The Rise and Fall of America’s Original Gambling Capital: Reno, Nevada
Reno succeeded because it possessed unique legal and geographic advantages. It declined when those advantages disappeared. Reno has not found replacements for those advantages. What will come next?
On a single Labor Day weekend in 1952, more than 44,000 people walked through the doors of Harold’s Club in downtown Reno. One casino. One weekend.
At the time, Virginia Street was lined with casinos, restaurants, hotels, neon signs, and crowds of visitors from across the country.
Long before the Las Vegas Strip became famous, Reno built an economy around legal gambling, fast divorces, and its strategic location on the doorstep of California.
For much of the twentieth century, those advantages made the city one of the most successful tourist destinations in the American West.
This article follows the story in this video about the history of Reno. Click on the image to view the video on YouTube.
The Founding: A Bridge Across the Truckee
When settlers and emigrants began crossing the region in the nineteenth century on their way to California, they encountered the Truckee River. In 1860, Charles Fuller built a wooden toll bridge along with a tavern and inn. Later, Fuller sold to Myron Lake, who recognized the location’s strategic importance.
The route now connected California with the silver mines of the Comstock Lode, and every wagon carrying supplies needed to cross his bridge. Lake expanded the operation, built a hotel and businesses, and accumulated property holdings throughout the Truckee Meadows.
In 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad established a depot and railroad officials auctioned off lots around it, laying the foundation for a permanent town. For several decades, Reno remained a modest transportation and commercial center, but everything changed around the turn of the twentieth century.
The Rise: Divorce and Gambling
The Divorce Industry
While most states made divorce difficult, Nevada established relatively liberal divorce rules. Wealthy men and women from across America traveled to Reno to establish residency and legally end their marriages.
The city became famous as the “divorce capital of America.” Visitors stayed in hotels, hired attorneys, ate in restaurants, shopped downtown, and spent weeks waiting for residency requirements to be satisfied. More than 30,000 divorces were granted.
The Virginia Street Bridge became the symbolic “bridge of sighs,” where divorcees threw wedding rings into the Truckee, which was confirmed in 1976 when treasure hunters found 400+ rings.
Gambling Legalization
Then came the Great Depression. Nevada’s economy suffered. Mining revenues declined. Banking failures spread. In 1931, state lawmakers took a dramatic step. They legalized casino gambling.
Visitors could arrive in Reno, establish residency, obtain a divorce, gamble legally, enjoy entertainment, and spend money throughout the local economy. No other city in America offered the same combination. Reno had found its niche.
Reno’s “City in Crisis” Video: How Incentives, Demolitions, and Sweeps Turned into a Human Disaster
The Golden Age: When Reno Ruled
Virginia Street at Its Peak
At mid-century, Virginia Street was electric. Neon signs illuminated the night. Crowds packed the sidewalks. Visitors arrived by automobile, train, and bus.
Casinos, department stores, restaurants, bars, jewelers, and hotels lined the corridor. Reno’s population was relatively small, but its influence far exceeded its size.
For Northern California residents, Reno was the weekend destination. For divorce seekers, it was the place where marriages ended. For gamblers, it was paradise.
Harold’s Club
The most famous symbol of the gambling era was Harold’s Club. Founded in 1935 by Harold Smith and promoted by his father, Raymond “Pappy” Smith, Harold’s Club began with only a few gaming devices.
Pappy Smith’s genius was marketing. The famous “Harold’s Club or Bust” advertising campaign spread across the country. Covered wagon imagery appeared on thousands of billboards and helped transform Reno into a nationally recognized destination.
Harold’s Club cultivated a friendly atmosphere. Customers received personal attention. Promotions were generous. Visitors returned year after year. By the 1950s, Harold’s Club had become one of the most famous casinos in the world.
Bill Harrah and Corporate Gaming
Bill Harrah began modestly before developing Harrah’s into one of the most respected casino operations in America. Harrah emphasized professionalism. Clean facilities. Precise accounting. High service standards.
Harrah gradually acquired neighboring properties and expanded his footprint. He pioneered innovations that eventually transformed casino gaming into a modern corporate industry.
Harrah’s Inc. became the first gaming company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company that began in Reno eventually grew into a global gaming powerhouse.
The Mapes Hotel
The Mapes Hotel opened in 1947, and the twelve-story Mapes became the tallest building in Nevada.
It combined hotel rooms, casino gaming, dining, and entertainment under one roof. Many historians regard it as one of the earliest true casino-resort properties in America.
Celebrities stayed there. Marilyn Monroe visited. Clark Gable walked its halls. The Sky Room on the upper floor became one of the most celebrated venues in Nevada.
For many residents, the Mapes symbolized the moment Reno became a world-class destination.
The Decline: When the Advantages Disappeared
The End of the Divorce Monopoly
Reno’s divorce industry depended on one critical advantage. Other states made divorce difficult. That changed in the 1960s and 1970s.
As no-fault divorce laws spread across America, there was no longer a need to travel to Nevada. The divorce tourists stopped coming. The dude ranches closed.
Hotels built around divorce clientele lost their purpose. One of Reno’s foundational industries disappeared.
Las Vegas Takes the Crown
Meanwhile, Las Vegas was growing rapidly. Southern Nevada offered advantages Reno could not match:
WWII troop trains on the way to Long Beach
More land and Better weather
Easy access from Southern California
Resort development along the strip
The center of Nevada’s gaming industry shifted south. Political power followed. Financial power followed. Tourism followed. Reno started to decline.
Tribal Gaming
Another major challenge emerged after federal policies enabled the expansion of tribal gaming. Casinos opened throughout Northern California.
For decades, Reno’s greatest geographic advantage had been proximity to California. Suddenly, California gamblers no longer needed to drive over the Sierra Nevada.
The customer base that casinos had spent decades cultivating had alternatives closer to home. Another one of Reno’s important advantages vanished.
Present Day: An Unfinished Story
Economic Diversity
The city continues to gain population as people retire from California.
Technology firms, logistics companies, manufacturing, education, healthcare, and data centers all contribute to economic growth.
Reno is looking more like a place for retirement, warehouse jobs, and data centers.
Suburbanization
Population growth continued, but the growth occurred outside downtown.
New shopping centers, suburban neighborhoods, and resort properties attracted activity away from Virginia Street.
People spent less time downtown, except for special events such as Hot August Nights.
Adaptive Reuse
Not everything has been lost. Some historic structures have found new purposes. The Riverside Hotel survives as artist lofts.
Former gaming properties have been converted into housing and mixed-use developments.
Adaptive reuse has preserved portions of Reno’s architectural heritage even as the original uses disappeared.
What People Miss Most
People recall tourists making bus trips from California, where casinos provided coupons, meals, and gambling credits.
They remembered packed sidewalks, crowded casino floors, one-pound steak dinners, and weekends spent at Harold’s Club.
Others remembered the Mapes Hotel, Harrah’s massive automobile collection, cruising Virginia Street, and a downtown that felt alive at all hours.
People remember a city so crowded that walking through downtown during summer weekends was difficult.
People wonder whether downtown will ever replace what it lost. Can downtown Reno become vibrant again? If so, what will drive that revival? That challenge remains unresolved.
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Downtown can thrive but only if our leaders give up it's reliance on casinos and transition to taking advantage of our biggest asset which is the great outdoors. In addition, I believe the City needs to team with UNR and utilize it's knowledge base which is so disparately lacking in City Hall.
Thank you for this! Harold's Club is close to my heart! ❤️