Watch the Harvey's Casino bombing doc 'Bringing Down the House'

Jun 24, 2023

What led up to the explosion and what happened afterward is the kind of story no one would believe if you wrote it up as fiction.

What led up to the explosion and what happened afterward is the kind of story no one would believe if you wrote it up as fiction.

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What led up to the explosion and what happened afterward is the kind of story no one would believe if you wrote it up as fiction.

The first feature-length documentary collaboration between KCRA 3 and Very Local, "Bringing Down the House: The Bombing of Harvey's Casino," is out.

In the dark of the early, early morning of Aug. 26, 1980, a nondescript white van drove across the street from South Lake Tahoe, California to Stateline, Nevada. It parked in front of the Harvey's Resort and Casino, one of the largest, most well-known casinos in the Tahoe corridor.

Two men wheeled out a device the size of an IBM copier and wheeled it up to the door, struggling with the weight, only to have the security guard hold the door open and help them hold open the elevator. They took the device to the second floor, wheeled it into the business office and met a third man who helped them take the cover off.

What followed was 36 hours where the entire casino loop was evacuated, bomb squads were called in, and one of the largest explosions to hit any city in Nevada or California rocked the small community.

What led up to the explosion and what happened afterward is the kind of story no one would believe if you wrote it up as fiction.

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“Bringing Down the House ” has been available on the Very Local app. You can now watch it in the video leading this story.

Very Local is a streaming app from Hearst that offers 24/7 access to local news, weather, and original series. Download the Very Local app for FREE on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or Android TV.

At its heart, this is an extortion plot. Investigators walked into the room to find a large metal device with about 28 toggle switches, anchored on small blocks of wood and a note next to it saying "TO THE MANAGEMENT." The extortionist was asking for $3 million in used $100 dollar bills. It had a timer on it and if you moved it the bomb would explode, according to the note. It also said an earthquake could set it off.

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This was no ordinary bomb. The Harvey's bomb was filled with 1,000 pounds of dynamite. That was in the bottom box. The top was filled with circuitry. So many circuits and devices to make the bomb go off that it was impossible to defuse.

Investigators say there were eight ways that the bomb could go off.

The bomber himself owed money to the casino, likely blaming Harvey's for his losses. He recruited his two sons to help, but they were forced into it.

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That's a long story, (one we detail in the documentary) that has to be seen to be believed!

Law enforcement, casino owner Harvey Gross himself, and the town were vigilant and evacuated everyone away from the building. Because of that, the building exploded but no one was hurt or killed at all during the explosion.

The Harvey's bomb is still studied by law enforcement agencies all over the world. The fact that we have security, you have to use a clear plastic bag at a concert and they have metal detectors and cameras at casinos can all be traced back directly to the Harvey's bombing.

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