Cactus Pete & the Island Park Lodge

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ISLAND PARK — One if the caldera’s oldest buildings and businesses, Island Park Lodge on Upper Big Springs Loop Road just east if Hwy. 20, was built in 1947 by business partners, a Mr. Blackington and Pete Vincent “Cactus Pete” Piersanti. The purchased the land from Dan McGee, after which the McGee Subdivision is named.

Piersanti moved to Nevada in 1954, and Blackington brought in his daughter and her husband to manage the lodge — Helen and Joe Clauss. The Clauss’s spent the next 20 years managing the resort, which included the restaurant and bar, a 9-hole golf course, and overnight lodging. In 1970, the operation was sold to a group of investors and the next year, they sold out to Jim Green, a Utah real estate developer. Green sold it to Don and Mike Todd in 1973. It was then developed into the Island Park Village Resort.

Now Jim and Connie Funkhouser own the original log building and a condominium management firm owns the resort. The lodge still features a restaurant and saloon and looks much as it did in the old days. As for gambling — regulars have to scare up their own private bets on NFL games or the World Series. Or, show up for Casino Night during the annual Wild West WinterFest and play with “faux” chips.

Although Cactus Pete moved away years ago, his spirit lives on in the lodge and in the hearts of people who love Island Park history.

Piersanti was born in 1916 and died in 1994, and his career as a hotel and casino promoter in Idaho and Nevada spanned the 1940s to the 1980s. He is credited as one of the main founders of the community of Jackpot, Nevada, in the 1950s. He is namesake of two Nevada casinos he owned — Cactus Pete's casino in Jackpot and Cactus Jack's casino in Carson City.

Piersanti was a son of Italian immigrants, and he was born in Superior, Wyoming. He was the youngest of six children. His family moved to Ogden, Utah when he was a boy. In Ogden in 1941 Piersanti purchased a local bar and grill with a card room and a pinball machine distribution company.

In 1943 he enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II. After the war he and his family were among the original owners of the Island Park Lodge, as noted, and the property featured several slot machines owned by Piersanti.

In 1954 the state of Idaho outlawed all forms of gambling, and Piersanti moved his Island Park slot machine operation from Island Park to a site just south of the Idaho border on U.S. Route 93 in what was then considered a part of Contact, Nevada, in Elko County.

The opening of his Cactus Pete's Motor Lodge was instrumental in the founding of the town of Jackpot. Originally a gas station with slot machines, by 1958 Cactus Pete's was so successful a 15-room hotel and aircraft runway were built to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors, mainly from nearby Idaho.

Piersanti and others incorporated Cactus Pete’s in 1956. This corporation is the forerunner of Ameristar Casinos, which currently owns the Cactus Pete's property. Piersanti sold his interest in 1971. After a brief stay in Las Vegas, later in 1971 he bought the Senator Club in Carson City and renamed it Cactus Jack's Senator Club. Piersanti remained active in the Carson City gaming community until his retirement in 1989. During his final years he lived in the Lake Tahoe area.

In addition to the casinos, Piersanti Drive in Jackpot is named after him. In 2001 Piersanti was featured on a $5 casino token issued by Cactus Jack's Casino as part of a series honoring Nevada gaming pioneers.

References
1. Driving Guide to Historic Sites: Island Park, Idaho, by Donald B. Lindsey, Ph.D.; edited and updated by Elizabeth J. Laden.
2. Idaho’s Gateway to Yellowstone: The Island Park Story, by Dean Green and James Allison
3. Ameristar Casino History Web site

 

This is part of the online edition of Henry's Fork Country.

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