Hotel El Cortez
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

El Cortez, a
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
and
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
, is a relatively small
downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the St ...
gaming venue a block from the Fremont Street Experience and Las Vegas Boulevard. Slots, table games, and a race and sports book occupy one floor of the main pavilion, at this historic casino. It opened on Fremont Street on November 7, 1941, and is one of the oldest casino-hotel properties in Las Vegas, along with the nearby
Golden Gate Hotel and Casino The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino is located at One Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. A part of the Fremont Street Experience, it is the oldest and smallest hotel (122 rooms) on the Fremont Street Experience. John F. Miller initial ...
. Primarily Spanish Colonial Revival in style, it reflects a 1952 remodel when the façade was modernized.Ron Sylvester
El Cortez joins National Register of Historic Places
''Las Vegas Sun'', February 25, 2013, accessed February 26, 2013.
On February 22, 2013, the structure was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.Weekly List for February 22, 2013
National Park Service, February 22, 2013, accessed February 26, 2013.


History

Marion Hicks and J.C. Grayson built El Cortez, downtown Las Vegas' first major resort, for $245,000.Chung, Su Kim. ''Las Vegas Then and Now''. Thunder Bay Press. San Diego, California: 2005. p.56 El Cortez opened on November 7, 1941. The location at 6th Street and Fremont was originally considered too far from downtown, but it quickly became so profitable that Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum and
Moe Sedway Moe Sedway (July 7, 1894 – January 3, 1952) was an American businessman and mobster. He was an associate of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and a faithful lieutenant of organized crime czar Meyer Lansky. He and Gus Greenbaum made the Flamingo Hotel ...
bought the property in 1945 from J. Kell Houssels for $600,000. In 1942, FBI documents described
Isadore Blumenfeld Isadore Blumenfeld (September 8, 1900 – June 21, 1981), commonly known as Kid Cann, was a Romanian Jewish-American organized crime enforcer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for over four decades. He remains the most notorious mobster in the ...
, alias
Kid Cann Isadore Blumenfeld (September 8, 1900 – June 21, 1981), commonly known as Kid Cann, was a Romanian Jewish-American organized crime enforcer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for over four decades. He remains the most notorious mobster in the ...
, as the, "recognized leader of graft and
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...
in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
". They added that Blumenfeld was, "known to have corrupted City and County officials... and has been known to harbor criminals of various types." The same files also report that Kid Cann often boasted that he had the Minneapolis City Council, "in the palm of his hand." These files further allege that Kid Cann was involved with Bugsy Siegel in the running of the El Cortez Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 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 Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
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 John Davis Gaughan, Sr. (October 24, 1920 – March 12, 2014) was a casino owner and operator from the early 1950s in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had an ownership stake in many casinos throughout his career, but he is best known for his ownership of th ...
. 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 El Cortez's 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 façade in Las Vegas, retaining the same signage and ranch-themed architecture for over seventy years.


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. 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 Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley – and Nevada – besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont and located in the h ...
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. 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''. In 2008, Jackie Gaughan sold El Cortez and its properties to Kenny Epstein. Over the next decade, Epstein and his business partners put more than $50 million of renovations into the property. Gaughan continued to live at the casino and still played poker in the poker room until his death on March 12, 2014. As of 2013, it was the oldest continuously operating casino in Las Vegas. In March 2019, El Cortez was closed by police for several hours following a shooting. In 2018, renovation work took place on 73 rooms located on the first five floors of the hotel tower. Additional hotel remodeling was underway in 2019. El Cortez includes a restaurant, Siegel's 1941, which features memorabilia from Siegel. In 2021, as part of a $25M renovation project, the El Cortez opened up a high-limit room. Starting in April 2022, El Cortez is scheduled to become a 21-and-over property, prohibiting minors from all areas including the hotel and restaurants. The property's general manager said the change "comes after careful consideration and decades of trying to accommodate minors in a property that is focused primarily on gaming and popular casino bars".


Photo gallery

Image:ElCortez sign Las Vegas.jpg, The same sign has been atop the casino since the 1940s File:ElCortez famous sign.jpg, Close-up of the sign Image:El Cortez Las vegas 6th and Fremont.jpg, The Spanish Ranch theme dominates the exterior File:ElCortez pathway from LasVegasBlvd.jpg, Las Vegas Blvd frontage was created with a palm tree lined walkway Image:El cortez tower 2.jpg, Hotel tower Image:Fremont East view from ElCortez.jpg, View of
Fremont East Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley – and Nevada – besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont and located in the h ...
from El Cortez. Image:Remodeled king suite.jpg, A remodeled King Suite Image:Tower premium.jpg, View of a Tower premium room Image:EC tower premium rooms bathroom.jpg, Bathroom view of a Tower Premium room Image:EC tower hallway.jpg, Hallway in the El Cortez tower Image:El Cortez tower room.jpg, Tower room with king-sized bed Image:Pavilion Rooms.jpg, Pavilion room with two beds Image:Tower premium king room.jpg, Tower premium room with a king-sized bed Image:Tower elevator lobby.jpg, The Tower elevator lobby Image:Exterior1 TheOriginal.jpg, View of the iconic El Cortez sign at dusk Image:El Cortez Ext Twilight Final.jpg, Exterior view of the Cabana Suites at El Cortez Image:El-Cortez-Tower-Exterior.jpg, Exterior view of the Tower at El Cortez


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Downtown Las Vegas Skyscraper hotels in Las Vegas Nevada State Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Clark County, Nevada Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada Hotels established in 1941 Hotel buildings completed in 1941 Casino hotels 1941 establishments in Nevada