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Harrah's Lake Tahoe
Facts and statistics
Address	15 Hwy 50 Stateline, NV 89449
Opening date	June 20, 1955
No. of rooms	525
Total gaming space	65,000 sq ft (6,000 m2)
Signature attractions	South Shore Room
Casino type	Land
Owner	Harrah's Entertainment
Previous names	Stateline Country Club Nevada Club Harrah’s Stateline Club
Website	Harrah's Tahoe

Harrah's Lake Tahoe, is a resort casino in South Lake Tahoe at Stateline, Nevada. It is branded with the name of its former owner William Fisk Harrah and owned by Harrah's Entertainment. The 18-story tower and 525 rooms, plus 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m²) of casino make it one of the largest resorts at South Lake Tahoe.

History

Harrah's was first established in Lake Tahoe when William F. Harrah purchased George's Gateway Club in January 1955 for $500,000 and Harrah’s Lake Club opened in June 20, 1955. This is now Harveys Lake Tahoe.

In 1956 Harrah’s Lake Club was sold for $5,250,000 in cash to Harvey Gross, which at the time was the most expensive casino purchase ever. In 1958 Harrah acquired an interest in the Stateline Country Club and Nevada Club across the street (Harrah's current location) and opened Harrah's Stateline Club.

Also in 1956, a new radio station, KOWL, had its original radio studio inside the Harrah's Stateline Club. They were located on the upper floor. The station's transmitter and broadcast tower were roughly two miles south of the casino in South Lake Tahoe, California.

The South Shore Room opened at Harrah's Tahoe in 1959 at a cost of $3.5 million. This 750 seat showroom, whose opening act was comedian Red Skelton, made entertainment a priority at Harrah's and saw entertainers such as Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Tennessee Ernie Ford, George Gobel, Wayne Newton, Lawrence Welk, Bill Cosby, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra. In 1963 Barry Keenan, Joseph Amsler and John Irwin abducted Frank Sinatra, Jr. the 19-year-old son of singer Frank Sinatra.

Portions of the Bette Midler film Jinxed were shot on location at the hotel in summer 1981 for the summer 1982 release of the film. Other locations used in the film were Harrah's in Reno and the Harrah's Auto Museum also in Reno.

Bill Harrah had been planning to build a hotel at Lake Tahoe for many years, but had been hindered by costs. However in 1971, when Harrah's went public, he finally had the finances available to build his dream hotel. In 1972 Harrah broke ground on his $25 million, 18-story, 250 room hotel which opened November 9, 1973. Each 500 sq ft (46 m²) room was furnished with a fully stocked bar, bay windows, 2 bathrooms with TVs and telephones. Harrah's Lake Tahoe earned the first five-star diamond rating in casino history.

The hotel was later expanded with 290 additional rooms in 1976.

In 2000 Harrah’s completed a $26 million dollar renovation to update the casino, hotel rooms and restaurants on the 18th floor including the Forest Buffet and Friday’s Station.

On December 3, 2005, a shootout occurred in a private booth near the casino floor. One person was killed, and two Douglas County Sheriff's Deputies were injured.[1]

References

• Mandel, Leon (1981). William Fisk Harrah The Life And Times Of A Gambling Magnate. Doubleday & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-385-15513-1.
• Stearns, John (April 29, 2001). "Casinos share local history". Retrieved Aug. 1, 2005

External links

• Harrah's Lake Tahoe Hotel website

Coordinates: 38°57′34″N 119°56′30″W / 38.959425°N 119.941628°W / 38.959425; -119.941628