Cal Neva Resort Sold to Investors

LAKE TAHOE—Tired of dealing with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, long-time Cal Neva Resort owner Chuck Bluth sold his hotel and casino to private investors this week. Bluth, who owned the Crystal Bay casino for 20 years, sold the property to a newly formed company called Namcal for $30 million. Bluth, who has had a time-share project in the works for the past six years, said he was fed up dealing with TRPA delays on the project. Singlaub said TRPAs mission of keeping the basin a beautiful place puts money in the pockets of people who own hotels here. Bluth bought the Cal Neva Resort in 1985. The famous resort that had once been under the ownership of Frank Sinatra and served as a haven for celebrities like the Rat Pack and Marilyn Monroe had fallen on hard times and been out of business for three years. The Cal Neva Resort donated generously to the community during Bluths ownership. The resort has donated the Frank Sinatra Showroom to non-profit groups such as Arts for the Schools at reduced rates. The room, which rents for $750 to $1,000 a night, was used for one to two performances a month by Arts for the Schools during the school year. Bluth said the new owners plan to continue the same generosity. Bluth will continue to run the casino for the next four months before he turns it over to casino manager Larry Wolf of the Casino Fandango in Carson City. Wolf will lease the casino from the new owners, Bluth said. Bluth said he will continue to live in the Lake Tahoe Basin, a place he and his wife have called home for more than 20 years. He has no plans to give up on his development pursuits outside the basin.