FAQ

It's Manpower from 1941. The writers play a bit loose with the fact about Ben meeting Virginia at the shoot and real Virginia didn't play a guest at the party, she played a hat check girl.

Once again, Sony, renowned for re-releases with integrated deleted scenes, has released an extended cut. When the first edition (03/99) was released, releasing DVDs containing deleted scenes was not usual. Therefore, it is now a proper Extended Edition with new, unknown content. Fans of the film will certainly like the new, reintegrated scenes, because the inner diremption of the main character is shown better.

"Flamingo" was the nickname that Ben had given to Virginia, allegedly because she had long legs.

Early in the movie Meyer Lansky tells Charlie Luciano that Ben was notorious for "not respecting money." Ben had a dream of building a hotel that would attract lots of customers, famous & non-famous, in a US state where gambling was legal. However, Ben seriously underestimates the final cost. When you build a hotel, especially one in a remote area like Las Vegas was in the 1940s (this was before Vegas became the pleasure center/resort city it has been since), there are many things to consider beyond simply constructing the building. Maintenance, staffing & staff salaries, utilities like water & power, etc all will expand the budget. Also, the construction site would be subjected to the intense heat & weather of the desert, conditions that could halt the project for days or weeks at a time -- there's the scene where Meyer visits the site & is greeted by Virginia while a nasty sandstorm is happening. Ben had proposed to Meyer that it would cost no more than $1 million. The final cost comes in at $6 million, which angers Luciano & other members of their syndicate.

There's also that key scene in the middle of the film that shows Ben arguing with the contractors & architects about the position of the pool. To move the pool to the position Ben wanted immediately inflated the price. Also, there was the matter of the slate wall that blocked the view of the pool from the bar & the need to put a header beam in to make the wall glass, which inflated the budget further. Ben never saw these costs as being a major problem, he only had his vision of how rich he'd be & how much people would eventually enjoy the place & share in his dream.

Eventually Ben turns out to be right, the Flamingo becomes a major source of revenue. However, this doesn't happen before Charlie Luciano becomes fed up with the cost & orders Ben to be killed.

NOTE: Although not shown in the movie, The Flamingo did become a success during Bugsy's lifetime... but not for very long, and not soon enough to pay back the money.