Such a lovely place
California Hotel and Casino: Hawaii’s Home Away From Home / It’s no secret that Hawaii people love going to Las Vegas, so much so that it’s often referred to as “the ninth island.” On a trip to the gambling mecca of America, it’s a given that while staying at or visiting the California Hotel and Casino, one can expect to be surrounded by locals. It’s even said that the only time old Hawaii friends see each other are at weddings, funerals and the California Hotel. But how did this come to be? And how do locals know that the Sam Boyd-owned hotel, and a few of his other properties, are the best places for locals to feel at home on the mainland?
Here with the origin story of Hawaii’s favorite vacation destination is California Hotel and Casino: Hawaii’s Home Away From Home written by University of Hawaii American Studies professor Dennis M. Ogawa and told mostly through quotes from former California Hotel executive John M. Blink.
The book is a love letter to businessman Sam Boyd, who got his start in the gambling trade working for Hilo’s Hisakichi Hisanaga of Palace Amusements. There he developed an affection toward the people of Hawaii. Once he opened the California Hotel in the dreggy downtown area of Las Vegas, he realized he needed a niche market, and who better than the local folks he came to know and love?
Of course, sentimentality aside, there were also business models that had some surprising results. In the early days of the California Hotel in the mid-’70s to the early-’80s, the average Las Vegas tourist spent approximately $300 or less during a two-and-a-half-day stay. On the other hand, Hawaii visitors spent $300 a day over a four-day trip. “A typical large group,” Blink says, “would arrive at the hotel around 10 or 11 o’clock at night, and the first thing many of them would do—and this being after being on a plane from Hawaii for over five hours—would be to hit the crap tables before they even put their luggage away.” All things considered, that makes sense. Most everyone here has, or knows, a grandma who will plunk herself down in front of a Blazing Seven slot machine and not leave that stool for the rest of the day.
The rest of the book chronicles how Boyd managed to build the establishment’s reputation as Hawaii’s home away from home. “The people who came would tell us that the place was nice and they liked the free meals, but they didn’t like the food,” says Blink. “They wanted rice…Give them the food they’re familiar with. Serve them rice with every meal…But the Hawaii people solved the problem. They brought in rice cookers and showed our cooks how to prepare rice. Then they gave us their rice cookers. Now there’s rice and the Hawaii guests are happy. Now they’ve got jook. They’ve got saimin.”
Interspersed throughout the history are fun trivia and nostalgic observances about local culture. “Probably the most popular giri was the Coors beer…‘You know we can’t get Coors beer in Hawaii. Big idea, Sam, if you guys would bring Coors beer over here.’ Well, you didn’t have to tell Sam twice…Sam went out to the Coors distributor in Las Vegas and paid him to fill up the belly of the Holoholo Club charter airplane going back to Hawaii. He filled up the entire thing with 150-something cases of Coors beer…With a rented truck, we began to personally deliver 150 cases of beer in the middle of summer to travel agents and contacts.” Now, the omiyage seems to be containers of handsoap from Bath & Body Works, but locals going crazy for beer still seems halfway plausible, no?
California Hotel and Casino: Hawaii’s Home Away From Home is a fast and entertaining read. Ogawa structures Boyd’s rise by using Blink’s voice and the careful editing gives the narrative a story-like structure. The book is a must-read for any local with any sort of love for Las Vegas.
Coinciding with the book’s release is an exhibit at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, featuring items from the hotel and paintings by Keiko Bonk. Exhibit runs through Fri 1/23. 2454 S. Beretania St., [jcch.com], 945-7633
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