Harrah's Lake Tahoe is a hotel and casino in Stateline, Nevada. Harrah's is branded with the name of its former owner and operator William F. Harrah. It is now owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The 18-story tower and 512 rooms, plus casino make it one of the largest resorts at South Lake Tahoe. History Harrah's was first established in Lake Tahoe when William F. Harrah purchased George's Gateway Club in January 1955, for $500,000. Harrah’s Lake Club opened on June 20, 1955, which it is now Harveys Lake Tahoe. In 1956, Harrah’s Lake Club was sold for $5.25 million in cash to Harvey Gross, which at the time was the most expensive casino purchase ever. In 1958, Bill Harrah acquired an interest in the Stateline Country Club and Nevada Club across the street (Harrah's current location) and opened Harrah's Stateline Club. Also in 1956, a new radio station, KOWL, had its original radio studio inside the Harrah's Stateline Club. They were located on the upper floor. The station's transmitter and broadcast tower were roughly two miles south of the casino in South Lake Tahoe, California. The South Shore Room opened in 1959, at a cost of $3.5 million. This 750-seat showroom, whose opening act was comedian Red Skelton, made entertainment a priority at Harrah's. In 1962, Harrah's interiors were used for the Curtis Enterprises and Universal-International Pictures film 40 Pounds of Trouble, starring Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette and Phil Silvers. The comedy film was about a gambler who dies and leaves his daughter in the hands of the casino's manager. The film had its premiere on January 19, 1963 at Harrah's South Shore Room, which Curtis and his wife Christine Kaufmann attended. In 1963, Barry Keenan, Joseph Amsler and John Irwin abducted Frank Sinatra Jr., the 19-year-old son of singer Frank Sinatra, after his performance at the South Shore Room opening for George Jessel. Portions of the Bette Midler film Jinxed! were shot on location at Harrah's in the summer of 1981 for the summer 1982 release of the film. Other locations used in the film were Harrah's in Reno, and the Harrah's Auto Museum, also in Reno. Harrah had been planning to build a hotel at Lake Tahoe for many years, but had been hindered by costs. However, in 1971, when Harrah's went public, he finally had the finances available to build his dream hotel.