Club’s anniversary prompts dining at last generation’s prices

Tom Gardner

Wednesday, March 29, 2000 | 6:37 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A hamburger for 40 cents? A dime for french fries? Prime rib for $2.95?

Those are the real prices Thursday at the Club Cal Neva as it celebrates its 38th anniversary by rolling back the cost of a meal to what the menu listed when it opened in 1962.

"We try to bring back the spirit of 1962 and the wonderful memories and the birthday to us represents a time when we can do that," Cal Neva President and Chief Executive Phil Bryan said on Wednesday.

The opening a generation ago drew crowds that stretched for three blocks from the front door of Reno's newest casino - many in the queue drawn by the lure of helium balloons containing prizes ranging from trinkets up to $100 bills.

And, reflecting the era, some balloons contained then stylish silk stockings.

This year's giveaway is a little more upscale - $35,000 in prizes and a new Chevy Tahoe. The entertainment also reflects today with the Bud Girls and the obligatory Elvis wannabe.

"A lot of people who came to that original grand opening will be here. It's a big party for us," Bryan said. "There will be several thousand people here when we do the drawing. They'll be backed out the door."

The small club of 1962 now occupies almost three downtown blocks and the 120 original employees now number more than 1,600.

The name also has changed. The Club Cal Neva-Virginian linked up in May with the Virginian Hotel-Casino to add 126 rooms and more gambling space.

While most prices have risen, some remain a year-round bargain. The breakfast that cost 65 cents in 1962 is only 99 cents today.

And nobody in the country sells more Heineken than the Cal Neva, where patrons can get a bottle and a hot dog for $1.50.

"You can eat here for 99 cents or dine for $25," Bryan said. "We're every man's casino."