Tahoe Biltmore Future Unknown After Crystal Bay Resort Auctioned for $153,000
Posted on: July 25, 2025, 02:11h.
Last updated on: July 25, 2025, 02:52h.
- The future of the Tahoe Biltmore is unclear
- The historic casino resort has been closed since April 2022
- The property was auctioned this week for only $153K
The Tahoe Biltmore has a new owner, though the latest controlling entity is the primary lender that has been put out to dry by the former owner.
The Tahoe Baltimore Lodge and Casino was purchased by Newport Beach real estate development firm EKN Development in 2021 for $56.8 million, more than double what the previous owner paid for the 113-room lodge and 10,400-square-foot casino.
EKN closed Tahoe Biltmore in April 2022. The developer promised local and state officials a complete makeover, with the current structures being demolished to make way for a luxury Waldorf Astoria destination with 76 suites and 61 private residences in a secluded setting.
The complex was to feature a resort pool and several restaurants, including Waldorf Astoria’s signature Peacock Alley. EKN had hoped to return gambling, too, with a boutique casino with around a few dozen slot machines and table games.
Along with the 15-acre Tahoe Biltmore purchase, EKN paid $18 million to acquire Beesley’s Cottages and its 10 cabins along the Agate Bay shore. The cottages were to serve Waldorf Astoria guests and homeowners with a private lakefront.
Lender Lone Bid
After EKN twice defaulted on an $82 million loan within the past 12 months, the Tahoe Biltmore property and its nine parcels moved into foreclosure. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company managed the auction and valued the real estate at $127 million.
The only qualified bid came in at just $153,192.86. The tender was from a Utah-based LLC called Lake Tahoe Partners, an entity that initially lent EKN Development $82 million to acquire the Tahoe Biltmore and Beesley’s Cottages.
When EKN first defaulted on its $82 million loan in March 2024, CEO Ebbie Nakhjavani assured the media that all was fine and that the firm was “working diligently to restructure the existing loan.” EKN again defaulted in September.
Speaking with SFGate last fall, Nakhjavani said he expected the loan restructuring to be completed “in the next three to four months.”
EKN is continuing to invest in the project and construction activities are continuing at the site,” Nakhjavani said, though local news reports countered that there was little to no activity at the property.
EKN didn’t issue a comment on the Tahoe Biltmore auction and its acquisition by Lake Tahoe Partners. SFGate said Lake Tahoe Partners also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Future Unclear
With Lake Tahoe Partners and EKN not commenting on the latest developments at the Tahoe Biltmore, the property’s next chapter remains a mystery.
Tahoe Biltmore’s roots trace back to 1948. It’s undergone several ownership and name changes over the past 77 years, including the Cal Neva Biltmore and Nevada Lodge.
Some of its famous, and notorious, owners include Lincoln Fitzgerald, who would go on to build the famed Fitzgeralds Casino Hotel in Reno, and mobster Charles Binaggio, a gangster who led the Kansas City crime family.
In its limelight, largely the 1950s and ’60s, Tahoe Biltmore hosted numerous A-list entertainers, including Dick Martin and Dan Rowan, Rudy Vallee, Phyllis Diller, Helen O’Connell, Soupy Sales, and Regis Philbin.
Last Comments ( 2 )
California gov’t is the biggest failure in all aspects - an embarrassment to the rest of the US. This is why businesses fail, people are broke and moving out, and homeless run the big cities.
Let’s not forget to mention the role the TRPA took. If what I heard is true, the TRPA made them buy a nearby hotel to use as employee housing, that was in CA. So now you have to deal the TRPA, State of California, whatever county and city it is in, in CA. Soooo many govt entities with their oversight, climate goals, power hungry entities do t make it easy to conduct business. So in summary, I think the heavy hand of gov and gov entities killed this development. ,IS THE SAME THING GOING TO HAPPEN ACROSS THE STREE AT THE CAL NEVA? They have been working on it for years and years.