South Shore Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is situated in the upper left, westernmost part of Nevada. The lake, renowned for its crystal blue clear water sits at 6,225 feet above sea level and is the largest alpine lake in North America. If you've never seen it, well, I feel sorry for you. It's awesome. And, as an added bonus to beautiful tan people along the beaches during the summer and some awesome skiing during the winter, there are casinos along the Nevada - California state line.

South Shore is about two hours from Sacramento, California along US Highway 50. The road is narrow, with plenty of twists and turns, but a great fresh-air trip into the mountains. At the state line, large hotel casinos wait for gamblers. Over the years there have been as many as 10 small clubs doing business with crazy names like Dopey Normans and Sky Harbor. Now, with California competition and economic pressure, just four offer hotels with casinos.

The State Line Country Club, run by Steve Pavlovich in the 1930's and 1940's was always the most popular and the most profitable. It became Harrah's Tahoe, still the lake's finest hotel. The food is great, the property has a pretty cool arcade for the kids downstairs, and you can travel to Harvey's across the street through an under-the-highway tunnel.

Harvey's has a full casino, restaurants like Cabo Wabo with dealers in bikini's right at the door, and a full arcade also. The casino features plenty of slots, table games, and favorites like Keno and poker. If you want a good no-limit $1/$2 blind no-limit game, this is the place.

Next door, the Horizon still offers a few slot machines, but the property is a far cry from its heyday as the Sahara Tahoe, which first opened in the early '60's and drew huge gambling crowds. Midweek you can actually book rooms there, and even during the summer you can find bargains like $69 a night, much lower than a stay at Harvey's or Harrah's.

Back across the highway on the mountain side, the Mont Bleu sits with over 400 rooms, a full casino, and plenty of restaurants. What started as the Park Cattle Company in the 1970's, became Caesar's for over 20 years. Since that time the property has been upgraded and established as the most trendy of the South Shore resorts. While Harrah's may be filled with a more sedate crowd, the Mont Bleu boasts entertainment like the Lake Tahoe Bodybuilding, Bikini, Figure & Fitness Championship, Jimmy Cliff, Matisyahu and Dirty Heads. If you don't know any of those names you can always stay at Harvey's. Enjoy.