The Stateline Country Club, just inside the state border in what is now
Stateline,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, started as a small cafe. Inside, visitors enjoying the early 1930s at
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
could find a soda fountain bar and a few tables to enjoy a meal. There was a small room in the rear where a
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
game started-up most nights, and next door there was provision for vacationers at Carl F. Tychsen's Stateline Market with a pair of gas pumps nearby.
To the rear of the Stateline Market, east of Clyde Beecher's Nevada Club 100 feet from the actual state line between
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, Carl's Place Bar & Club attracted an older crowd of visitors. (Carl's Place would become The Main Entrance Club in 1938, owned by Charles Silver and George "Frenchy" Perry, with a long canopy extending from the club down the alley to U.S. Highway 50 between the Stateline Market and the Nevada Club.)
History
When Nevada legalized
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
in 1931, Cal Custer, a long-time rum-runner from
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, purchased the club and expanded the operation to include a 21 table, tub-style
craps
Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street c ...
game, and a dozen
slot machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s. The following summer, Cal expanded again, and by 1933, Nick Abelman of Reno and his partners Steve Pavlovich and Bert Riddick were very interested in the sixteen-acre property.
The partners talked Custer down from his $100,000 asking price to $84,000 and purchased the club and property.
["Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling"] Abelman, always a stickler for providing a superior product, immediately spent $48,000 building an expansion that offered a large, hard-wood dance floor and a huge fireplace. In the back of the club under a row of chandeliers was a small stage where a band played every night.
The club offered dozens of slot machines,
roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
,
chuck-a-luck
Chuck-a-luck, also known as birdcage, is a game of chance played with three dice. It is derived from grand hazard and both can be considered a variant of sic bo, which is a popular casino game, although chuck-a-luck is more of a carnival game ...
,
faro, and
21. It prospered for years under the watchful eye of Steve Pavlovich, who managed the club most summers. Big-name entertainment was standard, and the club offered wonderful meals such as a crab cocktail, soup and a main course like "famous Louisiana frog legs," Idaho Trout," or a
filet mignon
Filet mignon (; ; ) is a cut of meat taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin, or psoas major of a cow. In French, it mostly refers to cuts of pork tenderloin.
The tenderloin runs along both sides of the spine, and is usually butchered as ...
, plus vegetables, potatoes, and a nice dessert for $2.50.
In the mid 1940s, as Nick Abelman approached the age of seventy, he admitted it was becoming tougher and tougher to make the trek from
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...
to Tahoe every day, and his manager, Pavlovich was too sick to handle the club alone. The three partners conferred and agreed it was time to sell.
At a meeting at the
St. Francis Hotel
The Westin St. Francis, formerly known as St. Francis Hotel, is a hotel located on Powell and Geary Streets on Union Square, San Francisco, California. The two 12-story south wings of the hotel were built in 1904, and the double-width north wing ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Abelman came to terms with Nick and Eddie Sahati to purchase the club. A final price of $350,000 was agreed to, and the Sahati brothers took over for the 1945 summer season.
They got off to a rocky start, but eventually the club prospered under their management. Entertainers such as
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
,
Sons of the Pioneers
The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...
, and the
Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...
brought gamblers into the club, and times were good.
Following Carl F. Tychsen's death, his Stateline Market was auctioned to Edmond Sahati, who turned it into the Itahas Lodge ("Sahati" spelled backwards) next to Sahati's Stateline Country Club. The Itahas Lodge later became Sahatis Club.
Eddie Sahati died of cancer in 1952 at the age of 41. His brother, Nick, then leased the Stateline Country Club and Sahatis Club to a group of businessmen including Paul Venturi, Anthony Grech (who also ran Tony's Slot Machine Bar across the street,
between George's Gateway Club and the California state line), and Karl Berge, who ran the bar (Berge later owned
Karl's Silver Club in Sparks). Sahatis Club was renamed to the Stateline Redwood Room, next to the Stateline Country Club, from 1954 to 1956.
In 1955,
Bill Harrah
William Fisk Harrah (September 2, 1911 – June 30, 1978) was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment.
Early years and education
Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the ...
had purchased George's Gateway Club, across U.S. Highway 50 from the Stateline Country Club, and after a successful couple of years was able to persuade the businessmen to give up their lease so Nick Sahati could sell the property to Harrah.
In 1958, Nick Sahati did just that, for the same $350,000 he purchased it for. Eventually, Harrah also purchased Beecher's Nevada Club, allowing him to expand all the way to the actual state line.
Harrah's Lake Tahoe
Harrah's Lake Tahoe is a hotel and casino in Stateline, Nevada. Harrah's is branded with the name of its former owner and operator William F. Harrah. It is now owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The 18-story tower an ...
now sits on the site.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Moe, Albert Woods.: ''Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling'', Puget Sound Books, 2001,
* Moe, Al W.: ''The Roots of Reno'', Booksurge, 2008,
* Smith, Harold S. Sr.: ''I want to quit winners'', Prentice Hall Inc., 1961
{{Reno Casinos
1931 establishments in Nevada
1955 disestablishments in Nevada
Casinos in Stateline, Nevada
Defunct casinos in Nevada