I purchased a new book (Jan 2000) "The Man Who Invented Las Vegas" by W.R. Wilkerson III when I was in LV.

Good read for those that like LV casino history. Wilkerson's father (Billy Wilkerson) was the real founder & idea man behind the Flamingo in LV. Benny Siegel came along later and forced him out. (The image of Warren Beatty as "Bugsy" in the desert at the Flamingo site alongside the Los Angeles Hwy was fiction.) Interesting story of Wilkerson's life (an addictive gambler) and how he envisioned the Flamingo, patterened after his swank restaurants in Hollywood & in the image of European casinos & nightclubs.

Other familiar names pop-up in the story: Moe Sedway & Gus Greenbaum at the El Cortez; Moe Dalitz and others. Cameo mention of Howard Hughes. Some interesting photos.

160 pages including index. $17.00. Available at Gamblers Book Club.

BTW, if you recall the A&E series on Las Vegas from a couple of years ago, the author explains about Wilkerson in that broadcast too.

I'm keeping the book in my personal library for now, but will loan it out to other club members, as if it were in the club library.