William R "Billy" Wilkerson

[Bilbo]

An interest in Las Vegas and its growth from the 1940's led me Billy Wilkerson and his involvement with Benny Siegel in the building of the Flamingo Hotel.

This in turn led back to his days in Hollywood on the Hollywood Reporter and involvement in various cafes and restaurants - the Vendome - Trocadero - Ciro's - La Rue's and L'Aiglon - and the Sunset House Haberdashery and Barber shop.

His running the Hollywood Reporter - restaurant/nightclubs and heavy gambling would - I presume - have made him a well known character in Hollywood and Las Vegas yet I haven't seen many photos of him mingling with the film stars at any of his establishments.
As organised crime was well established in Hollywood and mixed with the "stars" and frequented the nightclubs - I also haven't seen many photos of them apart from LanaTurner and Stompanato - maybe an ill-fated mix.

I have read the Wiki-pedia page on Billy and the book - "The man who invented Las Vegas" - but feel there are more stories and photos out there waiting to be told or shown.

I have seen two photos that I would like to know more about and they are a photo taken with Marilyn Monroe where an award is being presented - by whom to whom ? - and what for ? - and when ?
The other is of Billy standing by a plane with a lady who I presume is one of his wives - but which one ? and when was it taken.

I would appreciate any infromation on Billy and his involvement with Nola Hahn - another mysterious character.

[Lzcutter]

Bilbo,

Billy Wilkerson was an inveterate gambler. As you wrote, he owned a series of night clubs in the City of Angels in addition to being the owner of the show biz mag, The Hollywood Reporter.

But as much as Billy loved his night clubs and hobnobbing with the movie stars, he loved to gamble. Card games, the ponies, on the gambling ships anchored out past the limit in Santa Monica bay, at Santa Anita race track, in back rooms and at weekly poker games, wherever there was a wager, you would probably find Billy Wilkerson.

Unfortunately for Billy, he wasn't always much of winner. He was good friends with Nick and Joe Schenck. After another miserable and large loss at the hands of Lady Luck, Wilkerson asked Joe Schenck for a loan to tide him over with his loss. Schenck, who often loaned Billy money in such circumstances, told Billy that he should open a gambling joint and "own" the house. It would probably be more profitable for him.

Wilkerson took that suggestion seriously. But, rather than own a back room joint, he envisioned a "carpet" joint filled with lush decor and where his movie and radio star pals could drink and gamble in an atmosphere that would feel comfortable to them.

Nevada was the only state with legalized gaming back then and Billy turned his eye to Las Vegas. It was in the middle of the desert but accessible by plane from the City of the Angels (or an uncomfortable 10 hour drive - be sure you had your radiator bags with you- on a two lane highway.)

Billy scoped out a piece of property located on the east side of what was then called by the locals, the highway to LA (and today we call the Las Vegas Strip). It was located at a bend in the two lane highway and there wasn't much else out there in the early 1940s.

The El Rancho Vegas had opened in 1940 and offered more a dude ranch experience than a upper-crust gambling experience. Divorcees like Rita Gable had gone to the El Rancho for the necessary six weeks it took to establish residency and get a divorce. The owner, hotelier Tommy Hull, owned the famed Hollywood Roosevelt as well as hotels in Fresno and up and down the coast.

The Hotel Last Frontier was under construction and would open in 1941. But like the El Rancho, it offered "the old west in modern splendor".

Wikerson knew he would have a winner as the only upscale carpet joint on the Strip. In 1945 he bought 33 acres for $84,000. He quickly hired an architect to make his dream come true.

Unfortunately for Billy, his dreams were bigger than his wallet (and his gambling habit bigger than both) and he soon found himself in financial straits. He needed a partner to help with financial end of building such a luxurious hotel and casino.

After one night at the crap tables, he lost $200,000 and the only person he could find to front him the money was underworld figure Harry Rothberg. Rothberg threw in a million dollars but it came with strings, mainly his partners- Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum, Moe Sedway and a dashing hood with movie star looks and a temper to boot, Benny "Don't call me Bugsy" Siegel.

Wilkerson and Siegel knew each other. Siegel was a regular at Wilkerson's night clubs, he palled around with George Raft and had dreams of breaking into the movies himself. Wilkerson thought he could work with Siegel and could control him.

He soon found out that was not the case.

For more on Billy Wilkerson and the Fabulous Flamingo, check out my Classic Las Vegas blog with it's history of the Las Vegas Strip:

http://tinyurl.com/3tmacgl

[Bilbo]

Thanks Lynn

I still find it strange that there are not more photos of Billy - at least from his Hollywood days - the Marilyn Monroe photo and the one by the airplane are a puzzle.

It seems he didn't learn a lesson from mixing with "Bugsy" as he went into partnership (?) with Nola Hahn in opening La Rue's Restaurant in Las Vegas in December 1950 - but who was this Nola Hahn ?

I have seen him refered to as a vice-lord in LA but can't seem to find out anything else about him - or what he looked like.

I know of Billys involvement with the Flamingo - and it iritates me when some writers still insist Siegal started the whole thing off - and having only recently watched the Hollywood movie "Bugsy" feel even more frustrated for Billys memory.

Bilbo

[mongoII]

Bilbo, it looks like you hit pay dirt with the knowledgeable Lynn (a woman who knows Las Vegas) in your quest to gain information about sin city and its questionable inhabitants. Good luck.