Kings Inn Reno Hotel Casino $1 One Dollar Gaming Token Allan Bergendahl’s Nevada for Sale

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Kings Inn Reno Hotel Casino $1 One Dollar Gaming Token Allan Bergendahl’s Nevada For Sale

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Kings Inn Reno Hotel Casino $1 One Dollar Gaming Token Allan Bergendahl’s Nevada:
$16.02

Kings Inn Reno Hotel Casino $1 One Dollar Gaming Token Allan Bergendahl’s Nevada.

3rd Street Flats is a mixed-use development project located in downtown Reno, Nevada. It includes 94 apartment units, retail space, and a restaurant. It previously operated as Kings Inn, a hotel and casino. The hotel opened in September 1974, and the casino opened the next year. The casino closed in 1982, following financial issues, and the hotel closed on July 12, 1986, because of fire code violations. Although there were plans to reopen the building, it ultimately sat vacant for the next three decades.

Early years

The Kings Inn was owned initially by three Reno businessmen: retired colonel Matthew Chotas, Joseph Fischer, and Bob Scoggin. The designer and building consultant was Ed Kenney and Associates. Excavation was underway in September 1973, after approximately a year of planning. The hotel was topped off on March 29, 1974. Four months later, California businessman Gust Mazoros filed a lawsuit against the owners, stating that he was owed $275,000 for helping to finance the project.

The Kings Inn was expected to open in August 1974, but construction was delayed for a month due to local trade union strikes. In September 1974, Allan Bergendahl, a California developer, became the majority owner of the Kings Inn. Chotas, Scoggin and Fischer retained a small interest. Bergendahl was the president of GMFC Inc., located in Downey, California. He had been interested in owning a hotel-casino in Reno since 1968.

Part of the hotel opened in early September 1974, and the remainder was finished at the end of the month. The restaurant was expected to be opened several weeks later, while the casino would take several months to finish. The seven-story Kings Inn hotel was part of the Best Western chain. It had 168 rooms, two floors of underground parking, and a third-floor pool for guests. It also had a 24-hour restaurant known as King Joe's, the Circle Bar, the King's Lounge, and live singing entertainment. Bergendahl applied for a gaming license to operate 150 slot machines and 12 table games. He received state approval in August 1975, and opened the casino that month. The casino lost $100 on its first night of operation.

Marshall P. Davis, a former minority owner of the Kings Inn, sued Bergendahl and the original trio of owners in 1976, for more than $40,000. Davis alleged that the trio, who were his business partners, had sold the Kings Inn without his approval and without compensating his interest in the property. In 1977, representatives from the NAACP joined a picketing at the Kings Inn, which had recently been accused of harassing black customers. In 1980, two lenders sued the Kings Inn for failure to make lease payments on equipment and furniture.

Financial problems pushed the property into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 1981. Sherwood & Roberts, a mortgage company, was owed $4 million after previously providing a construction loan for the project. The company proceeded with a foreclosure sale, and Bergendahl became the sole owner in May 1982, after offerding $3.95 million. The casino portion was closed that year, and the 152-room hotel was forced by the city to close on July 12, 1986, because of fire code violations. The closure was unexpected, and several guests had to be relocated. The hotel had previously received an extension two years earlier to deal with the issues, but a request for a second extension was denied. The hotel was expected to reopen once the violations were corrected. It was believed that a new sprinkler system could cost up to $70,000.[l Bergendahl died later in 1986, and his family inherited the Kings Inn.