With financial backing from various local groups and citizens, the Hotel Nevada Realty Company, Incorporated was formed.

[5] Excavation work was later expected to begin in mid–June 1928, at which point the demolition of the recently vacated Collins hardware store was to be completed.

[9] An official grand opening ceremony was held on the night of July 15, 1929, with 167 guests in attendance from Nevada, California and Utah.

Senator Tasker Oddie and U.S. Representative Sam Arentz were the guest speakers at the event;[3] they and others, including Ely mayor Alfred Tamblyn, gave speeches about the hotel's various construction phases.

[3] The Hotel Nevada covertly offered Bathtub gin and moonshine to its customers, as Prohibition in the United States was still in effect.

After the Great Depression began in October 1929, the hotel was forced to lease commercial space to a drug store and a bank to maintain profits and stay open.

When gambling was once again legalized in Nevada in 1931, the owners immediately renovated the casino, and added slot machines and blackjack tables, with an opening planned for March 30, 1931.

[16] In October 1938, Elliott died of a cerebral hemorrhage in his home at the Hotel Nevada, after suffering several strokes.

[20] In August 1955,[23] Francis Everett "Bud" Simpson (1904–1968),[3][24] a well-known local businessman, purchased Hotel Nevada for more than $500,000.

[23][25] The Blue Cab taxi company opened in Ely in July 1961, with its headquarters inside the Hotel Nevada.

[26] In May 1962, three men – Milan Milovich, Norm Goeringer, and Lee Warren – applied for approval to take over the hotel's operations and ownership as part of a $400,000 deal.

[3] In January 1964, Goeringer and Piper filed a $1 million damage suit against Warren, who was no longer an owner of the hotel.

[3][30] In October 1971, Goeringer sold the hotel to Gary Everhart – a credit manager for the Aladdin resort in Las Vegas, Nevada – and his wife, Connie.

[3] In 1978, Kennecott Minerals Company closed its copper mine in nearby Ruth, Nevada, which caused a severe economic depression for Ely that endured for years.

[34] Rasmussen, who lacked the finances to purchase the hotel, discussed it with Terry Goggin, a Democratic state assemblyman from San Bernardino, California.

[34] Together, the men would form the White Pine Company, with Krieger holding a 55 percent interest and acting as president, treasure and director.

A 30 percent interest in the company would be held by the White Pine Trust, a fund that would be established by Goggin with his wife Jill and three children as the beneficiaries.

[33][35] Rasmussen, who would hold a 2.5 percent interest, would act as the secretary and director of the Hotel Nevada, as well as the trustee of Goggin's trust.

[33][36] On December 10, 1980, plans by the men to purchase the hotel from Goeringer for more than $380,000 were delayed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which had concerns about Goggin's trust fund.

"[33][36] Goggin denied that he was using the trust fund to obscure his investment in the Hotel Nevada, which was expected to range between $80,000 and $130,000 depending on bank financing.

[44] In an attempt to solve its financial problems, White Pine Company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in a Reno bankruptcy court in 1983.

Norm Goeringer planned a tentative New Year's Eve re-opening date, and had workmen refurbishing the building's interior to bring it up to state, fire, and safety standards, at a cost of at least $300,000.

Mary Goeringer received the hotel as part of the divorce settlement, and sold it in February 1994, to Bert Woywood and Paul Kellogg, who both lived in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[57] Ely's former post office, a block west of Hotel Nevada,[58] was purchased by the hotel-casino and reopened as its Postal Palace convention center on December 15, 2005.

[72][73] In January 1950, scenes for the film Operation Haylift were shot at the Hotel Nevada, which also served as headquarters for the cast and crew.

[69] Notable Hotel Nevada guests include Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper, Veronica Cooper, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Ray Milland, Hoot Gibson, Mickey Rooney, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Senator Harry Reid,[52] Charlie Rich,[78] Stephen King,[3][56] Evel Knievel,[3] and Pretty Boy Floyd.

[79] Celebrities such as Hank Thompson, Vikki Carr, Wanda Jackson, and The Ink Spots have entertained at the hotel,[3] as well as Wayne Newton.

[82] In August 1965, a slab of the Prometheus tree was put on display in the hotel's lobby;[83][84] by 1998, it had been moved to the city's convention center.

[14] By 1997, the donkey mural had been restored by Stephanie Bruegeman, an art teacher who also worked at Hotel Nevada as a secretary.

[3][79] In 1999, local artist Larry Bute painted 7-by-12-foot murals on the building's exterior, depicting 19th century cowboys in a saloon.