By Jim Rix
After the better part of a year and $60 million (I’m told), the renovation of Lake Tahoe’s old Horizon Casino got completed. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opened to a much anticipated local crowd on Wednesday, January 28.
It was fortunate for my friend Heather and me that we entered through the back door, because we found out later during our meandering that the front entrance was jammed and backed up. It was basically a madhouse. It was so packed that Security was letting people in the front door only as others exited.
It took us the better part of an hour to circumnavigate the establishment and exit. Halfway through the experience, I was reminded of the line in the Eagles’ Hotel California, “You can check-out but you can never leave!” We saw very little of the actual remodeled casino – just too abundant a crowd of other hyped-up and crazed locals wanting to be the first to see their new toy. I told myself I would return the next day to actually see the place.
The center of the casino, however, looked like any other Tahoe casino – endless flashing lights of slot machines interrupted by table games – with the refreshing exception that the carpets were new and clean. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino should do well selling the product that all casinos sell – alleviation of boredom.
But I will have to wait some time before I can fully enjoy this new spot, because the remodel of the showroom is yet to be completed. Hopefully, then, this new casino will bring in Hard Rock ’n Roll that I will enjoy.
| Copyright © 2015 by Jim Rix |
I would like to read more when you return.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Do you remember Harvey's. My friend ran the restaurant at the top. We were there the day the bomb went off. A T-shirt guy started pumping out shirts: "I got bombed at Harvey's". He couldn't print them fast enough.
ReplyDeleteEd, I am so innocent and naive when it comes to alcohol and drugs that, when you commented about "the day the bomb went off," and even after I read what the T-shirt said, I still thought you were talking about dynamite or some other sort of deadly explosive (especially since I remembered your story about blowing up the stumps). I did, though, after another second or so, realize that "got bombed" was a reference to inebriation or being high on drugs.
DeleteAnd you might not believe this, but Jim is actually pretty much the same way (although I'm not entirely confident that he won't find a way to contradict me). In high school, where he was a member of the varsity football team, he would go to team parties and be the only member of the team (of course!) to have a carton of milk in his hand.
Well, Ed, Jim set me straight (via email): "No, a dynamite bomb really did go off at Harvey's in an extortion attempt several years ago." I had no idea.
DeleteAnd: "As for the milk in the hand, I now know today that a beer or two is much better than any milk at all." That, of course, was then, but this is now!
Thank you, Jim, my friend of many years.
Ed you really get around! I was not in Tahoe for the BOMBING but I do remember that news reports well. I'll take two T-shirts.
ReplyDeleteThe funny part of the bomb plot was it could have been avoided. All they had to do was pay extortion money. The bomb was computer operated and they brought in experts from the government and anyone else they could find that might know how to defuse the bomb. In the end they all gave up and it blew. There was so much damage to the support beams, they tore the building down. I have no idea what is on that spot now.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I decided to look it up. Here's what Wikipedia tells us (and there's a photo of the flames as well, but I can't show it here):
ReplyDeleteThe Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing took place on August 26–27, 1980, when three men planted a bomb containing 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of dynamite at Harvey's Resort Hotel (now "Harveys") in Stateline, Nevada, United States. The mastermind behind the bomb, millionaire John Birges, was attempting to extort $3 million from the casino, claiming he had lost $750,000 gambling there.
The bomb was cleverly built and virtually tamper-proof. After studying the bomb for more than a day through x-rays, bomb technicians decided that, although there were warnings from the bomb maker that a shock would trigger the device, the best hope of disarming it was by separating the detonators from the dynamite. They thought they could do this using a shaped charge of C-4. The attempt to disarm the bomb failed and it exploded, destroying much of the casino, although no one was injured. Harrah's Casino (which was connected to Harvey's Resort via a tunnel) was also damaged by the explosion, which broke many of the windows in Harrah's.
Note, Ed, that they didn't exactly "give up"; they tried to "separate the detonators from the dynamite" by "using a shaped charge of C-4," and that set the explosion off.
Sounds like a Hail Mary to me. However, no one on the street was told that, we were left to believe the bomb just blew up. I think somebody was trying to save face. The owner of Harrah's had his son's ear sent to him and he paid the money.
DeleteYou know, what the hell is $3 million to a place like Harvey's? They would have made that back in half a day. The explosion pretty much shut down the town. They had us pushed way down the street and when that SOB blew, I was glad to be where I was – even then I spilled my beer.
Ed, please tell us more about the extortion of money at Harrah's. I couldn't find anything about an ear connected with Harrah's, nor with Harvey's (in case that was a typo).
DeleteI think it’s acceptable for you to call Jimi Hendrix as your Bro, since your name does sound like his. Haha! Kidding aside, the Hard Rock Café does have a lot of gems to showcase. Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteMarci Deegan @ Twin Pine Casino & Hotel