Flamingo Casino

On the south bank of the Missouri River in Kansas City, Mo., the Flamingo Casino--a $110-million riverboat gambling hall--was expected to have opened by Labor Day weekend to throngs of gamblers eager to try their luck at the floating version of Las Vegas. But the glittering Flamingo Casino and its 800 workers have remained idled for weeks after running aground on a local controversy that has proved an embarrassing and costly episode for its owner: Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp.

On the south bank of the Missouri River in Kansas City, Mo., the Flamingo Casino--a $110-million riverboat gambling hall--was expected to have opened by Labor Day weekend to throngs of gamblers eager to try their luck at the floating version of Las Vegas. But the glittering Flamingo Casino and its 800 workers have remained idled for weeks after running aground on a local controversy that has proved an embarrassing and costly episode for its owner: Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp.

The mob-style rub-out of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel 50 years ago today at the Beverly Hills mansion of his street-wise, auburn-haired mistress has endured as one of Los Angeles' most romanticized murder mysteries.

Park Place Entertainment Corp. President and Chief Executive Thomas Gallagher resigned, the Las Vegas-based casino company said. He will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Wallace Barr. The Caesars Palace and Flamingo casino chains owner gave no reason for Gallagher's resignation. Park Place shares fell 23% in the two years Gallagher ran the company, lagging behind casino companies Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and MGM Mirage. Park Place shares fell 3 cents to $7.

Hilton Hotels Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings before charges rose 33% on strong demand for hotel rooms that allowed it to boost rates and improved results at its casinos. The Beverly Hills-based hotel and casino company had profit from operations of $65 million, or 25 cents a diluted share, up from $49 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier. The per-share results reflect the payment of preferred dividends.

The Sheraton Maui on the island's Kaanapali Beach has reopened after nearly two years, having rebuilt most of its buildings and added a 142-yard-long swimming lagoon. Rooms from $281; tel. (800) 782-9488. . . . More than 20 of the 1,600 rooms at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside Hotel will be closed for "several weeks at least" after being damaged Dec. 14 when a freighter rammed into the New Orleans Riverwalk shopping mall, a Hilton spokeswoman said.

Hilton Opens Riverboat: The Flamingo Casino began operations in Kansas City, Mo., shortly after the Missouri Gaming Commission completed an on-board inspection of the $110-million riverboat and granted Hilton Hotels Corp. a state gambling license. The license and the riverboat's opening had been delayed for several weeks after regulators turned up questionable business practices in the early phases of the project.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. said it would sell the Flamingo hotel-casino in Laughlin, Nev., to American Real Estate Partners, which owns the Stratosphere hotel-casino in Las Vegas and the Sands hotel-casino in Atlantic City, N.J. American will also acquire 7.7 acres of undeveloped Atlantic City land in the $170-million cash deal.

Toni Braxton's Las Vegas shows have been canceled this week while the singer recuperates after being hospitalized with chest pain, a hotel official says. "We expect she'll return to the stage next Tuesday," Flamingo hotel-casino and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. spokeswoman Deanna Pettit said Wednesday. Pettit said the 40-year-old Grammy winner was recovering at home after her release Tuesday afternoon after precautionary tests at a Las Vegas-area hospital. The cause of Braxton's chest pain has not been made public.

A freighter that lost power on the Mississippi River crashed into the landmark Riverwalk shopping mall Saturday, injuring at least 140 people as panicked holiday shoppers and mall workers trampled each other trying to flee. "Everyone was pretty calm and mellow until they saw the boat actually crash. . . . All of the sudden we heard the [ship] crash into the Riverwalk. It was mass chaos. People were running over each other.