It was the summer of 1957, early July to be exact. Ken Riley was an ambitious bartender in his early 20s working at the Cal Neva Lodge in Tahoe. It was there he first laid eyes on a stunning show girl and professional dancer named Melinda. Four months later, they were married.
Life hadn’t always been such smooth sailing for Riley. He was born into a lower middle class family in Pasadena, California. In his own words, he was a "scrawny-looking kid with crooked teeth." His father was an alcoholic, and this eventually led to a divorce. "My mother couldn’t afford my brother and me, so we both went to foster homes for three years."
Not the best way to start out in life. Yet, Ken was very focused and had a burning desire to accomplish something with his life. While in the Army in 1954, Riley started reading inspiring books like Napoleon Hill’s classic, "Think and Grow Rich," which instilled within him the power of visualization and goal-setting.
In 1958, the Rileys moved from Tahoe to Las Vegas, where Melinda landed a featured dancing role at the Desert Inn. Since then, the Riley family has been building a better future in Las Vegas.
Early on, with no assets, Riley set an ambitious goal to make his first million dollars by age 30. Others laughed, yet at 24, he bought land and built what turned out to be his first apartment house, with 20 units. But with no financial strength, how?
He heard of a retired Iowa banker who loaned money. Riley now laughs, "I convinced him to loan me something like $200,000 to build it. He had a first mortgage on it. The kicker was 12 points and 12% interest. That was the only way I could get going. We built it and made a $35,000 profit on it."
This was the beginning of dozens of development and real estate projects for Riley, and yes, he did hit his goal and made his first million at age 29.
In 1966, the Rileys were living in Las Vegas in their modern, 6,200-square-foot dream house. Howard Hughes, America’s richest man at the time, offered to buy their home with one condition: "You must move and leave everything within 24 hours." They couldn’t do it with four children under 8 years old. Later they were given three weeks to move and agreed.
Throughout the 1960s, Riley kept growing his dreams as a builder/developer/operator of more than 1,800 apartment units, 150,000 square feet of office buildings, 200,000 square feet of warehouse space and two 100-unit motels. He was one of the largest single developers in the state of Nevada at the time, all by age 35.
Coming up on five decades in the business, Riley has created, built and owned the LeBaron Hotel chain, the Dollar Inns of America, and the beautiful Crystal Tower Condos at Lake Tahoe, among many others.
Over the years, the Rileys have built their dream homes in La Jolla, Palm Springs, Incline Village, and their local favorite, their residence in the exclusive Turnberry Place towers with stunning views of The Strip.
"I love the Bellagio too," Riley says. "It has the class and everything to go with it. Everyone loves Las Vegas."
Yes, dreams do come true in Nevada. Today, the Rileys have four grown children, seven grandchildren, and just celebrated their 47th anniversary together. His long-burning desire continues to burn brightly for all.
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"May all of your Las Vegas Dreams come true." - Jim Bickford
