45 years after bombing, historic Harveys Lake Tahoe to be rebranded as Caesars Republic
Not many people recall the history of the Harvey's bombing. In 2005, Hall of Fame journalist Ed Vogel visited Lake Tahoe on the bombing’s 25th anniversary and could not find many who remembered the event.
The Harveys Lake Tahoe name is being retired, but it almost disappeared 45 years ago.
Caesars Entertainment said last week it will spend $160 million to renovate and rename one of Tahoe’s original hotel-casinos into Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe & Casino that will be completed in mid-2026.
The resort along Tahoe’s south shore at the state line with California will take on its new name July 1, although property general manager Karie Hall, who also oversees Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, said Caesars signage is already in place and the Harveys logos have been removed.
Harveys and Harrah’s are connected through a pedestrian tunnel beneath Highway 50.
Harveys — originally spelled with an apostrophe — was opened in 1944 by South Tahoe businessman Harvey Gross as a small gas station with three slot machines.
It had grown into Harvey's Wagon Wheel Hotel and Casino when it made national headlines over two days in August 1980. An extortionist’s homemade bomb blew open a 50-foot-by-30-foot crater and ripped through five floors of the building. No one died or was injured as the area was evacuated and sealed off as the FBI tried to deactivate the bomb.
John Birges, a Fresno landscaper who ran up more than $750,000 in gambling debts, and two accomplices planted the bomb. He was convicted and died in prison in 1996. His eldest son, who testified against his father, wrote a book about the bombing.
“Where my office sits is part of the area that was destroyed,” Hall said. “It’s an interesting story, but not many people refer to it anymore.”
She said members of the founding family, who still live in Tahoe, will be welcomed to the property’s official reopening next year once the renovation is complete.
For now, the 88,000-square-foot casino and 745 hotel rooms and suites will be in a state of transition.
“It’s hard to flip the switch if you're not completely shutting down the building,” Hall said.
The company has made steps to upgrade the property in recent years, adding Northern Nevada’s first Gordon Ramsay-branded restaurant, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Wolf by Vanderpump cocktail lounge.
“It’s a complete reimagination of the building,” Hall said. “We’re looking to bring in new customers who may not just be exclusively gaming customers. We want to expose them to Lake Tahoe and all the things that we love about the community.”
The last major remodel took place in the mid-2000s after it was acquired by Caesars Entertainment in 2001. Planned changes include a remodel to the casino floor that will include new carpeting, lighting, slot machines, table games, furniture and digital displays. The poker room will be branded with a World Series of Poker theme.
Hall said all rooms would be redecorated and the room count will change slightly as some of the older, smaller rooms will be merged into larger spaces. Plans are being made for several top-floor suites. The Sage Room Steakhouse, located on the 19th floor with unobstructed views of Lake Tahoe, will be upgraded, but there are no plans yet to change the name.
The South Lake Tahoe gaming market has fluctuated since the pandemic, reaching an all-time gaming revenue high of $263.6 million in 2022. However, South Tahoe casinos experienced a 7.5 percent decline in 2023 to $243.8 million due to competition from the newer tribal casinos in Northern California.
Last year, South Lake Tahoe saw $244 million in gaming revenue as the region as new operators settled into the area. MontBleu was renamed Bally’s Lake Tahoe in 2022, and Hard Rock Lake Tahoe became Golden Nugget Lake Tahoe last year. The $80 million Tahoe Blue Events Center opened in 2023.
“We want everyone to know that although this is a big change, we respect the history and everything that's been brought to the table by Harveys,” Hall said.
VICI reaches deal with Red Rock Resorts, but not in Las Vegas
Executives from VICI Properties, which owns 660 acres on the Strip, have long expressed an interest in finding opportunities elsewhere in Las Vegas.
The real estate investment trust (REIT) announced last week it struck its first deal with Red Rock Resorts, but the agreement doesn’t involve any of the company’s Las Vegas operations.
VICI is providing $510 million in financing toward the $750 million casino Red Rock is building and will manage for Central California’s North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. The project, roughly 30 miles south of Fresno, broke ground last year and is expected to open in mid-2026 with a 100,000-square-foot casino, two restaurants and a food court.
The REIT, which typically acquires properties from the casino operator and leases the business back in exchange for annual rent payments, owns 10 Strip resorts operated by MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Apollo Global Management (The Venetian and Palazzo). VICI has 13 gaming and non-gaming tenants in North America covering 93 properties, with operators paying more than $3.1 billion in annual rent.
Asked during Red Rock’s first-quarter earnings conference call Thursday afternoon, Chief Financial Officer Steven Cootey brushed aside a question on whether the North Fork loan could lead to similar agreements with the company's numerous development opportunities in Las Vegas.
Red Rock is spending $370 million on renovations at its Las Vegas and Henderson casinos. The company also owns six development sites totaling 500 acres throughout Clark County.
“We appreciate the partnership,” he said. “It's really important to get this financing across the finish line.”
On VICI’s quarterly earnings call a few hours earlier, executives heaped praise on Red Rock.
“This is our first opportunity to work with them, but we've known them for years,” VICI President John Payne said when asked if additional deals were possible. “We felt really good about stepping in and developing a relationship with Red Rock.”
MGM: Adding gaming would enhance Dubai
MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle said last week that the potential for legalized gaming in Dubai, where the company is already partnering in a resort complex, would add to the emirate’s unique attractions.
Hornbuckle, MGM Chairman Paul Salem and board member Barry Diller visited with Dubai deputy ruler Maktoum Bin Mohammed last month — which came to light after Mohammed posted photos of the group on the social media platform X.
MGM is partnering with a Dubai company on a 25-acre non-gaming resort on Jumeirah Beach, a man-made island. The $1.2 billion project includes three hotel towers totaling 1,500 rooms branded as Aria, MGM Grand and Bellagio.
The United Arab Emirates has created a gaming regulatory system and the Middle Eastern nation is allowing its seven emirates to make their own decisions on legalizing the activity.
“It was a great conversation, but it’s completely in their hands,” Hornbuckle said on MGM’s first-quarter conference call last week. “Hopefully, we'll get to add gaming.”
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