I’m a bit obsessed with El Cortez. It’s the first casino I remember visiting in downtown Las Vegas. The casino was special during that first visit many moons ago and it remains special to this day. El Cortez may have been just another casino 50 years ago but it’s unique in Las Vegas. There’s no other casino in Las Vegas where you’ll as many strange promotions like free White Castle sliders, pie, and ice cream bars if you win a $25 jackpot.
The El Cortez offers an experience that you won’t find in other Las Vegas casinos. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the day. However, it will always hold a special place in my heart and it remains my home base on many visits to downtown Las Vegas.
While the actual anniversary is in November the El Cortez has been celebrating its 75th anniversary all year long. This sweet ride from the year the hotel and casino opened is located inside by the valet entrance. I recently came across some random facts, figures, and milestones from over the years. This kind of information always fascinates and thought I’d share:
- 1941: El Cortez Hotel & Casino officially opens with a casino, restaurant, café, floor show and 59 rooms. These “Vintage Rooms” are still open and available to hotel guests looking for an authentic and historic experience.
- 1945: Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway buy the property from Marion Hicks and J. Kell Houssels for $600,000.
- Late 1940s: Hicks and Houssels regain ownership of the El Cortez.
- 1963: Jackie Gaughan purchases El Cortez for $4 million. 50 rooms are added atop the newly attached parking garage on 7th and Fremont. Once the hotel’s tower was built in 1980, Jackie Gaughan would live in one of its penthouse suites until his death in 2014 and was known to be on the casino floor almost daily – especially in the poker room playing with customers. A Las Vegas legend, Gaughan owned or had a stake in a number of other Las Vegas hotels including the Flamingo, Plaza, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Club, Gold Spike, Western Hotel and Showboat.
- 1974: Gaughan purchases and remodels the Ogden House, a property across the street—adding these rooms to the El Cortez.
- 1975: Kenny Epstein becomes Jackie Gaughan’s partner in El Cortez.
- 1980: Gaughan and his son Jackie Gaughan Jr. add a 15-story, 200-room tower to El Cortez, costing around $10 million.
- 2008: Kenny Epstein and Family purchase the El Cortez Hotel & Casino.
- 2009: The Ogden House is transformed into the El Cortez Cabana Suites, downtown’s first boutique hotel.
- 2011: El Cortez partners with World Market Center to host Design a Suite Downtown – a contest for local designers to win a chance to design a suite in the El Cortez. Four finalists’ designs are built out, with the winning design outfitting the rest of the tower’s suites. These “Designer Suites” are open and available to hotel guests.
- 2013: El Cortez is placed on the National Register of Historic Places—the only operating casino to be included.
- 2015: Siegel’s 1941 opens, offering some of the city’s best food 24 hours a day. Particularly famous are the Meyer Lansky burger and the now-famous Matzo Ball Soup.
- 2016: El Cortez Hotel & Casino celebrates the 75th anniversary, looking forward to another 75 successful years in business. Coincidentally, Epstein celebrates his 75th birthday this year along with the hotel.
