Bill Harrah (1911 to 1978) built Harrah’s from a small Reno bingo parlor into the first casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with casinos in Reno, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas. He also assembled what was called the world’s largest collection of historic automobiles. The Harrah’s name lives on today as a brand of Caesars Entertainment.
Bill Harrah at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | William Fisk Harrah |
| Born | September 2, 1911, South Pasadena, California |
| Died | June 30, 1978, Rochester, Minnesota |
| Known for | Founding Harrah’s; one of the largest car collections ever assembled |
| First club | Harrah’s bingo club, Reno, opened October 29, 1937 |
Early Life and Education
William Fisk Harrah was born on September 2, 1911, in South Pasadena, California. His father, John Harrah, was an attorney and politician. Bill studied mechanical engineering at UCLA but left without graduating during the Great Depression and went to work in his family’s businesses.
The Reno Game and Early Business
One of those businesses was a bingo-style game his father ran called the Reno Game, also known as the Circle Game. At 20, Bill bought it from his father for $500. He got rid of the shills the game had used, and within three years he had grown it from about $100 a week into a business making $25,000 a year.
First Club, Loss and Recovery
Bill moved to Reno and opened Harrah’s Club Bingo on October 29, 1937, at 124 North Center Street, a short walk from the larger gambling halls that already ran downtown. It lasted only until November 15 of that year.
He tried again in July 1938 with the Plaza Tango at 14 East Commercial Row, with Virgil Smith as his main financier. About two months later he bought Ed Howe’s Tango Club at 242 North Virginia Street. Howe had asked $25,000 for it and accepted $3,000.
Building Harrah’s
From those bingo parlors Bill built Harrah’s into one of the best-run casino companies in Nevada, known for how it treated customers and employees.
- Reno: he expanded the Virginia Street casino several times, and a hotel tower opened in 1969.
- Lake Tahoe: he bought George’s Gateway Club at Stateline in 1955. Harrah’s Tahoe grew on the site of the old Stateline Country Club, with a hotel tower opening in 1973. He also owned the Lake Club and the Zephyr Cove restaurant.
- Las Vegas: in 1973 he bought the Holiday Casino on the Las Vegas Strip from Shelby and Claudine Williams.
Harrah’s Inc. went public in 1971 and listed on the American Stock Exchange in 1972. In 1973 it became the first casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Harrah Car Collection
As Harrah’s grew, Bill put much of his wealth into cars. His collection reached about 1,450 automobiles, stored in warehouses in Sparks, Nevada, and was described as the world’s largest collection of historic automobiles. It included the Phantom Corsair, two Bugatti Type 41s, two Ferraris and a pair of “Jerrari” Wagoneers. His cars won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1976.
He collected more than cars. He owned a Ford Trimotor airplane and raced hydroplanes, and his Tahoe Miss won the APBA Gold Cup and the national championship in 1966.
After his death, Holiday Inn gave 175 of the cars to the nonprofit group that built the National Automobile Museum in Reno, which opened in 1989 and still displays mostly cars from his collection. Most of the rest were sold at auctions in the mid-1980s for more than $100 million, and some went to the Imperial Palace Auto Collection in Las Vegas.
Death and the Sale of Harrah’s
Bill Harrah died on June 30, 1978, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, during surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. He was 66. He is buried at Hailey Cemetery in Hailey, Idaho. His estate was valued at $138 million.
In February 1980, Holiday Inn bought Harrah’s for $300 million. The company later became Harrah’s Entertainment (1995) and was renamed Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2010. In 2020 Eldorado Resorts bought Caesars and took the Caesars Entertainment name, and the Harrah’s brand continues under it.
Personal Life
Bill Harrah was married seven times to six women: Thelma Batchelor (1940 to 1948), Scherry Teague (whom he married twice, between 1948 and 1969), singer Bobbie Gentry (1969 to 1970), Mary Burger (1970 to 1971), Roxana Carlson (1972 to 1973) and Verna Rae Harrison, whom he married in 1974 and who was his widow. With Scherry he adopted two sons, John and Tony.
Influence and Legacy
Bill Harrah helped create the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1955 and a stronger Nevada Gaming Commission in 1959. His focus on management, marketing and service shaped how casinos have been run ever since.
UNLV’s hospitality school was named the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration in 1989, after a $5 million gift from Verna Harrah. Today it is the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality.
For more casino pioneers, see our profile of Benny Binion and the rest of our gambling legends.