Hawaiian Gaming Tourism and the California Hotel*
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Number 41 June 2018 Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series University Libraries University of Nevada, Las Vegas Ninth Island, Las Vegas: Hawaiian Gaming Tourism and The California Hotel* Cynthia Van Gilder & Dana R. Herrera ABSTRACT: Many people do not realize that Las Vegas, Nevada is home to a unique niche tourism: it is overwhelmingly the vacation destination of choice for residents of the state of Hawai’i, even affectionately termed the “Ninth Island.” Many credit the strong Hawaiian interest in Las Vegas to the fact that there is no legal gaming in the state of Hawai’i, however, data indicates that it is not just the opportunity to gamble that bring Hawaiian tourists here, but also the specifc amenities and experience offered at one particular hotel and casino, The California Hotel. Nicknamed “The Cal,” this establishment is overwhelmingly the Hawaiian choice for sleeping, gambling, eating, and so- cializing. Although the exterior of The Cal still reflects its original identity as a California-themed establishment, the interior reveals its forty-year history of transformation into a Hawaiian home- away-from-home, with island themed décor, banquet rooms labeled in the Hawaiian language, and multiple eateries offering Hawaiian favorites. This paper examines the “tourist imaginary” created at The Cal by the Boyd Gaming Corporation, and suggests that it has become a “lovemark,” that is now part of the Hawaiian pan-ethnicity known as being a local, or kama’aina. Keywords: Hawaiians, tourism, gaming, Las Vegas, lovemark Preferred Citation: Cynthia Van Gilder & Dana R. Herrera.“Ninth Island, Las Vegas: Hawaiian Gaming Tourism and The California Hotel.” Occasional Paper Series, 41. Las Vegas: Center for Gaming Research, UNLV University Libraries, 2018. There are many facets to understanding the special da, Las Vegas as Eadington Fellows. This paper considers relationship between Hawaiians and Las Vegas. We have what brought us here to the UNLV Special Collections and been exploring the phenomenon of Hawaiian travel to Las Archives and how we have added to our thinking since Vegas for several years now, given talks, and published two undertaking that research. very different articles on this work so far (Van Gilder and Several years ago, when we first started looking around to Herrera, 2015; Van Gilder and Herrera, in press). In January get a sense of what had been written about Hawaiians in Las of 2018 we were honored to come to the Univerity of Neva- Vegas, we found articles in major newspapers, like The Los ©2018 Center for Gaming Research University Libraries • University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1 Center for Gaming Research • University of Nevada, Las Vegas Angeles Times, or the Honolulu Star Bulletin. We also found 1994) . They live in one of the most popular destinations in articles in tourism and trade magazines, but nothing that the world and a significant percentage of its inhabitants are had been written by academics, and nothing with theoreti- employed in one way or another in the hospitality or tour- cal analysis. Instead we found pieces that basically reported ism business. Nowhere did we see literature asking, “where the fact that Las Vegas had a significant niche tourism of do people who are traditionally in the structural position of Hawaiians and that this tourism was focused on The Cali- hosts, go to become guests?” Or as we have said, “if you live fornia Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. To the degree that any in paradise, where do you vacation?” What is the imaginary of these articles asked or addressed the question, “Why do that captures their attention and tourist dollar? Hawaiians love Las Vegas so much and go there so often?”, Specifically, we asked, “what is the Hawaiian tourist the answer always lay in gambling. We have a whole collec- imaginary of Las Vegas that keeps these folks captivated by tion of quotes from popular news media with statements Las Vegas?” To begin to develop our model of the Hawaiian such as “a well-known Hawaiian passion for gambling” tourist imaginary of Las Vegas, we started with the wonder- (Downes 2002). ful book on The California Hotel by Ogawa and Blink (2008) As anthropologists, these seemed to be hopelessly inad- from which we learned an oral history of the hotel from the equate explanations to us. First of all, Hawai’i is one of the point of view of the Boyd Gaming Corporation, and par- most ethnically diverse states in the country. We are well ticularly the Boyd family, and John Blink who held several familiar with its history of immigration, population replace- executive level positions at the California hotel, including ment, and population mixing. We really were not buying Director of Sales and Vice President of Marketing. any kind of biological explanation of racial affinity for The book tells the story of how, after building his first gambling explanation. Plus, many cultures have gambling hotel from the ground up in 1974, Sam Boyd found him- traditions and there is more than one way to scratch that self in financial trouble and unable to attract the southern itch. We turned to the anthropology of tourism for some California clientele he had counted on. He then recalled analytical models and theoretical ideas that would help us how in his teens he had lived in the islands and worked begin to understand what we were absolutely convinced was on a gambling barge that sailed from Hawai’i, and got the a cultural phenomenon. idea to target Hawaiians to come to his hotel. He and Blink In the anthropology of tourism, the concept of the tourist appeared on O’ahu tv shows, contracted with local travel imaginary is used to describe the set of ideas and values agents, and relentlessly fliered grocery stores, churches, and a tourist associates with a destination. These imaginaries civic organizations trying to build interest in Las Vegas. For are constructed from a combination of advertising, word example, knowing that Coors beer was in high demand, of mouth, and other cultural sources such as depictions in yet limited supply in Hawai’i, the Boyds would bring cases movies, television shows, or books. They are what makes a with them from Nevada to cultivate local relationships. Sam tourist buy a ticket and make the trip. The desire to par- Boyd particularly succeeded with his all-inclusive vacation ticipate in the imaginary of a place. The travel or tourism packages which included flight, hotel stay, and meal tickets industry is in the business of cultivating and selling these to be used at The Cal. imaginaries. When choosing how to spend their time and The Ogawa book details how in the early days of courting money, travelers have a dizzying array of destinations to his new Hawaiian clientele, Boyd stocked the Cal with ordi- select from. Do they want to go to romantic and cultured nary Vegas buffet items like roast beef and mashed potatoes. Paris? Adventurous and ecologically educational Costa He discovered that interestingly, Hawaiians like to eat like Rica? Even once having decided on a destination, visitors Hawaiians even when they are on vacation. Blink explains have countless options of how to organize their experience how Hawaiians taught them about the proper type of sticky to bring the imaginary to life. rice and their love of oxtail soup. One chef remembers, Today, Hawai’i as a destination has a very well-known [Boyd asking] “Why would Hawaiians want to eat local and powerful tourism imaginary that draws five million food when they eat that in Hawai’i all the time? ...I said you mainland American tourists each year to Hawai’i. It is one have to cater to Hawaiians, and I put a menu together. We of a domesticated tropical paradise. Tourists expect to started a Hawaiian buffet…lomi salmon, lau lau, kalua pig, find a culture of relaxation, indulgence, flower leis offered chicken long rice, teriyaki items, and kalbi ribs. I tell you, by welcoming locals, beautiful beaches, fancy fruit-filled within ninety days, the Hawaiians were playing and stay at drinks, etc. It is exotic, with its ukulele music, hula girls, that place, and it became very successful. At that time they pidgin accents and whole pigs cooked in earth ovens, but were only serving 400 lunches and dinners a day. I tripled also English speaking and safe for Americans – it is a state that to 1,500 to 2,200 just on dinner” (Ogawa and Blink, after all. This is the combination that is promised for visitors 2008, p. 42). With some effort, including importing rice to Hawai’i. cookers and a head chef from Hawai’i, The Cal adjusted its Another aspect of this research that is fascinating is that offerings to honor that preference. Today, the company runs in the traditional tourism literature which employs the di- four charter flights per week and they are usually sold out chotomy of “hosts” and “guests” to talk about the structural well in advance. relationships in the travel experience, Hawaiians always Ultimately, William Boyd attributes his father’s status with figure as hosts (Smith, 1989; Smith and Brent, 2001; Buck the Hawaiian people as the basis of their success. “Really, 2 Van Gilder & Herrera • Ninth Island, Las Vegas the most important thing was they considered my dad to salad (macaroni). Specials are announced on tattered slips be a local boy because he had lived in Honolulu. He had of paper taped to the wall menu and Aloha brand shoyu run a gaming establishment there. They thought he was (soy sauce) sits on each table. If you linger long enough in one of them and that’s why they’ve been very loyal to us the sitting area of the restaurant, you are bound to witness [and] we’ve been loyal to them” (Boyd, 2013, p.