Several years ago, the late Michael Prophet, long-time editor of the Unlimited NewsJournal, began to assemble a story about the three hydroplanes that had been campaigned by the pioneering Nevada casino owner William F. Harrah during his unlimited career from 1962 through 1968. With the help of Bob Senior, he not only chronicled the history of the three boats as they raced for Harrah, but for the many years that the hulls competed after that. Here, then, with a little embellishment, is that story:

William F. Harrah was a sportsman of
the highest order and a man who
transformed the Nevada gambling
industry. Born in 1911, he studied
mechanical engineering at UCLA, but dropped out of  the school during the Great Depression and went to work in a variety of family businesses that included a pool hall, a hot dog stand, and a gaming facility that offered a game very much like Bingo. It wasn’t Bingo, mind you, because that was illegal in California at the time, but a game that instead used cards.

April 2018

        Harrah soon grew tired of being hassled by local authorities who constantly tried to shut down his operation, so he moved across the state line to Reno and opened an establishment called Harrah’s Club Bingo in 1937. That particular club didn’t last long because it was in a bad location,        Continued, click here...

When Dean Chenoweth retired as driver of the Miss Budweiser at the
end of the 1973 season, team owner Bernie Little asked the commissioner of inboard racing at the American PowerBoat  Association who was the best limited inboard driver in the country. Howie Benns was the answer, so Little hired him to drive his boat in 1974.

     Behind the wheel of the Miss Budweiser that season, he won the first race he entered and added two more as the year progressed. But, shortly after the year’s final race, Benns broke his leg while doing some desert motorbike riding.                                                           Continued, click here...

For the complete April issue and all our regular features, click here.

2018 EVENT SCHEDULE

      Spring Training at Tri-Cities ................................................................................................ June 1

      Guntersville, Alabama ................................................................................................June 22 - 24
      Madison, Indiana ............................................................................................................ July 6 - 8
      Tri-Cities, Washington ................................................................................................ July 27 - 29
      Seattle, Washington .................................................................................................. August 3 - 5
      Detroit, Michigan ................................................................................................... August 24 - 26
      San Diego, California .......................................................................................September 14 - 16

Howie Benns is remembered.

Bill Harrah’s hydroplanes.