If the Cal Neva was Sinatra and steak and lobster, the Biltmore was Phyllis Diller and scrambled eggs.
The sign to the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge and Casino welcomed visitors to the Nevada side of North Lake Tahoe for generations. The legendary property is set for demolition on May 1.The front door to the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge and Casino didn’t budge. I smashed my face up against it to get a better look inside and couldn’t make out much through the tinted glass. What I could see didn’t look promising.
She took a drag. “I wouldn’t say that,” she said as smoke flared out of her nostrils. I ducked in the door as it began to close behind me.Stepping into my beloved Bilty, as regulars call it, was more depressing than I’d prepared for prior to my simple farewell. It was an open casket for me and all those who stopped by for a final viewing, with reminders of what it once was everywhere.
Here and there, weary slot players would dutifully push the required buttons to keep it going, if for a few minutes longer. The Bilty was never the most glam place, never the go-to spot with the big-name celebs or known for luring in deep-pocketed guests with recently redone rooms. By design, it was a stopover that families could afford to visit to see a little bit of Lake Tahoe. Nobody ever got touched up too much at the tables, and everyone left pretty happy, or at least a little buzzed and definitely full — for not much money.
Nevada City resident Fred Anderson decided to play slots for a bit at the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge and Casino earlier this week one final time. The beloved 76-year-old property on the Nevada side of North Lake Tahoe is set for a date with the wrecking ball on May 1.I knew today’s Biltmore wasn’t going to be anything like the Bilty I’d known and loved. But this.