Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall

Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall
Hotel Nevada, seen from Aultman Street.
Location	Ely, Nevada
Address	501 Aultman Street
Opening date	July 15, 1929
Number of rooms	67
Total gaming space	2,929 sq ft (272.1 m2)
Casino type	Land-based
Owner	Paul Kellogg Gaughan Gaming
Architect	H.L. Stevens & Company
Renovated in	1986–1987 1994–1998 2014
Coordinates	39°14′53″N 114°53′34″W / 39.248055°N 114.892815°W / 39.248055; -114.892815Coordinates: 39°14′53″N 114°53′34″W / 39.248055°N 114.892815°W / 39.248055; -114.892815
Website	www.hotelnevada.com

Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall, also known as the Historic Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall, is a hotel and casino located at 501 Aultman Street in Ely, Nevada.^[1]

The Hotel Nevada opened in 1929, and was the tallest building in the state until 1935. Many celebrities and politicians have stayed at the hotel since it opened. The hotel-casino has changed ownership numerous times during its history, and was closed temporarily in 1986, because of a local economic downturn. The Hotel Nevada was sold to Bert Woywood and Paul Kellogg in February 1994. After 20 years, Woywood sold his ownership stake to Gaughan Gaming in February 2014.

History

In 1926, Earl Ray "E. R." Miller, an East Ely businessman who was searching for markets for his cement product, chose to promote the construction of a large hotel in Ely. With financial backing from various local groups and citizens, the Hotel Nevada Realty Company, Incorporated was formed. Joseph "Candy Joe" Fouilleul, an officer of Hotel Nevada Realty Company, operated Joe's Candy Kitchen on the property that was desired for the new hotel, at the corner of Aultman Street and Fifth Street. Fouilleul was ultimately persuaded to move his business in exchange for a high position on the board of the new company.^[2]

The H.L. Stevens & Company of San Francisco was hired to design the hotel. Plans for the six-story hotel included at least 60 rooms, a restaurant, a banquet room, a club room, a barber shop, and large storage areas. A picture of the proposed hotel appeared on the front cover of Hotel World magazine in September 1927. Foundation work was underway as of June 1928. During construction, approximately four feet of cement was poured between each floor of the hotel.^[2]

The Hotel Nevada celebrated its grand opening on July 15, 1929, with 167 guests in attendance. Senator Tasker Oddie and Congressman Sam Arentz were the guest speakers at the event.^[2] The six-story hotel was the tallest building in the state until the 1935 opening of the El Cortez Hotel in Reno, Nevada.^[3] The hotel was also the state's first fire-proof building,^[2] and featured the state's first elevator.^[4]

The Hotel Nevada covertly offered Bathtub gin and moonshine to its customers, as Prohibition in the United States was still in effect. The Hotel Nevada also secretly provided its guests with gambling, which was made illegal in Nevada in 1910. After the Great Depression began in October 1929, the hotel was forced to lease commercial space to a drug store and a bank to maintain profits and stay open. When gambling was once again legalized in Nevada in 1931, the owners immediately added slot machines and blackjack tables.^[2][5]

In April 1932,^[6] a group headed by Winfield Scott "Ole" Elliott (1870–1938), of Goldfield, Nevada,^[2] purchased the Hotel Nevada.^[6] Elliott and his wife, Mae (died 1941), operated the hotel until their deaths.^[2] In August 1955,^[7] it was announced that Francis Everett "Bud" Simpson (1904–1968),^[2] a well-known local businessman, would purchase Hotel Nevada for more than $500,000. At that time, Hotel Nevada was considered one of the best-known hotels in the state. Simpson planned to convert the hotel's ground floor into a casino.^[7]

Simpson purchased the Hotel Nevada in 1956, and managed it with his wife, Arlene. Norm Goeringer, Dick Piper and Lee Warren bought the hotel from Simpson in 1963, although the trio later split as partners, with Goeringer ultimately owning the hotel. In 1971, Goeringer sold the hotel to Gary and Connie Everhart, who later divorced and lost the hotel back to Goeringer in 1974. Goeringer resold the hotel to David Smith, Dennis Krieger and Terrance Goggil, who all lived in Los Angeles, California. The three men formed the White Pine Company.^[2]

In 1978, Kennecott Minerals Company closed its copper mine in nearby Ruth, Nevada, which caused a severe economic depression for Ely that endured for years.^[2][8] In 1981, Norm Goeringer and his wife, Mary, sold a deed of trust on the hotel to the White Pine Company.^[9] In an attempt to solve its financial problems, White Pine Company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in a Reno bankruptcy court in 1983.^[10] In summer 1986, Goeringer filed for foreclosure on the deed after White Pine Company defaulted on its payments.^[9][11]

Because of ongoing financial difficulties, Hotel Nevada closed at approximately 2:00 p.m. on September 1, 1986,^[10] resulting in the layoffs of approximately 65 people.^[8] The closure was not authorized by bankruptcy court officials,^[10] resulting in the building's status changing to a Chapter 7 liquidation under federal bankruptcy laws. Approximately 65 slot machines and other items were removed from the property and sold in Las Vegas, Nevada. That month, it was expected that ownership would be reverted to the Goeringers, although Norm Goeringer said the building was no longer operational after the liquidation; Goeringer believed Hotel Nevada could have reopened sooner had the sale not occurred.^[9]

An auction of the building was scheduled, with a minimum bid of just over $1.1 million, including $147,100 in equipment and furniture. The Goeringers were declared the owners of Hotel Nevada in November 1986, after no other bidders appeared at the auction. Norm Goeringer planned a tentative New Year's Eve re-opening date, and had workmen refurbishing the building's interior to bring it up to state, fire, and safety standards, at a cost of at least $300,000.^[11]

By February 1987, the building's interior had been gutted for the installation of a fire sprinkler system and fire alarms. New furniture was also planned for inclusion to help modernize the building. Hotel Nevada, at that time, was expected to reopen later that spring, with 60 employees.^[12] The Goeringers later operated the hotel until their divorce in 1989. Mary Goeringer received the hotel as part of the divorce settlement, and sold it in February 1994, to Bert Woywood and Paul Kellogg, who both lived in Las Vegas, Nevada. Woywood had been a frequent visitor to Ely since the 1970s, and would always stay at the Hotel Nevada.^[2]

Woywood spent the next four years renovating the building,^[3] to restore its historical aspect.^[2] By September 1998, 40 of the hotel's 65 rooms had been renovated.^[3] The deluxe rooms were themed and dedicated to a celebrity guest who had stayed in each room.^[13] Woywood had doubled the casino from 80 slot machines to 150, and also doubled the hotel's parking and was in the process of creating a rear entrance for the building. Woywood had built up the hotel's occupancy rate to nearly 100 percent during the summer season, compared to approximately 30 percent four years earlier. Occupancy rates for the winter season were also raised significantly, to 50 percent.^[3] By 2001, a new $100,000 elevator had been installed.^[14]

Hotel Nevada's Postal Palace in 2014.

Ely's downtown post office, a block west of Hotel Nevada,^[15] was closed in 2004, and after several months was sold to the hotel.^[16] By June 2007,^[15] the post office had been reopened as the Hotel Nevada Postal Palace Convention Center,^[17] a small convention facility.^[16] Scenes for the 2008 film, My Blueberry Nights, were shot at Hotel Nevada.^[18]

In February 2014, Gaughan Gaming and its CEO, John Gaughan, purchased Woywood's 50 percent stake of the hotel, which had 67 rooms at that point. ^[19][20] Gaughan's young daughter was friends with Kellogg's daughter; through that relationship, Gaughan learned that Woywood wanted to sell his ownership of the hotel.^[21] Upon entering the Hotel Nevada, John Gaughan was reminded of the El Cortez hotel and casino – owned by his grandfather, Jackie Gaughan – in Downtown Las Vegas. After Gaughan's acquisition, the building's carpets were replaced and the casino's 185 slot machines were upgraded with new technology.^[21]

John Gaughan, the son of South Point casino owner Michael Gaughan,^[22] was provided unused casino equipment and furniture from the South Point for use in the Hotel Nevada.^[21] A sportsbook opened at the casino on October 23, 2014,^[23] replacing the casino's William Hill betting machine. It was the first live betting sportsbook to be introduced in Ely.^[24] Within three weeks, the sportsbook was deemed a success.^[25] The Hotel Nevada is the only casino in Ely to provide table game gambling,^[26] with three blackjack tables and a poker table.^[22] As of 2015, the casino is 2,929 sq ft (272.1 m²), including the 50 sq ft (4.6 m²) sportsbook.^[27] Sealed underground tunnels beneath the hotel are rumored by local residents to be haunted.^[28]

Celebrity guests, memorabilia, and murals

Notable Hotel Nevada guests include Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper, Veronica Cooper, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Ray Milland, Hoot Gibson, Mickey Rooney, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Senator Harry Reid,^[3] Charlie Rich,^[29] Stephen King,^[2][14] and Evel Knievel.^[2] Celebrities such as Hank Thompson, Vikki Carr, Wanda Jackson, and The Ink Spots have entertained at the hotel,^[2] as well as Wayne Newton.^[2][3]

Photos of the hotel's famous visitors were displayed on walls throughout the building,^[2] while the casino's walls featured 200 photographs of the White Pine County area and a collection of old guns.^[3] Other various memorabilia was featured throughout the building,^[13][30] including taxidermy animals.^[31] A slab of the Prometheus tree was once on display in the hotel's lobby,^[32] as well as other antiques.^[1] Other memorabilia included wagon wheel chandeliers, motorcycles, Roy Rogers memorabilia, miniature mechanized dioramas,^[13] and a life-sized hand-carved statue of actor John Wayne.^[30] Woywood, who gathered all the memorabilia and unique furnishings, said the building was "like a museum with no theme."^[13]

The hotel's donkey mural.

In the 1930s, a large mural of a donkey dressed as a cowboy was painted on the hotel's east exterior wall.^[5][33][34] It was the largest mural in the entire state at the time.^[5] By 1997, the donkey mural had been restored by Stephanie Bruegeman, an art teacher who also worked at Hotel Nevada as a secretary.^[2] Each hotel hallway, as well as the casino floor, was painted with a mural by local artist Larry Bute, who spent a week working on each floor.^[13] On the building's exterior, Bute painted murals of 19th century cowboys in a saloon.^[30]

References

External links

• Official website