A pickup drove down Reno’s East Second Street on a quiet October afternoon, its engine echoing through the concrete corridors of downtown.
A block away, a four-story dismantled sign towered over pedestrians as they crossed University Way.
Until six years ago, the marquee beckoned visitors to check out Harrah’s hotel-casino’s shows and restaurants. Today, the empty frame is a symbol of the hard times that befell the former crown jewel of the Harrah’s gaming empire, which steadily lost steam until it closed for good during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the opening of The Mint casino on a small section of the ground floor in late 2025, progress on the former hotel-casino’s revitalization – renamed the Reno Revival project – appears frozen in time.
