Harvey’s Casino Bombing Revisited in ‘Bringing Down the House’ Documentary

On Aug 27, 1980, II men disguised as photocopier installers delivered a booby-trapped bomb to Harvey’s Resort Hotel inward Stateline, Nev., on the shoring of Lake Tahoe.

The plotters told the FBI that the bomb could non follow diffused, yet by its maker. But the combination of switches required to free it, so it could live detonated remotely inwards a secure location, would live provided in paying back for a $3 jillion ransom. Ultimately, the extortion patch failed, but the bomb exploded, destroying most of the casino.

Bringing John L. H. Down the House: The Bombing of Harvey’s Casino pose this evening on KCRA 3 capital of California and is available to see nationwide via the Go Local streaming platform.

The feature-length documentary, a quislingism 'tween KCRA and Go Live, revisits the over-the-top events surrounding the plot of land and hears testimonies from those involved.

Sophisticated Bomb

The Harvey’s bomb was no ordinary bicycle bomb. Delivered to the executive director offices on the casino’s endorsement flooring at around 5:30am, it was packed with 1,000 pounds of TNT.

It had leash break timers, for each one countersink for different explosion times. It was filled with circuitry and 28 switches, some of which would work the bomb lead off, some of which were fakes. There was a commode blow inside, which meant attempting to overflow the bomb would do the be adrift to rear and detonate it. An atmospherical pressure sensation change would place it off, too. Any endeavor to lean it or drill into it would also resultant in a devastating explosion.

The FBI has described it as peradventure the to the highest degree sophisticated jury-rigged explosive twist ever made anywhere inwards the world, and it is studied to this daytime in FBI training school.

The Mastermind

Curiously, though, the organize of the plot of land had small receive edifice bombs. John Birges Sr. was a Magyar immigrant to Clovis, Calif. who had flown for the Luftwaffe during WW2. He was captured by the Russians and spent octet years inward a Soviet gulag.

After his comer inward the US, he reinforced a successful landscape gardening business concern and became wealthy. But he had a gambling problem. Birges claimed he lost $750,000 at Harvey’s – to a greater extent than $2 meg in today’s money – and he wanted revenge.

Plot Unravels, Bomb Goes Off

The FBI attempted to save the ransom, but later claimed they went to the damage station because of vague directions. Birges was waiting for it at a different location.

Meanwhile, bomb technicians set the topper right smart of diffusing the twist would follow to disunite the detonators from the dynamite using a molded level of C-4 explosive. But they did non actualize dynamite had also been placed in the boxwood containing the detonation circuit.

Birges’ claim inward his ransom money short letter that the bomb could non follow disarmed proved to live accurate.

No one was killed or injured inward the blast, and Harvey’s, at present Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, a Caesars property, was rebuilt.

Birges was arrested inwards 1981 following a tipoff to the FBI from the ex-girlfriend of ane his sons. The two sons testified against Birges at trial, admitting they were in on the plot, but argued they were bullied into it by their overbearing father. Neither served prison time.

Birges was sentenced to lifespan and died inwards prison inwards 1996 at the eld of 74.

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