COLONEL HARRY J. DOOLEY - PHOTOGRAPH UNSIGNED 01/10/1947 - HFSID 285333

HARRY J. DOOLEY
Unsigned photo of Dooley, the President of Gray Lines, at the Flamingo Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, in January 1947, just after its disastrous opening
Photograph, unsigned. B/w 7½x9½. Harry J. Dooley, President of Gray Lines Transportation, is shown flanked by two unidentified men in Western garb. Ink note (unknown hand): "Las Vegas, Nev./Flamingo/Hotel/Jan. 10, 1947." In 1946, Harry Jackson Dooley, formerly an employee of Gray Lines Transportation and an officer in the logistics branch of the US Army during World War II, acquired the company, and made it a leader of the tourist sightseeing industry. Shown with two unidentified men in Western garb. Dooley was probably in Las Vegas to explore business opportunities. Gray Lines still operates tour buses from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. The Flamingo Casino, the first luxury entertainment complex on the Las Vegas strip, had opened on December 26, 1946, with its hotel not yet completed. The opening was a financial disaster, and the casino closed two weeks later, about the time this photo was taken. Mobster Bugsy Siegel was still running the operation, although the crime syndicate was growing impatient with his weak management and suspected skimming from the project. Siegel was slain, victim of a mob hit, on June 20, 1947. The two men with Dooley here are presently unidentified. Any fan of the old Las Vegas should enjoy researching this piece further. Mounted on hard stock. Edge's lightly ragged. Corners lightly creased. Surface creases. Pencil note (unknown hand) on verso. Otherwise fine condition.