Before the Las Vegas Strip ruled the gambling world, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. helped make the Cal Neva Lodge one of Nevada's coolest casinos in the early 1960s.  We have been here many times, but today we came for the tour.

The Cal Neva is Nevada's first legal casino. The present resort was built in 1937, when a fire destroyed the original lodge that had opened in 1926. Before Sinatra's tenure, Judy Garland first performed at the lodge in 1935 at the age of 13, when she was discovered.

Before Frank Sinatra bought into the Lodge, there was a succession of owners including serious gamblers, with names like "Pretty Boy," "Bones," and "Baby Face", during the 1940s and 1950s and is the only resort located in two states (convenient for avoiding prohibition laws, etc).

As you can imagine, this place holds incredible secrets.  I have always wanted to take this tour and what better way to end a trip to Tahoe?

Astutely aware of the personal privacy that many performers and socialites crave, Sinatra ordered a secret tunnel built beneath the Lodge so certain guests could travel between the showroom and the bungalows behind the hotel without being seen. Sinatra and other celebrities frequently used the secret underground passageway to avoid paparazzi and autograph hunters. Lined with brick walls and carpeted, the tunnel ran beneath the kitchen, casino and Circle Bar. Entrances to the tunnel were located at Sinatra's office, in the closet of his small lake view cabin and at his private heliport atop the resort's showroom.

During the Frank Sinatra ownership years of 1960 to 1963, along with his associates "Wingy" and "Skinny," Sinatra built the famous Celebrity Showroom and entertained celebrities from around the world. History says Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Juliet Prowse, and Marilyn Monroe (among others) "sang for their suppers" in the Celebrity Showroom and the Indian Room while politicians and Hollywood stars played at the tables and in the private cottages overlooking Lake Tahoe.

Where else could swim from state to state, and back again, without spilling your drink?  The pool is now empty and a sad commentary of the condition of this once grand place.

This is one of the last photos ever taken of Marilyn Monroe, a frequent guest. There are numerous rumors concerning how she spent her time at the Cal-Neva and the men she entertained there. One that I believe is the story that she experienced a drug overdose poisoning in her cabin (#3) one week before her death in Westwood.

History can be found everywhere and this side tour was exceptional.  It is one of an era that will soon be lost.  The Cal Neva has sold and its glory days are long gone.  Although it's unlikely that the Lady of the Lake will ever host that many famous performers and celebrities again, there exists a glimmer of the casino's heyday and there will never be a way to erase its historic legacy.