When an extortionist’s bomb heavily damaged Harveys Casino Hotel on Aug. 27, 1980, Harvey Gross took it like a punch to the gut. Gross and his wife Llewellyn had built a multimillion-dollar casino empire from scratch over years of hard work.
Capt. Ron Pierini of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was with the gaming pioneer at the time of the massive explosion. Capt. Pierini said, “Harvey started crying and said, ‘Thank God we didn’t hurt anyone.’ ”
Read Mark’s series on the plot to bomb Harveys
Gross was more concerned about his employees losing work than the potential damage to his casino. Not one to fret, Gross quickly looked to the future. He took advantage of the disaster to refurbish his club to make it bigger and better than ever. Although near the end of his life — Gross died in 1983 — he showed up for the casino-hotel’s grand re-opening nine months later.
“They secured a gaming license, bought a small log cabin and outfitted it with a few slot machines and a couple of card tables.”
Lake Tahoe has a long history of gambling, especially on its Nevada side where it’s been legal since 1931. But dating back to the late 1800s, Tahoe’s remote location, seasonal tourism and lack of law enforcement lent it an anything-goes atmosphere on both sides of the state line. The first casino at Big Blue was Cal Neva Lodge in Crystal Bay, which opened in 1929, two years before Nevada legalized gaming in the state. During a short summer visit in 1930, famed actress Clara Bow lost $13,900 at the card tables. Furious, she tried to cancel all the bank checks that she had written to the unlicensed casino.
When Cal Neva Lodge went legit in 1931, it quickly attracted crowds of wealthy Californians and celebrities to its rustic, scenic resort. The following year at South Lake Tahoe, the Nevada Club and the State Line Country Club secured gaming licenses for their establishments east of Highway 50 at Stateline, Nev. Similar to the Cal Neva Lodge, gambling was also going on before the 1931 legalization legislation.
Meat wholesalers Harvey and Llewellyn Gross moved from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe in 1937 where they established a meat market and butcher shop. During World War II, the Gross’ concluded that gaming could be profitable and help support the area’s seasonal, recreation-based economy. Other local businessmen disagreed, pointing out that previous casino attempts had struggled financially or moved to Reno. But the couple was willing to invest their savings and hard work in their vision.
They secured a gaming license, bought a small log cabin and outfitted it with a few slot machines and a couple of card tables. They installed a six-chair lunch counter; Llewellyn did most of the cooking in the kitchen of their nearby family home. Above the front door they nailed a salvaged wagon wheel and on June 1, 1944, they opened the door to Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Saloon & Gambling Hall. To ensure that motorists would stop, they added the only 24-hour gasoline station between Carson City, Nev., and Placerville, Calif.
Business was good during the busy summer months but dropped like a rock as winter approached. Unpaved and unplowed, Highway 50 up from Placerville and over Echo Summit followed the old Pony Express Trail, which was challenging for motorists in the summertime. If everything went well, it took between two to three days to get to South Lake Tahoe from San Francisco. During the six-month winter season, Highway 50 was mostly closed in the mountains. Those first winters tested the Gross’s resolve, but they persevered. One year they flooded the unused parking lot for their bored employees and Tahoe locals to enjoy as a skating rink.
Similar to what Truckee residents had done at Donner Pass before 1932 when California began plowing snow on Highway 40, Harvey Gross organized a shoveling brigade to remove the stubborn snowpack at Echo Summit when temperatures warmed in the spring. The effort cleared narrow lanes for automobiles weeks before state plows would have achieved it. Gross was 40 years old in 1945, but that didn’t stop him from rolling up his sleeves and joining in the tough physical work to accelerate tourism dollars. He respected men with a can-do attitude. His lawyer, Paul Laxalt, the son of Basque immigrants, was a young attorney destined to serve as a Nevada governor and U.S. Senator.
World War II had been hard on everyone and now that fuel and travel restrictions had been lifted, people were ready to enjoy life again. Lake Tahoe was a powerful draw in northern California, whether for winter sports or summer recreation. In the mid-1950s, Harvey signed a deal with Greyhound Bus Co. to run charters from 31 California cities to South Lake. Free food, alcohol and a complimentary $2 roll of nickels on arrival at the casino made it irresistible. Soon there were more than 40 busloads arriving every day. In 1963, Gross built the first high-rise hotel-casino on Tahoe’s south end.
In 1954, Harvey and Llewellyn’s only child, Beverlee Ann Gross, married the casino’s long-time general manager, William Barton Ledbetter. Beverlee had worked her way to vice chairman of the corporation. As Harvey’s right-hand man, Bill Ledbetter managed the enterprise for decades before his death in 2007. Harvey Gross was a quiet, behind-the-scenes owner, but like his boss, Ledbetter realized the importance of their employees and knew many by name. On holidays the company presented employees with a turkey in recognition of their contribution to the success of the business. The Ledbetters were a generous and influential family at South Lake Tahoe. In 1960, they donated land for Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe and Bill served on the community hospital’s board.
Among his properties, Gross owned Harvey’s Inn at Stateline, (the former Lakeside Inn) along with a unique bison ranch in Carson Valley. The entrepreneur was among the foremost business boosters at Lake Tahoe. Harvey and Llewellyn Gross believed that they should give back to the community as much as it had given them. Their altruism included sponsoring scholarships, supporting schools, jobs for disabled and handicapped veterans and financial grants to clubs and organizations. Their leadership in generous philanthropy inspired other gaming businesses to also become active with community contributions.
In 2001, Harveys Casino Resorts was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment for $625 million, which sold again in 2019 to Eldorado Resorts — not bad for a butcher and his wife willing to invest in a dream.
