The Amazing History of Cal-Neva Lodge

by Bob Sparrow

I must admit that I am somewhat obsessed with the Cal-Neva Lodge and Casino, as it was part of my young adult experience in a most idyllic place. For those unfamiliar with Cal-Neva, it is a hotel, with an additional 11 cabins on the property, built in 1926 on the sparsely populated, north coast of Lake Tahoe’s Crystal Bay, directly on the California-Nevada border. In fact, the main dining room had a line down the middle that shows one side in Nevada and the other side in California – same with the swimming pool outside.

While gambling was not legalized in Nevada until 1931, part of the reason for the hotel’s sparsely populated location was that gambling was going on at the hotel before that. A story about silent film star Clara Bow says that in 1930 she had a gambling debt of over $13,000, which in today’s dollars would be about $250,000. She claimed that she thought she was playing with chips worth fifty cents each, when they were worth $100 each! In 1935 a 13-year-old Judy Garland performed for the first time at the Cal-Neva Lodge.  

Fast forward to the 1950s when Cal-Neva was sold for $1 million (about $13 million in today’s dollars) and was frequented by Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable as well as the Jack and Bobby Kennedy, who weren’t going there to gamble, but rather to enjoy the ladies. Cal-Neva was also frequented by Frank Sinatra, who eventually was part owner of the resort and added the ‘Celebrity Room’ where he and his friends, “The Rat Pack”, performed.

My interest and connection to Cal-Neva comes from spending parts of every year at Lake Tahoe from the time I was about 10 years old (mid-1950s) to after graduating from college. My Dad’s best friend, ‘Uncle’ Dick, was a life-long bachelor and sort of adopted our family as his.  In 1952 he bought a cabin just outside of Tahoe City, at the north end of ‘The Lake’ and we spent every vacation, every season, every year at that cabin, despite the six-hour drive at that time from Novato to Lake Tahoe. The routine was, we’d leave home on a Friday night after they got home from work, get there very late on a Friday night, spend Saturday there, when, that night, Dad and Dick would dress up in coat and tie and Mom in a formal dress and ‘Go over to the line’, referring to the California-Nevada state line and spend the evening at Cal-Neva dining, dancing and gambling. We’d then get up early Sunday morning and drive home. Years later, brother, Jack, bought a home and a restaurant (Off Shore Bar & Grill) on the lake in Tahoe City and lived there for several years.  Roommate, Ken Poulsen, who you may have seen a couple of weeks ago here in a photo at Kezar Stadium, and I, bought a cabin in the 1970s, right next to Dick’s cabin. We sold it years later after a tenant had left a couch on the floor furnace and went skiing; when they returned, the house was burned to the ground. Ken managed the rebuilding of it and then we sold it.  

Another personal note is that when the Rat Pack was performing at Cal-Neva in the mid-sixties, they needed to hire more valets to manage all the cars. A friend of mine, Dale Aman’s mom, worked in the accounting department at the hotel, and she called Dale and Dale called me to go to Cal-Neva and valet for the Rat Pack show.  It was the first and only time I worked as a valet. Fortunately, there were no crashes! We made rather good money (about $25 – Hey, that was like $325 in today’s dollars!), but after we were done valeting, we went into the casino and gave it all back!         

Sinatra’s friend, Dean Martin, was also a shareholder in the hotel as well as another Sinatra friend, Chicago mobster, Sam Giancana. When Sinatra built the Celebrity Room, he re-utilized Prohibition-era smuggling tunnels beneath the property to allow mob members to move around the property without being seen by the public. One tunnel led from the main building to Sinatra’s private chalet overlooking Lake Tahoe. In 1962 Marilyn Monroe was in one of Cal-Neva’s private cottages and overdosed on drugs, but was found in time to save her life. A few weeks later she was found dead in her home in Los Angeles.

During the early and mid-60s, Sinatra’s Cal-Neva had lots of visits from celebrities such as Liza Minnelli, Kim Novak, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and Richard Crenna. During this time, Giancana was spotted on the premises and Sinatra’s gambling license was suspended. So, Sinatra had to sell the property; he tried to sell it to Howard Hughes in 1967, but that didn’t go through. The property was bought and sold a number of times to real estate investors but ultimately closed in 2010.

It sat dormant for eight years, then Oracle owner and billionaire, Larry Ellison purchased it in 2018 for $35.8 million. After not being able to rebuild due to being held up in bankruptcy court by creditors’ protests, he sold it in 2023 for around $55 million to Denver real estate developer, McWhinney, who plans to open it in 2027.

So, why has it sat dormant for so many years? In addition to bankruptcy issues, the three magic words in real estate are, location, location, location. Cal-Neva is in a remote location; Reno, the closest, largest city (less than 300,000 population) is about 45 miles away and Reno already has plenty of places to gamble. During the winter, North Lake Tahoe can get severe storms that can drop several feet of snow in 24 hours. Additionally, there is only one two-lane road leading to and from Cal-Neva, so often it’s not very accessible. 

Because of my history and interest in this iconic place, I have sent an email to Troy McWhinney of the McWhinney company letting him know some of my history with their property and my interest in being among the first guests at the hotel when it opens in 2027. I mentioned that I am 81, so I am hoping that the opening date of 2027 is achieved. I also let them know that I would be available to valet if needed.

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