I remember the Silver Club when it was a narrow storefront operation probably in the late 60s. There were maybe
six or eight slot machines and a paycheck wheel. On Fridays there would be a lot of people cashing their checks.
Karl Berge was the owner. I believe he had a couple partners which he eventually bought out. He continued to
buy surrounding properties until he had most of the block except for the Crystal Club. Later on he bought all the
homes behind the club. He had a map in his office showing all the properties which he would check off as he
bought them. He delighted in showing them to me. I remember Karl running around the club yelling Hey Hey Hey,
it's jackpot time at the Silver Club. He was a real hustler and was solely responsible for the success of the club.
He was the first one in Northern Nevada to install dollar machines in small carousels. Everybody thought they
wouldn't get much play but they were imensely popular. Karl told me he got the idea from Mr. Sy's in Las Vegas.
I believe Karl used to bartend at Sahati's Country Club at Tahoe and may have had a small piece of the place.
He had a good sized box of Country Club chips and used to give me a couple every once in a while. I always
remember Karl telling me he was going to be bigger than Harrah's. I really think he believed it. The recession
of '83 kind of slowed him down though. I really miss ol' Karl.