The California Club operated from 1958 to 1973. Phil Long took over operation of the

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

located at the corner of First and

Fremont Street Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley – and Nevada – besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont and located in the h ...

Downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the S ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the 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. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, 1958. The

locals casino A locals casino is a casino designed primarily to attract residents of the area in which it was built rather than tourists or vacationers. The term is most commonly associated with casinos in Nevada, United States, to distinguish them from casino ...

catered to local gamblers. It was owned and operated by Phil Long and George Milford and was a casino only without any hotel rooms. The California Club was sold to

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

in 1973. The California Club was combined into the Golden Nugget shortly after the purchase by Wynn. In 1963,

Corky McCorquodale Felton "Corky" McCorquodale (August 23, 1904 – November 23, 1968) was a professional poker player, noted as the person who introduced Texas hold 'em to Las Vegas in 1963. Poker had been legal in Las Vegas since 1931, but Texas hold 'em was n ...

introduced

Texas hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fac ...

to Las Vegas at the California Club. The game became popular and quickly spread to the Golden Nugget, Stardust and

Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

Other California Clubs

There were two approved casinos in Reno that were also called California Club.

Notes

External links

Phil Long's move to Tropicana
Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Casinos in Las Vegas {{casino-stub