In July 1955, Abe Miller – the property's longtime operator and the son of John F. Miller – was approved for plans to lease the Sal Sagev's ground floor to a 23-man group, which would sublease the floor for $25,000 per month to eight Italian-American men, nearly all of them from Oakland, California. The eight men planned to open the Golden Gate casino on the ground floor of the Sal Sagev. Renovations on the new casino were underway that month and were being financed by the 23-man group, with an estimated cost of $330,000. Abe Miller was to receive $2,300 per month, as well as five percent of the gambling profits. The Golden Gate casino, named after the Golden Gate Bridge, opened on the ground floor later in 1955, while the hotel retained the Sal Sagev name. Italo Ghelfi, one of the eight partners, operated the casino for nearly 40 years.