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28-648: Thunderbird Lodge may refer to: Thunderbird Lodge (Lake Tahoe, Nevada) , listed on the NRHP in Nevada Thunderbird Lodge (Rose Valley, Pennsylvania) , listed on the NRHP in Pennsylvania Thunderbird Lodge (Chinle, Arizona) , in Arizona Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

56-559: A pool hall , a hot dog stand, a shooting gallery , and a bingo-style operation called the "Circle" or "Reno Game." Bingo was illegal in California, but games of skill based on bingo were legal. The Reno Game (later called the Circle Game) involved rolling a ball down a board where it would register a card suit and number. If one of the 33 players seated in a circle around the board matched a four-card sequence, he or she won, unless they were

84-404: A film producer on such features as Anaconda . When the car his father bought him was stolen and stripped, Harrah vowed to his sister that one day he would own a duplicate of every automobile the family had ever owned. Harrah had an extensive collection of cars. Many of his cars enjoyed 'best' or 'one-of-a kind' status. Some notable items of his collection were the two Bugatti Type 41s ,

112-406: A shill and, working for the house. (The use of shills to fill the games upset players, but John Harrah felt they were necessary.) The Reno Game was shut down several times by local authorities, but each time, lawyer John Harrah would get his permit reinstated. Still, the cost of doing business was high. When twenty-year-old Bill told his father he should get rid of the shills and put more money into

140-457: A state park. His refusal to pursue development on the 27 miles of shoreline he owned was more from his need for privacy and seclusion rather than intentional conservation. Nonetheless, Whittell is credited for the natural and unspoiled beauty of Lake Tahoe's present day eastern shoreline. In 1954 Whittell broke his leg, and remained at his Woodside, California estate until 1957. After Whittell broke his hip late in life he refused surgery to repair

168-556: A vast majority of the acreage in Washoe, Carson, and Douglas Counties on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. In 1936 construction began the summer residence, Thunderbird Lodge, designed in the Rustic style by Frederic DeLongchamps for George Whittell Jr. The stone house was completed 2½ years later. The estate includes numerous small buildings, before 1937 designed by Frederic DeLongchamps, and after by

196-517: Is reflected by a loud siren that operated at Thunderbird Lodge's dock, that he used to frighten them away. He sold his yacht, the Thunderbird , to casino magnate Bill Harrah in 1962. After a succession of owners, it is again housed in the Lodge's boathouse. Whittell eventually owned almost 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of the Nevada shoreline area on eastern Lake Tahoe. He had originally planned to develop

224-500: The 1929 Stock Market Crash , becoming one of California's richest people then at age 49. Captain Whittell, as he liked to be called, despite having no military service, is quoted as saying: "When men stop boozing, womanizing and gambling, the bloom is off the rose." By establishing a residence in Nevada, Whittell avoided the higher income taxes in California, where he spent the bulk of each year at his 50-acre Woodside, California estate,

252-456: The Phantom Corsair , two Ferraris and a pair of Jerrari Wagoneers. In 1966 his Bugatti Type 41 Coupe de Ville won Best of Show at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance . He also won the competition in 1963, 1964 and 1976. As well as cars, Harrah owned a Ford Trimotor , early airliner. After Bill Harrah's death, Holiday Inn acquired Harrah's , including the car collection. The bulk of

280-418: The Thunderbird . As the years passed, Whittell grew more reclusive, gradually abandoning his casino development plans for Sand Harbor in favor of maintaining his own secluded hideaway and lifestyle. He entertained only a few people at Thunderbird Lodge, including his neighbors Ty Cobb and Howard Hughes, for the occasional all night card games. Whittell's dislike for unwanted visitors and curiosity-seekers

308-641: The Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1955, an organization designed to regulate gaming in Nevada. In 1959, Harrah helped create an even stronger Gaming Commission to rid the state's casinos of corruption. Harrah was known for his relations with both his customers and employees. The main theater in Harrah's Reno, originally called the Headliner Room, was renamed Sammy's Showroom after entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. (whose Duesenberg replica now resides in

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336-553: The Plaza Tango at 14 East Commercial Row. Two months later Harrah found a better location at 242 North Virginia Street, close to Harolds Club, called Ed Howe's Tango Club. After a meeting with Nick Abelman, Bill Graham, and Jim McKay, Harrah waited to be accepted into the Reno gaming fraternity. Eventually, Cal Custer, a respected ex-bootlegger and a long-time confidant of John Harrah, stood up for Bill. His new business ventures were given

364-484: The age of 66, during a cardiac surgery operation to repair an aortic aneurysm . He left an estate valued at $ 138 million which was split into two trusts, one for his wife Verna and one for his sons. The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas , which opened in 1967, was renamed in his honor in 1989, in recognition of a $ 5 million gift from his widow. Harrah also used

392-538: The business, John challenged him to run the operation by himself. Bill said, "Dad, that would suit me just fine," and paid his father $ 500 for the business. He then headed down to the pier and fired the shills. In the course of just three years Harrah made the $ 100-a-week game into a $ 25,000 per year business. However, Harrah grew tired of fighting the politicians and wanted to expand his operations into Reno . On October 29, 1937, he opened his first club at 124 North Center Street, called Harrah's Club Bingo. The location

420-724: The collection was sold at several auctions between 1984 and 1986, garnering more than $ 100 million. An outcry by the people of Reno and Sparks led to Holiday Inn donating 175 vehicles to establish the William F. Harrah Automobile Museum in downtown Reno , Nevada . Some of the cars were donated to form the Imperial Palace Auto Collection in Las Vegas . Harrah died at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, at

448-471: The design firm DeLongchamps and O'Brien. The house had no guest rooms, as Whittell wanted no overnight visitors. In addition to the main house, there is a Card House, Caretaker's Cottage, Cook/Butler's House, Admiral's House, Boathouse with adjoining 600 feet (180 m) tunnel, Gatehouse, and the "Elephant House"—home to Mingo, Whittell's two ton Indian Elephant . The large boathouse housed his custom 55-foot (17 m) mahogany and stainless steel yacht ,

476-594: The developer Del Webb Corporation purchased the Thunderbird Lodge and its remaining 140 acres of private land. In 1999, the American Land Conservancy facilitated a three way land exchange. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management conveyed to Del Webb nearly 4,000 acres of Clark County, Nevada land near Las Vegas and the U.S. Forest Service received the 140 acres of Lake Tahoe land without the residence compound. The Thunderbird Lodge buildings were conveyed to

504-480: The fracture, and was confined to a wheelchair. George Whittell Jr. died of melanoma on 18 April 1969, with his third wife Elia by his side. After Whittell's death, Thunderbird Lodge and the adjacent 10,000 acres of property were purchased by Jack Dreyfus of Dreyfus Investments. Dreyfus later sold most of the land, excluding the residence, to the U.S. Forest Service — Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Nevada State Parks— Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park . In 1998

532-487: The green light, after a cash payment was made. Ed Howe wanted $ 25,000 for his Tango Club, but accepted just $ 3,000. Over time, Harrah tried other locations and expanded his casino on Virginia Street several times. A hotel tower opened in 1969. At Lake Tahoe, Harrah purchased George's Gateway Club in 1955 to expand his empire. Harrah-owned properties included the Lake Club on the lake side of highway 50, Harrah's Tahoe, on

560-495: The land into "high-class" summer properties, a ski resort, and a $ 1 million hotel-casino. He later decided that he "liked not having neighbors." In addition, development became more complicated, and involved environmental protection pressures and the state of Nevada pressing with eminent domain claims for much of the land to create a state park. During the 1950s, the State of Nevada began negotiations with Whittell to purchase land for

588-670: The mountain side at the old Stateline Country Club . The hotel tower opened in 1973. Harrah also owned the Zephyr Cove restaurant past Cave Rock which offered slots and blackjack. Harrah expanded to Las Vegas in 1973 by purchasing the Holiday Casino on the Las Vegas Strip from Shelby and Claudine Williams. The property was close to the successful Sands Casino and across from where the Mirage now stands. Harrah used his influence to create

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616-678: The museum that bears Harrah's name), and actor-comedian Bill Cosby recalls Harrah as a good friend. Harrah was married seven times to six women, including a four-month marriage to the singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry in 1969; the sugar baby relationship was alluded to in Gentry's fictionalized account of her life, " Fancy ," in which a "benevolent man" (Harrah) takes in an impoverished Southern prostitute (Gentry). With ex-wife Scherry (whom he married twice), he adopted two boys named John and Tony. He had one birth child, Jeanie Eiliene Sexton Harrah, with Marvel Tudor in 1956. His widow, Verna , worked as

644-458: The non-profit Thunderbird Preservation Society with a $ 9.8-million debt payable to Del Webb/ Pulte Homes . In 2009 the Society acquired title to the buildings. Thunderbird Lodge is currently owned by the non-profit Thunderbird Preservation Society. It is now a popular tourist attraction, with public tours by reservation. Bill Harrah William Fisk Harrah (September 2, 1911 – June 30, 1978)

672-520: The present day site of Kings Mountain Vineyard. In 1935, George Whittell Jr. purchased the 27 miles of Lake Tahoe shoreline and nearly 40,000 acres from Norman Biltz. It encompassed essentially 95% of the Nevada shoreline of Lake Tahoe — all of the land from Crystal Bay, Incline Village, Sand Harbor, Glenbrook, Cave Rock, and Zephyr Cove to Round Hill. Whittell paid approximately $ 2.7 million or $ 81.00 per acre. Between 1935 and 1969, Whittell continued to amass

700-511: The title Thunderbird Lodge . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thunderbird_Lodge&oldid=1028582070 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Thunderbird Lodge (Lake Tahoe, Nevada) George Whittell Jr.

728-622: Was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment . Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California , the son of attorney and politician John Harrah. Harrah studied mechanical engineering at UCLA where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Harrah was forced to drop out of college because of the Great Depression . He worked at various family businesses including

756-572: Was born in San Francisco in 1881, an heir to one of San Francisco's wealthiest families. His father was the founder of PG&E , the Northern California utility corporation, along with many other businesses. Upon his father's death in 1922, he received an inheritance of $ 29 million, which he invested in the stock market. It had grown to $ 50 million (Roughly $ 700 million in 2015 dollars) when he liquidated all his stock holdings just weeks prior to

784-473: Was two blocks from the Bank Club and Palace Club that had dominated gaming in Reno. As the locals expected, his tiny Tango bingo parlor closed up fast, lasting only until November the 15th. In July 1938 Harrah opened another bingo parlor, this time closer to the action, called Harrah's Plaza Tango. Virgil Smith was the main financier and a partner in the operation, and also in the club that opened in 1938, called

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