Lake Tahoe’s Cal-Neva Lodge

Although only about one-third of Lake Tahoe lies in Nevada, California’s gambling history is notable, with early establishments like Tallac House and Tahoe Tavern in Tahoe City, opened by Donald Bliss in 1902 with a ‘Casino’ or ‘Game Room,’ highlighting its longstanding gaming presence.

For years, the enforcement of gambling and liquor laws was “on and off again” on either side of the California and Nevada border. Prohibition and the sale of liquor may have been enforced in some areas, but not so much in Truckee or Lake Tahoe.

The scenic Lake, with its over-one-mile elevation and snow-capped mountains, continues to inspire awe and curiosity, drawing visitors and enthusiasts alike.

The North Shore took off in the late 1920s. Wealthy San Francisco real estate developer Robert Sherman came to the area in 1924. Seeing a fantastic opportunity, he began purchasing much of the land around the Nevada side of the lake. At the time, most of the raw land was priced at $1 to $5 per acre. By 1926, he had convinced his business partners (Spencer Grant and Harry Comstock) to buy up all the land they could and sell it to their upscale San Francisco clients.

Sherman built a guesthouse straddling the state line for his partners and clients. It was just a rustic log cabin, but spacious enough for entertaining. Soon, the partners would develop acreage around Brockway Vista, King’s Beach, Lake Vista, and Tahoe Vista.

Sherman enjoyed the lake but still liked the city life of San Francisco. In 1927, Sherman sent a young and handsome salesman up to Tahoe, and Norman Henry Biltz took the lake by storm.

One, two, and four-acre parcels were priced from $200 to $500 per acre. Biltz had steady references from the San Francisco office and began selling his clients on the idea of Nevada residency. Nevada, at the time, had no taxes, and wealthy clients were happy to pay something extra for their homesteads.

Biltz did so much business that he was given the Cal-Neva cabin in exchange for commissions due him.

Gambling came to the Cal-Neva in 1928 when Bill Doyle leased the property from Biltz. A raid on the premises by the county sheriffs of either state was unlikely. Still, if a forewarned raid were imminent, operations could be moved permanently to whichever side of the room was currently safe.

Like the mist that forms above the lake, the specter of Reno gamblers Bill Graham and James McKay swept over the club in 1929. Side deals with Doyle notwithstanding, the Reno duo paid Biltz $65,000 for the lodge in 1930.  Gambling was legal on the Nevada side just a year later.

He continued to expound on the benefits of Nevada residency to his prospects while calling on millionaires nationwide. He then made his first big sale to a Chicago advertising executive named James L. Stack, Sr. Stack was happy to pay $35,000 for a couple of lots (that had cost Biltz just $6 each) to take advantage of Nevada’s tax haven at the time.

It was beautiful to the rich, with no income, sales, inheritance, corporation, or gift taxes. Stack established his Nevada residence, and his son Jim spent most of his life there. The older son, Robert Stack, spent most of his time making movies in Hollywood.

To demonstrate his dedication, Biltz recounted carrying Stack to his prospective home site through heavy snow, making clients feel truly valued and cared for.

Biltz continued to bring millionaires to the area and sell the land.  Some of those included Major Max C. Fleischmann and E. L. Cord, who were both to become significant benefactors to the local economy and colleges. Years later, Cord’s son and daughter learned to gamble, and the first time I dealt with Ms. Cord at Harrah’s, she just stared at the dice.

I told her to pick two lucky ones from the five I had offered, but she was contemplating so long that I said, “They are all different; they just look the same.”  She was not amused.  Later, when her brother asked where to place a bet, I commented, “We can’t bet your money for you, but you can bet your money for us.”  For some reason, he wasn’t amused either, and I got pulled off the game and sent to a $2 limit blackjack table for the rest of the day.

During the first season of legalized gambling at Lake Tahoe, the Cal-Neva Lodge became a key attraction, offering 10 table games, including Roulette and 21, along with 35 slots, with a striking stone fireplace and a white ‘state line’ dividing Nevada’s gambling from California’s dancing areas, creating a unique gaming environment.

Inside the Cal-Neva Lodge, an Epicurean delight awaited the dinner crowd.   Stuffed wild animals adorned the walls and rocks that swept the room. An indoor stream gurgled and bubbled as it ran along polished rocks. Sizable rainbow trout glided past the hungry diners, oblivious to their fate, and a small gratuity was sent to the waiter after your catch of the day.

Gambling was offered through 10 table games and 35 slots. Roulette was the game of choice with three full tables. 21 was also offered on three tables, along with craps and hazard games.

Graham and McKay’s problems in Reno were overlooked at Tahoe until May 16, 1937.  A fire erupted just ten days before the sprinkler system was completed, which may have saved the lodge, but it destroyed the entire building.  One of the ten guest cabins was also lost. Jim McKay, who resided at the lake, was immediately on the scene. He directed the firefighting units from Incline and Truckee, but nothing could be done to save the lodge. Not one to brood, he was on the phone to Adler Larson the same night. 

Within two days, architects had drawn up a suitable plan for rebuilding. Although the Lodge had been insured for only $35,000, McKay and Graham spent over $280,000 on the rebuild. While that was a considerable sum for 1937, their Bank Club in Reno was more than successful. Advertisements touted the men as owners of “The largest casino in the United States, the business with Nevada’s second largest payroll, the business that pays the most taxes in the state.”  Much of that expense was due to overtime wages paid to the many workers and McKay and Graham’s desire to be up and running again by the 4th of July.

With over 100 men working around the clock, the job was finished by the 1st of July. The beautiful circular bar, with about 70 feet of railing, was finished with a backdrop of windows facing the lake.  Also, facing the lake was the now twice-as-large dining room. The partners tried to match the newly installed bar at the Bank Club in Reno, which cost almost $30,000. To this day, much of the draw of the Cal-Neva Lodge is its spectacular view of the lake.

Norman Biltz was involved in the rebuilding of the Cal-Neva. He was a part-owner of the Golden Hotel in Reno when it was purchased in 1946, and he later helped build another casino. Some twenty years later, he built the Holiday Hotel in Reno with partner Stanley Dollar.

Newton Crumley, Jr., of Elko, acquired the lease and then ownership of the Holiday Hotel and Casino when Dollar decided against being associated with gambling. Newton Crumley, Sr., got his start in the casino business when he arranged the purchase of the Commercial Hotel in Elko during a poker game. The seller was the same Bill Doyle who owned the Cal-Neva Lodge for two seasons in 1928-29.

Biltz, who once owned half the property at Donner Lake and founded Security National Bank, will go down in history as the “Duke” of Nevada. Bill Graham and Jim McKay are not remembered in quite such fond terms.

“Baby Face” Nelson and “Pretty Boy” Floyd were just a few of the notorious “friends” of Graham and McKay. They were known to spend time at the lake, often staying in the cabins on the Cal-Neva Lodge property. They occasionally worked as bodyguards and were known to do particular jobs for their friends. The mob in Chicago was interested in some casino ownership in Nevada. As a trade-off, Graham and McKay offered a bit of the Bank Club in Reno and granted a sanctuary for some “wanted” men from the Chicago area. Nelson was from the roughest part of Chicago, the Patch.

Graham and McKay spent time in jail during the 1930s for mail fraud—mostly from a stock swindling scheme involving faked horse race results—but they remained owners of the Can-Neva Lodge into the 1940s.

Bones Remmer, who was given the property to run while they were incarcerated, continued to run it and skim as much as he could, using highly fictionalized tax returns that landed him in jail in the 1950s.

Over the years, the Grand Old Dame of the Lake developed a spurious reputation with bribery, beatings, money laundering, and owners like Frank Sinatra and Mob figures. It was great. The book Mob City: Reno goes into great detail about Sinatra and San Giancana’s role at the Cal-Neva and makes for great reading on Kindle or in paperback. 

There’s more in this YouTube video.