How did it come to be that people from the Pacific islands would be drawn to visit, and even live, in the desert?
We all know Nevada is a melting pot; about 20 percent of its residents are from another country, which is the fifth-highest percentage in the U.S. But did you know that Las Vegas has the second-largest population of Hawaiians in the country, just below Honolulu?
Las Vegas is not called "the Ninth Island" for nothing. And credit, in part, goes to The California — also known as The Cal.
The Downtown casino-hotel just turned 50 — along with its parent company, Boyd Gaming, which would establish 10 other properties in Las Vegas and 28 total in the U.S. So what did Boyd do to lure Hawaiians to the desert?
In short: The family that owned the company knew the islands well — and knew its people loved visiting Las Vegas and gambling as well.
It also was desperate to bring anyone to its new property. The Cal, suffering from low passenger visibility on Odgen Street, away from the bustling Fremont Street, struggled to keep the doors open from the get-go. "Bill Boyd often liked to say in those early days, his biggest accomplishment was making payroll every two weeks. That's how dire it was," says David Strow, vice president of corporate communications for Boyd Gaming.
So the Boyd family appealed to their Hawaiian connections — as well as Hawaiian travel agents — with all the knowledge of the Hawaiian market and culture they knew. They created package deals to entice travel to Las Vegas. And it worked immediately and to great effect — so much so that over time, Hawaiians began moving to Las Vegas to work at the Cal. Over time, some 40,000 Native Hawaiians would establish residency in the Valley.
Eighteen years ago, entrepreneur CeCe Cullen was one of those Hawaiians. At one point, she became homesick and left Las Vegas for home, but then returned. Like so many Hawaiian expats, the skyrocketing cost of living was a consideration — as was circumstance.
"We relocated for the second time right before the pandemic, and definitely, finances are a huge factor," she says. "But for my family, it was opportunity. It was having access to means. And during the shutdown, clearly for the entire world, it opened your eyes to what was important, what was needed."
Cullen referred to the Cal — and its restaurants and clientele — as "the hub if you wanted ... to get rooted, get reconnected, get a taste to cure that homesickness." And now the Cal, originally a homage to old California, has been overhauled to thoroughly reflect an aloha vibe.
Fifty years on, reinventions and refreshes of existing properties are the current focus for Boyd. It recently renovated the Fremont and will finish reimagining the Suncoast in a year's time.
Guests: David Strow, vice president of corporate communications, Boyd Gaming; CeCe Cullen, entrepreneur and Native Hawaiian now living in Las Vegas
