Published on: August 27, 2025, 06:34h.

Updated on: August 27, 2025, 06:34h.

On this date, 45 years ago — specifically at 3:46 p.m. on August 27, 1980 — the Harvey’s Resort Hotel and Casino in Stateline, Nevada, became the target of one of the most shocking bombings in American history. The perpetrator: a disgruntled high-stakes gambler attempting to extort $3 million.

The preceding morning, around 5:30 a.m., two men dressed in coveralls — subsequently identified as Willis Brown and Terry Hall — brought what appeared to be an IBM copier into the casino’s second-floor executive area.

Slot shift supervisor Bob Vinson noticed the two metal boxes they left — one smaller and covered in switches positioned on top of a larger box.

Along with the boxes, there was an envelope labeled “To Harvey’s management.” Within it, a three-page typed letter laid out demands and instructed the casino staff to act within 24 hours.

“Any deviation from these terms will leave your casino in ruins,” warned the letter.

While Harvey’s management sought to comply, the FBI intervened, prohibiting the payment of the ransom.

For hours, onlookers watched as bomb specialists attempted to deactivate the device. A local entrepreneur even sold T-shirts proclaiming, “I survived the Harvey’s explosion.”

At 3:43 p.m. on August 27, technicians made the critical choice to detonate a small explosive charge on the top box, aiming to disable the triggering mechanism.

This action did not yield the hoped-for results.

The resulting explosion was catastrophic, sending debris flying. Dust and ash erupted from a large three-story gap in the building’s exterior. The bomb — weighing nearly 1,000 pounds — marked the largest homemade explosive detonated within the United States at that time.

Fortunately, there were no casualties, as Harvey’s and all nearby establishments had been evacuated a day prior.

“It was fortunate that security didn’t attempt to move it,” Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini told the Reno Gazette Journal in a 2015 interview. “If they had tried to move it, it would have detonated. It had mercury switches and was rigged with 37 switches. Most were actuated, but some were not. Had it gone off upon discovery, 600 individuals could have lost their lives.”

The Immediate Aftermath

In response, Harvey’s and other nearby casinos announced a reward of $200,000 for useful information.

Investigation efforts quickly pointed to John Birges Jr., the owner of the van used to transport the bomb. However, the FBI initially dismissed him as unlikely to execute such a complicated plan.

Only after raising the reward to $500,000 did new information emerge. An ex-boyfriend of Birges Jr.’s former partner advised agents to investigate his father. This man — John Birges Sr., a Hungarian immigrant with a history of heavy gambling losses at Harvey’s — was already plotting a second bombing.

With the assistance of Birges’ children, the FBI built a solid case. Birges Sr., alongside his girlfriend Ella Williams and co-conspirators Brown and Hall, were arrested and convicted. As the main architect, Birges Sr. received a 20-year prison sentence, ultimately succumbing to liver cancer in 1996.

Rebirth and Legacy

Though the incident caused $18 million in damages, the fundamental structure of Harvey’s endured. The resort was reconstructed and reopened as Harveys Lake Tahoe, continuing its operation for many years. In August 2001, Harrah’s Entertainment (currently Caesars Entertainment) acquired the property from Harveys Casino Resorts. In July 2025, the resort was rebranded as Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe, following a comprehensive $160 million renovation.

The investigative techniques honed during the response to the Harvey’s bombing would later play a vital role in federal responses to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, making this unusual extortion case a landmark event in the evolution of US counterterrorism strategies.