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El Cortez
El Cortez Hotel and Casino.svg
EL Cortez Tower.jpg
Location Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
Address 600 East Fremont Street
Opening date November 7, 1941; 83 years ago (November 7, 1941)
Theme Western
No. of rooms 364
Total gaming space 41,842 sq ft (3,887.2 m2)
Notable restaurants Siegel's 1941
Pizza Lotto
Casino type Land
Owner Kenny Epstein
Renovated in 1952, 1963, 1980, 2006, 2009, 2019
Website www.elcortezhotelcasino.com
El Cortez
ELCortez Fremont East.jpg
El Cortez (Las Vegas) is located in Nevada
El Cortez (Las Vegas)
Location in Nevada
El Cortez (Las Vegas) is located in the United States
El Cortez (Las Vegas)
Location in the United States
Built 1941
Architectural style Spanish Colonial Revival
Visitation 3 million (2016)
NRHP reference No. 13000010
Added to NRHP 2013

El Cortez is a famous hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas. It's just a short walk from the exciting Fremont Street Experience. This historic place has many games like slots and table games. It also has a special area for betting on races and sports.

El Cortez first opened its doors on November 7, 1941. This makes it one of the oldest hotel and casino spots in Las Vegas. It shares this history with the nearby Golden Gate Hotel and Casino. The building has a beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival architecture style. This look was updated in 1952. Because of its long history, El Cortez was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 22, 2013.

History of El Cortez

How El Cortez Started

El Cortez was built by Marion Hicks and J.C. Grayson. They spent $245,000 to create it. When it opened in 1941, it was the first big resort in downtown Las Vegas. At first, some thought its location was too far from the city center.

Changes in Ownership

However, El Cortez quickly became very popular and made a lot of money. In 1945, a group of businessmen bought the property for $600,000. One year later, in 1946, J. Kell Houssels Sr. bought the hotel back. He had originally opened the hotel with 59 rooms.

Growing Bigger

Over the years, El Cortez grew. In 1963, more rooms called the Pavilion Rooms were added. This happened after Jackie Gaughan bought the hotel. He was a well-known casino owner. In 1980, a tall 15-story tower was built. Later, in 2009, the 64-room Cabana Suites were finished. This brought the total number of rooms to 364.

Jackie Gaughan lived in the top floor of the El Cortez tower. He was often seen on the casino floor. El Cortez is special because its outside look has stayed the same for over 70 years. It still has its original signs and ranch-style design.

El Cortez Today

What's Inside Now

Today, El Cortez continues to be a busy place. It has a sports and race book where people can bet. This part of the casino is now run by Station Casinos. El Cortez has been updated many times. A big renovation was completed in 2006. This included new carpets, marble floors, and updated gaming machines. The guest rooms were also made new, and the restaurant kitchen was improved.

Location and Walkways

Even though it's close to the Fremont Street Experience, El Cortez is also part of the newer Fremont East area. A special walkway was built from Las Vegas Boulevard to the hotel's main entrance. This makes it easy for people to walk to the hotel.

A Place for New Dealers

El Cortez is also known in the casino world as a place where new table-game dealers can get experience. They learn and practice here before working at bigger casinos. The 100-room Ogden House, a separate hotel building, was completely changed into the 64-suite Cabana Suites.

Recent Updates

In 2008, Jackie Gaughan sold El Cortez to Kenny Epstein. Over the next ten years, Kenny Epstein and his partners spent more than $50 million to update the property. Jackie Gaughan continued to live at the casino and played poker there until he passed away in 2014.

More renovations happened in 2018, updating 73 rooms in the hotel tower. In 2019, even more hotel remodeling was done. El Cortez also has a restaurant called Siegel's 1941. It has cool items from the past on display.

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