Post #413034 by Psycho Tiki D on Mon, Oct 13, 2008 10:28 AM

Lake Tahoe is a very popular vacation destination for visitors from all over the world and Northern California in particular.

Harvey's Casino is a long standing establishment on the South Shore and a gambling icon for the area. Harveys predates the Indian casinos in California by many years, so many who wanted to try their luck would stop there for a chance at "hitting it big" did so. Sacramento valley and the bay area folks spend allot of time in Tahoe year round.

I doubt all but a very small percentage of visitors even knew what the mugs were. The were free and an instant souvenir to take away when all the money from gambling was gone.

I would venture to say that thousands of the Harvey's mugs were sold along with drink purchases and as gifts. Not a weekend goes by that I don't see a Harvey's bucket mug (selling between $0.50 and $12.00) and with a little less frequency, the Hula girl mugs and bowls (selling from $1.00 up to $25.00).

Even less often I see the green or red and black "Sneaky Tiki" tall mugs, but they are around (selling from $7.00 to 12.00).

The larger Hula bowls are the hardest to find and are priced between $25.00 and $40.00 and are sometimes found for less (I paid $12.00 for the first one I bought).

So, not a surprise to see so many from this area. Probably similar to other areas where certain mugs are common due to the popularity of the establishment visited.