The California Hotel and Casino, also known as The Cal opened in 1975 at a cost of $10 million with a hotel and casino located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada near the Fremont Street Experience. When it opened it had 325 rooms which has since been expanded to 781.
The California has been owned by Boyd Gaming since it was built by Sam Boyd.
After facing slow business initially, Boyd soon began focusing on the Hawaiian market, offering Hawaiian food and encouraging a more casual atmosphere. He introduced vacation packages from the islands, with charter airfares as low as $9.90. An estimated 80 to 90 percent of visitors to Las Vegas from Hawaii stay at a Boyd property. Boyd's Hawaiian marketing, which extended to the Fremont and Main Street Station with their later acquisitions, is credited with helping to build a large Hawaiian community in Las Vegas, which is sometimes called "the ninth island".
In 1994 an additional tower was added and the remainder of the hotel was remodeled. The property is connected to Main Street Station by an enclosed walkway.
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—Woody Guthrie (1912–1967)
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