Gaming History Alive at Harveys Lake Tahoe
With roots stretching all the way back to 1944, Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino is a veteran of the Nevada gaming industry. It is located in the community of Stateline on the eastern shores of Lake Tahoe, conveniently on the California border.
Sacramento meat wholesaler Harvey Gross and his wife, Llewellyn, built Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Casino on the site after they relocated from the Californian capitol to the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe. The casino boasted three slot machines and two blackjack tables to supplement their seasonal butchery business.
Growth, Adversity and Acquisition
A 1950s boom in tourism around the south shore of Lake Tahoe saw Harvey’s Wagon Wheel become increasingly successful, and in 1963 a high-rise hotel tower, with 197 rooms housed in 11 storeys, was added. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, it was the most successful hotel and casino on the south shore. Even the detonation of a 450kg bomb in 1980, planted by disgruntled gamblers as part of an extortion plot, which destroyed the casino but resulted in no injuries, could not dampen the resort’s growth trajectory.
The gutted casino was replaced with an even bigger hotel tower, reaching 18 storeys and offering 740 rooms. The new casino floor measured more than 8,000 square metres, with hundreds of slots and several table games for moderately financed gamblers while retaining a quaint homey atmosphere. Growth and expansion continued through the 80s and 90s, and a series of acquisitions saw Harvey’s bought first by Capital LCC, then former rival Harrah’s Entertainment in 2001, and finally by Caesars Entertainment. As Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino, it is one of 40 Caesars properties.
Massive Range of Slot Games
With 740 slot and video poker titles on the floor, Harveys Casino has a variety to suit most slots fans. The choice ranges from penny slots to multi-line machines with massive progressive jackpots, and includes titles like Jackpot Party, Blazing 7s, Megabucks and Penny Train.
Among the video poker titles are Jacks or Better, Double Double Bonus and Bonus Poker, with several machines covering each title. They also offer progressive jackpots.
Decent Table Game and Poker Selection
Harveys offers Blackjack, Baccarat and Mini Baccarat, Roulette, and several types of Poker. These titles include Let It Ride Poker, Pai Gow Poker, and both Limit and No Limit versions of Texas Hold’em Poker.
The Poker room hosts Hold’em tournaments on every weekday, with buy-ins ranging from $50 to $95. Ordinary non-tournament games on the casino floor have buy-ins as low as $3 per bet. Regular Poker and Blackjack tournaments offer big prizes, and sports and race betting fans can enjoy wagering in The Book, a non-smoking venue with big-screen TVs.
Plenty of Action Outside the Casino
Guests at Harveys have lots of other activities to enjoy if they take a break from the casino. The resort has two upmarket restaurants, the 19 Kitchen.Bar and the Sage Room, and three casual eateries: Cabo Wabo Cantina, a Hard Rock Café and the Straw Hat Sports Bar and Grille.
Artists performing at Harveys include the likes of Sting, Stevie Wonder and Keith Urban, and the hotel also hosts comedy regularly. The attractions of Lake Tahoe await outdoors: cruising on the lake, hot-air ballooning, secluded beaches for swimming in summer, plus mountain hikes, fishing, golfing, and in winter, skiing.