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“The Cal” California Hotel and Casino | America 250 Nevada
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The California Club, known as "The Cal", during the Helldorado Days parade celebrating the city's Western heritage in downtown Las Vegas, circa 1962.
Courtesy of the Clark County Museum
“The Cal” California Hotel and Casino
12 E Ogden Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89101
Opened 1975
In 1974, father-and-son team Sam and Bill Boyd took a chance by opening “The California” Hotel a block off Fremont Street. After a failed attempt to market to Californians, the Boyd duo began to market to the Hawaiian population. Known as "The Cal", the hotel evolved into a cultural sanctuary for Hawaiian travelers visiting Las Vegas.
The hotel incorporated Hawaiian food, language, and hospitality traditions, with Sam Boyd even flying in food preparers from Hawaii to teach chefs how to prepare authentic rice for guests. “The Cal” was instrumental in Las Vegas eventually becoming known as the “9th Island", resulting in a blossoming cultural and economic relationship between Clark County and Hawaii that is still seen today.
People:
- Sam Boyd (1910-1993) and Bill Boyd (1931-)
- The Boyd Family has been an important part of Las Vegas since 1941. They helped build the city's casino industry, with Sam Boyd investing in early casinos and his son, Bill Boyd, later founding Boyd Gaming. Beyond gaming, the Boyd family has supported the Las Vegas community through donations to education, sports, and local events. Their contributions helped create Sam Boyd Stadium and the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV.
Learn More:
- https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/how-las-vegas-became-9th-island-hawaiians-and-california-hotel#:~:text=Editor's%20Note:,multiple%20eateries%20offering%20Hawaiian%20favorites
- https://knpr.org/show/nevada-yesterdays/2025-02-01/boyd-gaming-and-the-cal-hit-50-years-in-las-vegas
- https://www.snshf.com/hall-of-famers/-the-boyd-family
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The cultural connection created by the California Hotel and Casino helped create Las Vegas' “9th Island” identity.
For questions or comments, please reach out to the Clark County Museum at ccmuseum@clarkcountynv.gov.