held here is a tribute to Houdini's talents as an escape artist and magician, maybe they're right. He could be sticking around to make sure everything is done just right.
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