The El Cortez Is Born

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John Kell Houssels partnered with John Grayson from California, and Marion Hicks, a Los Angeles Architect and developer, to build and operate the El Cortez Hotel-Casino on East Fremont Street. Constructed for $245,000, it was Downtown Las Vegas’ first major resort with 59 rooms and designed in a Spanish Ranch theme.

The El Cortez Is Sold

Houssels & his partners sold the El Cortez to a Mid-West group that included Gus Greenbaum, Moe Sedway, & Bugsy Siegel (later investors in the 1946 Flamingo) & Dave Berman on behalf of Meyer Lansky for $600,000.

Interior Remodel

Wayne McAllister is hired to remodel the Interior of the El Cortez while primarily leaving the exterior in original 1941 condition.

Houssels Reacquires The El Cortez

John Kell Houssels reacquires the El Cortez and with Ray Salmon announces a $250,000 expansion in May of 1946 including a barber shop, nightclub, swimming pool and a 4 story wing.

Remodeled

El Cortez remodeled and the cocktail lounge renamed to the Rose Room.

Grand Opening

The “new” Hotel El Cortez held its grand opening. Bill Moore was the general manager, and Tom Douglas remodeled and redecorated the property, the bar was renamed “Buccaneer Bar,” with cocktail waitresses wearing pirate costumes.

Marquee Installed

El Cortez installs its neon arrow, marquee, and signature large roof sign which are still downtown landmarks.

Supper Club Renamed

The Supper Club was renamed the Pirate’s Den. The dinner theater was decorated by paintings of “pretty pirates” by Denny Stephenson. The casino started using pirate graphics in its advertising.

Only Female Maitre ‘D

The Pirate Den’s maitre ‘d was Pat Gallagher, the only female maitre ‘d in Las Vegas at the time.

Goodbye Pirate Theme

Jack Smith became El Cortez General Manager when J.K. Houssells took over the property. He launched several changes, including eliminating the pirate theme and renaming the dinner theater the Cirque Room.

Celebrity Lounge Opens

The Celebrity Lounge opened, featuring continuous entertainment 5:30 pm to 6 am; from the lounge, Jerry Dexter hosted “El Cortez Calling” on Keno 1460 from 1-3 am live.

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Lounge Renamed

The lounge was renamed the V.I.P. Lounge

Jackie Gaughan Purchases El Cortez

Jackie Gaughan purchases the El Cortez from John Kell Houssels for $4,000,000.

Tower II Is Built

The El Cortez Guest Tower II is built bringing the overall room count to 297.

El Cortez Renovates

El Cortez Renovates casino and guest room interiors.

Fremont East Entertainment District.

Fremont East Entertainment District becomes official,

Cabana Suites

El Cortez opens the 64 El Cortez Cabana Suites in the former Ogden Hotel bringing the room count to 364.

“Design A Suite”

El Cortez holds the “Design A Suite” competition.

Life is Beautiful

The inception year of Life Is Beautiful Music Festival.

Siegel's 1941

The grand opening of Siegel’s 1941 and Ike’s Bar inside the El Cortez.

El Cortez celebrates its 75-Year Anniversary

El Cortez celebrates 75 years of turning players into winners.

Rooms Remodeled

Remodeling of tower rooms and suites.

The new year is just around the corner and it is that time of year when everyone starts to reflect on the past and look forward to the potential of the coming year. Over the past twelve months, we have spent a lot of time looking at major happenings in the casino industry and thinking about what these changes might mean for the future. With so much going on, it is easy to lose sight of exactly how far the industry has come in just under a century. That is why now seems like the perfect time to take a look back at the evolution of American’s largest gambling and casino destination: Las Vegas.

Las Vegas before the Lights

Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1911. Before that time, it was just a hot, dry, desolate and unforgiving stretch of desert. There was nothing in the way of resources or business to attract settlers, so it remained largely wild and only really known to cowboys. In 1905, the Salt Lake, Los Angeles and San Pedro railroad began construction in the area. This project was meant to connect main rail arteries with ports along the Pacific Ocean and it brought in a rush of workers who inevitably wanted some entertainment to keep them occupied while they toiled away in the desert. An influx of men into the area gave rise to gambling, speakeasies and brothels. It truly was the wild west and if you were looking for a little work and some trouble, Las Vegas had it all.

Early on, there were some efforts by the state to try and control what was happening in Las Vegas. In 1910, Nevada outlawed gambling, but this did little to actually dissuade people from losing their paycheck at a game of cards. For workers, it wasn’t hard to find a nearby speakeasy where they could grab a drink and try their luck at gambling. By 1931, gambling was once again legal in the state and organized crime was already setting up shop. Over the next two decades, the city and what would come to be known as “the strip” was attracting millions of visitors a year.

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The first Las Vegas building boom began with the El Rancho Vegas in 1941. This was this first casino and resort that included 63 hotel rooms. Most of the early resorts adopted an old west theme that spoke to the early roots of the area, but in 1946, mobster Bugsy Siegel introduced a new vision for Las Vegas that is still alive and well today. He wanted to inject the city with a whole new level of luxury and sophistication. His Flamingo hotel was the first to go beyond themed resorts and offer a more swankier destination that felt a lot more like Hollywood. Other resorts quickly followed suit and the strip became a destination for tourists, performers, celebrities and the rich elite.

Part of the success of these early resorts was their ability to attract immensely popular performers, such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. While Siegel was murdered in 1947, his new Las Vegas had already gained momentum and the 1950s and 60s saw tremendous growth and the grand opening of legendary properties, such as the Sands, the Sahara, the Riviera and the New Frontier.

Las Vegas Enters a New Era

In 1966, the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes checked into the Desert Inn and decided he didn’t want to leave. To him, the solution was simple: buy the hotel. And while he was at it, he bought up a few other hotels. At first, these purchases just seemed like the whim of an extremely rich and unpredictable man, but his investments ushered in a new era where business men and conglomerates would take over the city and the mob would be pushed out. At that point, it practically became a contest to see who could build the biggest, most luxurious resort on the strip.

Steve Wynn is credited with building the first mega-resort in 1989, which that set the bar for other developers. When the Mirage first opened its doors, it was the largest hotel in the world with 3,044 rooms. The design would be copied by other Vegas resorts, including Mandalay Bay and Treasure Island. It was also the first resort to host Siegfried and Roy and Cirque du Soleil.

The Great Recession Hits Las Vegas

Before the Great Recession, the Las Vegas housing market was one of the hottest in the country. Housing prices were up 80% and then the housing bubble burst and N