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.

Early years and education

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 studied mechanical engineering at UCLA where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He was forced to drop out when the Great Depression of the late 1920s hit and soon began work at various family businesses including a pool hall, a hot dog stand, shooting gallery and a bingo-style operation called the "Reno Game".

The move to gaming

For quite some time, bingo was considered illegal in California, but games of skill which were often based on bingo were legal. The Reno or 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.