William Fisk Harrah (September 2, 1911 – June 30, 1978) was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment. Early years and education Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the son of attorney and politician John Harrah. Harrah studied mechanical engineering at UCLA where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Harrah was forced to drop out because the Great Depression. He worked at various family businesses including a pool hall, a hot dog stand, a shooting gallery, and a bingo-style operation called the "Circle" or "Reno Game." Gaming beginnings Bingo was illegal in California, but games of skill based on bingo were legal. The Reno Game (later called the Circle Game) involved rolling a ball down a board where it would register a card suit and number. If one of the 33 players seated in a circle around the board matched a four-card sequence, he or she won, unless they were a shill and, working for the house. (The use of shills to fill the games upset players, but John Harrah felt they were necessary.) The Reno Game was shut down several times by local authorities, but each time, lawyer John Harrah would get his permit reinstated. Still, the cost of doing business was high. When twenty-year-old Bill told his father he should get rid of the shills and put more money into the business, John challenged him to run the operation by himself. Bill said, "Dad, that would suit me just fine," and paid his father $500 for the business. He then headed down to the pier and fired the shills. In the course of just three years Harrah made the $100-a-week game into a $25,000 per year business. However, Harrah grew tired of fighting the politicians and wanted to expand his operations into Reno. On October 29, 1937, he opened his first club at 124 North Center Street, called Harrah's Club Bingo. The location was two blocks from the Bank Club and Palace Club that had dominated gaming in Reno. Building the business As the locals expected, his tiny Tango bingo parlor closed up fast, lasting only until November the 15th. In July 1938 Harrah opened another bingo parlor, this time closer to the action, called Harrah's Plaza Tango. Virgil Smith was the main financier and a partner in the operation, and also in the