[2] Operated by Sicilian barbers-turned-bootleggers Sam and Rosario Maceo, the Balinese Room (also known as Maceo's Grotto) was an elite spot in the 1930s and 1940s (Galveston's open era), featuring entertainment by Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, George Burns, The Marx Brothers and other top acts of the day.

[2] Patrons of the private club included Howard Hughes, Sophie Tucker and wealthy oil barons from nearby Houston.

In 1932, the "Grotto" was remodeled into a Chinese restaurant called "Sui Jen" (pronounced Swee Rin), and a 200-foot pier stretching out over the Gulf was added to the building.

The pier location, across 21st Street from the Galvez, made the restaurant/club an easy walk for those Galveston visitors who preferred to stay in one of the city's most exclusive hotels.

The Oriental-sounding name was changed to the more exotic sounding Balinese Room in 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the decor was modified accordingly.

"[5] During this period it also became Balinese Room lore that head bartender Santos Cruz "invented" the Margarita for singer Peggy Lee in 1948.

[6] However, there is an account from 1936 of Iowa newspaper editor James Graham finding such a cocktail in Tijuana, years before any of the other margarita "creation myths".

By the time they ran down to the tail end of the long, narrow club, tables, cards and chips had disappeared into secret wall and floor pockets.

In the 1970s the Balinese Room was purchased and reopened by oil tycoon Johnny Mitchell, who turned the casino into a dinner club and disco.

Later that night and early Saturday morning, Hurricane Ike barreled ashore, with the eye of the storm tracking into Galveston Bay.