William F. Harrah William F. Harrah 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 Corporation. Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the son of an attorney and politician. From his early years, Harrah was a driven individual. When the car his father bought him was stolen and stripped he vowed to his sister that one day he would own a duplicate of every automobile the family had ever owned. Now, there is a William F. Harrah Automobile Museum in downtown Reno, Nevada. He
William F. Harrah "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, Bill 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 dominated gaming in Reno. As the locals expected, his