Right where US-50 crosses from California into Nevada, the casino complex at Stateline forms, for a few short blocks, a mini Las Vegas, with four 20-story resort hotels towering over the lakeshore. Harvey’s ($120 and up; 775/588-2411), the largest with over 650 lakeside rooms, started it all in the 1940s with six nickel slot machines, still in use in a corner of the casino. Harrah’s ($135 and up; 775/588-6611), across US-50, is the most opulent, with luxurious 500-square-foot suites. Altogether, over 2,000 rooms are available, combined with at least that many more across the California border. The multitudes of game-hungry visitors that converge here create a definite charge in the rarefied atmosphere when the casino tables are turning at full speed, and it’s also a great place to catch your favorite music and comedy performers (particularly ones whose popularity peaked in the 1980s), or a Vegas-style floor show.
