Ormsby House is a closed

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and

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 ...

Carson City Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

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, ...

. Originally opened in 1972, it closed on October 30, 2000, for extensive renovations. The re-opening was originally planned for July 4, 2001, but was pushed back many times due to many construction delays, many remodels, and management changes. Through January 2023, the Ormsby House Hotel property is up for sale, and is expected to possibly be converted into housing and retail space.

History

The original Ormsby House was built in 1860 by Major William Ormsby, at the corner of 2nd and Carson Streets. Major Ormsby was killed later that same year in the

Pyramid Lake War A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

. The hotel lasted until the early 1900s, when it was purchased by Dominique Laxalt and later demolished. In 1972, a brand new Ormsby House was built by Dominique's son, former Nevada Governor

Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, at the corner of 5th and Carson Streets. In 1975, the Laxalts sold it to Woody Loftin and on his death in 1985, it passed to his son Truett Loftin. Loftin spent a large amount of money on a large parking structure. Around this time all casinos in Nevada began to receive competition from Indian casinos in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The Ormsby House hotel was forced into bankruptcy protection in 1990 and in 1993 the property was foreclosed and shut down. The Ormsby House stayed closed until 1995, when it was reopened by Barry Silverton. In 1997, The Ormsby House went through bankruptcy and foreclosure again. This time the new owners appointed former lieutenant governor and future Reno mayor Bob Cashell as their general manager. Cashell managed well, and he turned the property around. In 1999 Ormsby House was sold for $3.75 million to Carson City businessmen Al Fiegehen and Don Lehr, owners of Cubix Computer Corporation. They toyed with the idea of keeping the casino open during renovation, but finally decided to lay off all the employees and perform a complete inside-out renovation, which has now taken decades. The Ormsby House was closed for work on October 30, 2000. Renovation was originally scheduled to be completed on July 4, 2001, but a combination of construction delays, numerous plan changes, permit problems, and ongoing perceived problems with the City of Carson City stretched the project out. At one point the owners became so frustrated dealing with the city due to the imposition of laws applying to an asbestos remodel, that they threatened to demolish the building. As of January 2023, the Ormsby House is still closed. The renovated Ormsby House is planned to feature a hotel, large casino, four bars, wedding chapel, coffeehouse, fine dining restaurant, a buffet, nightclub, and entertainment center. For many years a small slots and video poker casino and bar, the Winchester Club operated on Fridays and Saturdays in the hotel's parking structure in order to maintain the

state gaming license. In March 2018, Fieghen and Lehr allowed the building permit for the renovations to expire, and stated that the building would likely be converted to a mix of housing and retail rather than a hotel and casino. They reported that there had been ongoing interest from potential buyers, including three deals that had fallen through within the preceding six months.

References

External links

Ormsby House Renovation Gallery (construction photos)
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Carsonpedia Ormsby House article
{{Reno Casinos 1972 establishments in Nevada Casino hotels Casinos completed in 1972 Casinos in Carson City, Nevada Defunct hotels in Nevada Defunct casinos in Nevada Hotels in Carson City, Nevada Landmarks in Nevada