Harvey's Lake Tahoe to become Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe

[Dan Druff]

Harvey's is one of the few Caesars properties currently being renovated. Caesars has generally gone into austerity mode regarding their existing properties, but Harvey's is the exception, with a $160m remodel on the way.

Some people reported seeing "Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino Formerly Harvey's" on the Caesars app, and didn't know what to make of it.

Some thought it was a glitch. I was perplexed because the "Caesars Republic" brand was quietly rolled out in March 2024, with the first and only hotel being Caesars Republic Scottsdale. This was a non-gambling property, and was Caesars' entry into the US non-gaming space.

Caesars Republic was to be the brand for all "luxury" non-gaming US hotels under the Caesars banner. The Scottsdale property was opened in conjunction with Hilton -- the first time the two companies have ever partnered.

Therefore, I was confused about Harvey's. Was this a mistake on the app? I couldn't find anything online announcing this change, and I couldn't picture Harvey's going non-gaming.

It turns out it wasn't a mistake or glitch. Indeed, Harvey's is being rebranded to Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe. I guess they are abandoning the non-gaming aspect of the Caesars Republic brand. They are attempting to renovate it into a high-end hotel.

The description on the official website claims, "Every amenity is more than an offering—it’s a statement. From rooftop lounges with skyline views to immersive wellness spaces and bold culinary experiences, everything has been thoughtfully designed to defy expectations. Forget predictable. This is where luxury meets edge, where the local scene is always at your fingertips, and where even downtime feels like an upgrade."

Harvey's went way back to 1944, originally opened by 39-year-old Harvey Gross. 19 years later, in 1963, it was converted to an 11-story high rise -- the first in Tahoe. A frustrated gambler who had lost over $1 million in Tahoe casinos planted a bomb there in August 1980, and it detonated, causing massive damage. Everyone had been cleared out by then, so nobody got hurt. The bomber, John Bridges, had attempted to extort $3 million as part of the bomb plot, and was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1996 while in prison.

An 18-story second tower was added in 1986. It was sold first to a company called Colony Capital in 1999, and then to Harrah's (now Caesars) two years later, for $625m. A tunnel was built between Harvey's and Harrah's, making it easier for guests to traverse between the two properties.

The rebranding won't officially take place until July 1, 2025.

[The Boz]

Color me confused on this one. Romulus and Remus Towers? The Mountain Tower has been a dump for years but the Tahoe Tower was decent including the balcony suites that have incredible views, above the tree lines. The casino has been boring for years and definitely needs an update, including bars that never open. The former Hard Rock space has been empty for a decade plus other than a small retail store being put in recently. The sports book is almost an afterthought, although huge compared to Harrahs. Bathrooms are ancient so again, it’s nice to see them getting updated.

I didn’t read anything about the Sage Room, which is my favorite steakhouse in all their casinos because it’s old school and not some celebrity chef spot. Unfortunately it being on the 19th floor it is almost an afterthought with Hells Kitchen and Vanderpump.

Overall I see Tahoe is a strange area to be the place to finally reinvest in a property. Maybe the Carano’s being from the area factored in to it? The days of people traveling to Tahoe from CA to gamble aren’t coming back so I see other properties of their that would be a better investment.

Could be worse, they could have decided to dump the cash into The Row is Reno.

[MDawg]

Harvey's has quietly improved itself structurally after being neglected for years. We have always preferred Harvey's to Harrah's Tahoe even though I typically would stay at the 16th floor "Bill Harrah suite" at Harrah's, which is a single story pretty large suite. The larger "S1" balcony suites at Harvey's especially when they included a steam room (all steam fixtures were disconnected and removed years ago) were great, especially with their views:



Harvey's is direct lake front, while Harrah's is across the street (Hwy 50) from the lake.

However, I wonder if structural improvements aside if Harvey's will ever return to its glory days. There is no more traditional room service at Harvey's, just express service via the Caesar's app where the food arrives in a bag and often cold because it comes from the hotel restaurants and the carriers take too long to pick it up. (Express service at Vegas hotels such as Venetian and Cosmopolitan doesn't come from the restaurants comes direct from the hotel room service kitchen, and typically arrives hot.)

There was a period too where it was impossible to get a glass in the Harvey's rooms or a ceramic mug (just paper cups). The paper cups in the rooms represented how Harvey's had gone downhill.

Harvey's still has the Sage Room and now also Vanderpump's Wolf, also a Hell's Kitchen.

There is no high limit action at Harvey's that is all across the street at Harrah's so in that respect Harvey's is non-gaming. It does have a small poker room, slots and low to mid end tables.

[DGenBen]

“Caesars has generally gone into austerity mode regarding their existing properties” is a bit of an understatement I would say.

They are holding most of their properties together with chewing gum & masking tape.

One of the only “value adds” you can find at Caesars properties is if your own home needs repairs no matter how badly, once you walk into 99% of Caesars properties your own home will feel like a palace and you’ll feel completely confident in putting off any expensive repairs for years and years to come.

[MDawg]

Location, location, location, and as such Harvey's remains the better property but - does this mean Harrah's Tahoe is going to be left to rot?

[DGenBen]

Location, location, location, and as such Harvey's remains the better property but - does this mean Harrah's Tahoe is going to be left to rot?

I’ve wondered the same thing myself.

I imagine they will keep holding it together with chewing gum and masking tape as long as they can but eventually even that won’t work anymore and they will have to either put some money into it or get rid of it.

If they’re putting all the money into Harvey’s can’t see them doing much with Harrahs.

Edit. Actually was curios and found this article it looks like they are going to do some upgrades to Harrahs too.

https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/ne...e-summer-2025/

[Dan Druff]

Place is a complete mess. I would not advise going there until July.

Construction will supposedly halt from July-September, then start again in October.

[DGenBen]

Actually Harvey’s has been so bad the past several years that anyone who could already tolerate it probably all the construction wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Another Caesars fail they can’t even get their arrows right.

Was there recently during the construction and one of their arrows pointing to the down escalator for the Harrahs tunnel was pointing to the wrong direction.

Looks like they might have fixed it in these photos but before the arrow for the down escalator for Harrahs was actually pointing to the up escalator.

[The Boz]

As Ben said, it’s been a mess for a while. Interesting to note they are stopping in July, as it is the Celebrity Golf Tournament. And it’s the only weekend sold out all summer as they are a major sponsoring host of the event.

I’m interested to see what they do with the Heavenly Bar that hasn’t been open in 15 years yet sits right on the floor by the entrance. The poker area and bar are an embarrassment but there is a reason to play VP there, if you know.

Other than one restroom in a corner you had to walk steps up or down to use them. I’m hoping for the best but their track record doesn’t have me optimistic it will be anything but new 85% slots and 6/5 VP when finished.

[MDawg]

Actually Harvey’s has been so bad the past several years that anyone who could already tolerate it probably all the construction wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Disagree. We stayed there last year ago over Fourth of July and the golf tournament and it had improved slightly from the year before. We were staying in their best suites dining in their best restaurants and my play was at reserved tables at Harrah’s but still the basic structure following renovations 2018 - 2020 was intact.

Harvey’s today compared to say 20 years ago is a sad comparison but by no means is the place “so bad.”

[DGenBen]

Actually Harvey’s has been so bad the past several years that anyone who could already tolerate it probably all the construction wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Disagree. We stayed there last year ago over Fourth of July and the golf tournament and it had improved slightly from the year before. We were staying in their best suites dining in their best restaurants and my play was at reserved tables at Harrah’s but still the basic structure following renovations 2018 - 2020 was intact.

Harvey’s today compared to say 20 years ago is a sad comparison but by no means is the place “so bad.”

You may had a different experience staying in their best suite, but my last stay there was in a crappy normal room. Elevator to room had masking tape all over the floor.

No one working the front desk, had to check in via kiosk which was fine as it worked, but if something went wrong might have been difficult to get fast help as no one working.

Cage closes early and kiosks don’t cash out vouchers over $1,000 so if you want to cash out a voucher over $1k have to walk over to Harrahs and do it at their cage.

Interestingly enough although The Row in Reno has all kiosks linked, Harrahs & Harveys do not so a pain in the ass if you have to cash out Titos and cage is closed you have to walk back and forth even for vouchers less than $1k if you have one from the other side.

Free play is not linked either so once you download it from the kiosk can only use it at the casino you downloaded it at. Which by the way you can only download free play in $1, $5, $10, $50, and $100 increments so you would think their offers would somewhat match these increments right? Ie $150 or $200 in free play? Nope they always give you an increment of something like $140, or $290 so you have to sit there reentering your pin several times to download your free play, (They have the old style card readers with the physical buttons and digital displays not the new touch screen ones.)

Also any win over $1,000 on a slot is a hand pay even for wins from $1,000 to $1,199. No taxes but a pain to wait for an attendant. Some machines lock up too and require a hand pay if you try to cash out over $1,000 of non taxable accumulated wins.

It’s almost as if Caesars tries to think of things that are annoying and non player friendly just to create hassles where none are necessary.

Incredibly dated & funky smelly & depressing place.

The food is great though. Hell’s kitchen some of the best food around.

If it’s a weeknight though have to eat early because everything closes and then meal options are very limited.

(Except sometimes you can get late night food at one of the bars which tastes absolutely horrible and shitty service from a hipster bartender with a handlebar mustache)

[MDawg]

Let's compare Harvey's now and Harvey's then (20+ years ago) to T.I. now versus when T.I. was a Wynn resort.

T.I. did renovate rooms during the pandemic, but not deeply. Over all the place has decided since Ruffin bought it in 2009, to devote itself to a lower class of clientele than Wynn was trying to attract. The Rolex store is long gone, there is only one high end restaurant Phil's Steak House (Buccaneer Bay Club long gone, Francesca's Italian restaurant gone). The menu at Phil's may look good and their steaks taste fine, but everything in there is frozen including the fish, nothing fresh.

In the rooms, I don't think room service is even 24 hours at T.I. any longer. Representative of the shift, no more feather pillows (all foam) at T.I. (then again - no more feather at Cosmo either, for about a year now), the high limit table game area isn't even open all day, mostly just from noon to around midnight or at best 2 AM daily, and their stated limits on Baccarat are a mere $5000. (Blackjack is $5000. which isn't bad).

But T.I. isn't planning on getting better and doesn't want to get better, at least not while Ruffin is in charge. They want to provide middle range service. None of my family or wife likes T.I. at all. I go there occasionally for nostalgia's sake, and put up friends in their suites or rooms occasionally because I don't have anything else to do with my T.I. comps.

T.I. is content to stay as it is - mid-level luxury.

Harvey's on the other hand, would like to cater to the higher end, but lost its luster over the years. At least it is trying to regain ground, is spending on the property.

You mention the masking tape on the floor by the Harvey's elevator - if you go up an elevator at T.I. these days the brass is worn down to black in some parts of the elevator, scuffed in many places, looking rather ragged. Been like that for years.

I assume that Harvey's plans to renovate its floors and elevators.

So that, over all, is the difference I think between a property that is well worn and isn't most likely ever coming back, and one that has hopes of regaining some of its past splendor.

And both T.I. and Harvey's do have one thing in common - location. The view from many of T.I.'s rooms (if they would just clean the windows) when looking straight down the Strip, is remarkable. I've stayed in their two bedroom penthouse many times and it has an incredible view down the Strip. The way that property was angled, someone (maybe Steve Weinberg himself) was definitely on the ball when they chose where to lay the foundation. (I can imagine someone spending the night in a sleeping bag before they poured, because that is what people in my family have done before building ocean front homes, spent multiple nights on the lots to decide exactly where and how to build.)

Jury may still be out, but at least there is some sort of case to be made for a Harvey's comeback. Someplace like T.I. I believe has nowhere left to go but either down - or at best - a horizontal shuffle barely holding on to at least some aspects of its past luxury.

I look at any hotel closely with the eye of a developer to see what could have been done better, always finding little faults in any suite we have stayed in, and while Harvey's might never regain all of what it lost, I think it could become a classy joint again.

[DGenBen]

Agree with you that it has potential if they do it right.

It and Harrahs there have been an embarrassment to their brand for a long time, although looking at their brand overall I don’t think they are capable of being embarrassed.

[Dan Druff]

Funny Harvey's story from 2007. Unrelated to the hotel itself but still amusing.

My friend had some comps at Harvey's and invited me to come up there with him and his family to go skiing and then he and I would gamble at night. I agreed and went, though I feared it was a bit awkward being the fifth wheel with his wife and two kids.

Anyway, turned out it wasn't that awkward because he spent most of the time with me. He put the kids in ski school (they were young), he and I skied during the day, and I'm not sure where his wife went. It's been 18 years so I don't remember that part.

On the first night we went to dinner and then afterwards he wanted to go gamble with me. His wife looked irritated and he said out loud, "What? I can't just leave Todd alone here. We're at a casino, of course it makes sense to gamble. I'll be back in a little bit."

She didn't say anything but I could tell she was pissed. Whatever. Not my problem. In reality I was fine if he left me alone, but I think he just preferred to hang out with me and gamble than be stuck in the room with his wife and kids. At the time I had no kids myself, and my then-girlfriend didn't come on this trip for whatever reason.

The next night his wife privately gave him a hard time, so he said I'd be on my own after dinner. I went to play poker. I was told about a "suitcase guy" who was carrying around $100k in a suitcase and claimed he wanted to play high stakes. Nobody knew his name. The highest game normally going in Harvey's was 2/5 NL Holdem. Turned out the suitcase guy was a then-unknown Dan Bilzerian, and this was the first known sighting of him in a live poker room. I told the story to the Washington Post in 2014, after they contacted me to ask what I knew about Bilzerian. In the article, Bilzerian acknowledged the story was true, and that this was likely his first appearance in live poker.


But back to my friend.

The rest of the trip was unremarkable, aside from noticing that his marriage didn't seem to be going too well. I think we were there 4 nights, of which two were spent with me, and two where he kept his wife company.

About a year later, he came over to my house and said he needed to talk to me about something serious. Two major elements of drama had simultaneously occurred in his life. First, he chunked off all the family's money sportsbetting, and his wife didn't yet know. However, at the same time he discovered she also had a secret. In 2008, text messages were still 10c each on most phone plans. A big box was dropped at his doorstep, and it turned out to be his cell phone bill! He opened it and was shocked to see an itemized list of 5700 text messages (only the times and dates, not the content) from his wife's phone, almost all of them to one number. This also increased the bill by $570! He asked her about it and she said it was a male co-worker and they were "just friends".

He asked me what to do. I told him that he needed to confront her further about the guy, but also come clean about blowing the family money. He did exactly that, and this made her so angry that she blurted out that, yes she'd been fucking her co-worker and had fallen in love with him.

This led to a very bitter divorce where they battled over what remained of the marital assets, such as their home equity and vehicles, as well as alimony and child support.

A key element to the divorce case was whether she knew about the problem gambling, or if he did it behind her back and essentially "stole" the family money to gamble. I was supposed to be called to testify about the Harvey's weekend. I was asked to state that she knew that he and I were going off to gamble at night there, so therefore his gambling couldn't have been a secret.

In truth, this shouldn't have mattered. It was whether she knew he was a PROBLEM gambler, not that he gambled 2 nights in Tahoe with his friend. But his attorney seemed to believe that my testimony would help him.

Something must have changed his attorney's mind, because I was eventually told that my testimony wasn't necessary. I'm not sure how the financial settlement ended up, but they were on very bitter terms for many years. He was furious about the cheating, and she was furious about him blowing all the money. In truth, both had a right to be angry at the other.

I came home from the trip not believing anything significant happened, but within a year I knew I had two interesting stories -- one about Bilzerian, the other about the eventual divorce.

[Dan Druff]

Also about that trip...

I had an ex from a long time before whom I hadn't seen in about 15 years. She lived in Reno and was going to see me next time I visited Tahoe. She was married and I was in a long term relationship, so we weren't meeting up for sex or romance. But we had become very close friends since the mid-90s, and it was weird not having seen her in person all that time.

100% I would have met up with her on that January 2007 Tahoe trip (where I was invited at the last minute), but there was one problem:

She was dead. She had passed away from an unexpected massive heart attack just 2 months prior, in her 30s.

I remember being on the Nevada side of Heavenly ski resort and looking down upon the towns of Minden and Gardnerville, from thousands of feet up. While Reno was a good 50 miles from there, it made me really depressed, as it reminded me that if I just got there 2 months earlier, I'd have been driving down the mountain to see her.

I paused up there while looking down, and my friend asked, "Why you stopping? Is something wrong?"

I replied, "No, just looking at the view and thinking about something. Let's go on."


Way too deep of a story for this forum. I apologize.

[The Boz]

Also about that trip...

I had an ex from a long time before whom I hadn't seen in about 15 years. She lived in Reno and was going to see me next time I visited Tahoe. She was married and I was in a long term relationship, so we weren't meeting up for sex or romance. But we had become very close friends since the mid-90s, and it was weird not having seen her in person all that time.

100% I would have met up with her on that January 2007 Tahoe trip (where I was invited at the last minute), but there was one problem:

She was dead. She had passed away from an unexpected massive heart attack just 2 months prior, in her 30s.

I remember being on the Nevada side of Heavenly ski resort and looking down upon the towns of Minden and Gardnerville, from thousands of feet up. While Reno was a good 50 miles from there, it made me really depressed, as it reminded me that if I just got there 2 months earlier, I'd have been driving down the mountain to see her.

I paused up there while looking down, and my friend asked, "Why you stopping? Is something wrong?"

I replied, "No, just looking at the view and thinking about something. Let's go on."


Way too deep of a story for this forum. I apologize.

No need to, it’s the stuff this forum needs. Beats the hell out of the MD/KJ daily nonsense.

And yes, it’s a hell of a view. My 2nd home is up there on Kingsbury and I’m fortunate enough to be able to see the lake from the front and the valley from the back. It’s beautiful watching the sun come up in the morning there.

I travel down to Gardenville and Minden for meals and shopping a couple times a trip. Genoa is also fun with the oldest bar in Nevada. Quaint little place with mostly locals with a few tourists.

[Don Perignom]

you have to sit there reentering your pin several times to download your free play

This may not be relevant (or accurate), but I thought there was one button (7?) for increments, and another button (9?) for a full dump of your balance.

[DGenBen]

you have to sit there reentering your pin several times to download your free play

This may not be relevant (or accurate), but I thought there was one button (7?) for increments, and another button (9?) for a full dump of your balance.

Thank you for the information!

You are right that option 7 is for increments. I hadn’t seen 9 listed as an option for a full dump of the freeplay balance but I will try that next time I am there.

[pinchingyourballs]

Whew, that is one helluva carpet design. Rainbow gradient floral silhouettes, twig and berries, geometric background pattern. Whoever chose it really knows their stuff. I would buy its designer a beer, but their drink of choice is probably something like absinthe in an empty milk carton that isn't fully rinsed out.

[MDawg]

I posted about Caesars' Republic Tahoe

https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gamb...06/#post960060

which is definitely the nicest casino resort in Tahoe now.