El Cortez (Las Vegas)

The Heart of Downtown Las Vegas - El Cortez Hotel and Casino

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The El Cortez, a hotel and casino, is a relatively small downtown Las Vegas gaming venue a block from the Fremont Street Experience and Las Vegas Boulevard. The official marketing slogan has been "Where locals come to play" since the El Cortez has traditionally attracted Las Vegas residents weary of large casinos geared towards tourists. Slots, table games, and a race and sports book occupy one floor of the main pavilion. It is one of the oldest casino-hotel properties in Las Vegas having continuously operated at the same Fremont Street location since 1941. Primarily Spanish Colonial Revival in style, it reflects a 1952 remodel when the facade was modernized. On February 22, 2013, the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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History

Marion Hicks and J.C. Grayson built the El Cortez, downtown Las Vegas' first major resort, in 1941 for $245,000. The location at 6th Street and Fremont was originally considered too far from downtown, but it quickly became so profitable, Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway bought the property in 1945 from J. Kel Houssels for $600,000. John Kell (J. Kell) Houssels, Sr. (1895-1979) had originally opened the 59-room hotel and casino before the sale to the major organized crime figures. Houssels purchased the hotel back from Siegel's group in 1946 for $766,000. In 1963, the Pavilion Rooms were added after the hotel was purchased by Jackie Gaughan. Another 15-story tower addition was completed in 1980. The 64-room Cabana Suites were completed in the former Ogden House in 2009 bringing the total room count to its current 364. Gaughan, a casino owner and operator since the early 1950s, lived in the El Cortez tower penthouse and was known to be on the casino floor almost daily. The property is one of the few casinos to have never changed its exterior facade in Las Vegas, retaining the same signage and ranch themed architecture for over seventy years.

On November 1, 2016, the property hosted a 75th anniversary ceremony with cake, champagne, live music, and remarks from casino executives and Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who proclaimed it "El Cortez Day."

Maps El Cortez (Las Vegas)

Current operation

Jackie Gaughan's son Michael Gaughan ran the sports and race book in the current casino under the name South Point Race and Sports Book during the late 2000s, but the sports book is now run by Station Casinos. The El Cortez has undergone several renovations, with the latest major remodeling completed in 2006. New carpet, marble flooring, gaming machines, refurbished guest rooms, and an upgraded kitchen for the restaurant were added. Although only a block away from the Fremont Street Experience, the hotel is part of the newly created Fremont East section of downtown. It has also created a main entrance off Las Vegas Boulevard (5th Street) by opening a block long pedestrian walkway from the boulevard to the hotel's main entrance on 6th Street. The El Cortez is also well known in the casino industry as the most prominent "break-in house" for new table game dealers to get experience before moving onto bigger properties. The separate hotel in the back, the 100-room Ogden House, has been completely renovated into the 64 suite Cabana Suites. Restaurants include the 24-hour Siegel's 1941, The Parlour Bar and Pizza Lotto.

In 2008, Jackie Gaughan sold the El Cortez and its properties to Kenny Epstein. Gaughan continued to live at the casino and still played poker in the poker room until his death on March 12, 2014.

El Cortez is one of the only casinos in Las Vegas to offer coin-operated slot machines and it has become renowned for its "loose" slots, $1 roulette bets and full-pay, 3-to-2 single- and double-deck blackjack tables. The $10.95 Prime Rib special at the Siegel's 1941 restaurant and $5 Margarita of the Month special have also become favorites of locals and tourists alike.