Who owns the El Cortez?
The El Cortez opened in November 1941. In 1945, the builder-owners sold the property to Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and several other partners for $600,000, thus rendering it Las Vegas' first mob-owned hotel-casino. Only a couple of years later when the mobsters moved down to the just-opened Flamingo, one of the original owners bought it back and owned it until 1963, when it was purchased by Jackie Gaughan.
Gaughan and his wife Roberta Mae lived in a penthouse apartment on the 15th floor of the El Cortez till her death at age 75 in 1996; subsequently, Jackie lived there alone.
In 2008, Jackie sold the El Cortez to long-time friend and business partner Kenny Epstein, who still owns it through IKE Gaming, with Epstein and his children in executive roles. It remains one of the few family-owned-and-operated hotel-casinos in Las Vegas. Kenny Epstein is celebrating his 85th birthday this year.
