Hard to believe that the El Cortez is 70 years old but the venerable hotel/casino is still going strong and celebrating all year long.

 Opened by J.Kell Houssels in 1941, it was considered to be too far down Fremont Street.  But from the beginning it was successful.  Ben Siegel came to town to muscle in on the race wire at the hotel and with Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway  bought the casino from Houssels in the mid-1940s for $600,000.  They didn't hang on to it for long as Siegel was already working on his dream project on the Las Vegas Strip, the Flamingo.  They sold it back to Houssels in 1946 for $766,000.  Houssels bought in famed Los Angeles architect, Wayne McAllister, to do a remodel on the hotel.

In 1963, young Jackie Gaughan, who had come to Las Vegas in 1943 when he was stationed at the old Air Base (that would become Nellis).  He moved his wife Roberta and two sons, Michael and Jackie, jr to Las Vegas in 1951.  He bought a small 3% of the Boulder Club and 3% of the Flamingo with partner Eddie Barrick.  Jackie had a knack for sports books and handicapping.  In 1961, he and partner Mel Exber bought the Las Vegas Club and in 1963, they bought the El Cortez.  Gaughan hired Wayne McAllister to oversee the design and construction of a new room tower.

Fremont Street back then was the center of town.  The telephone company and Sears were located across the street, JC Penny's was nearby as was Woolworth's and Skaggs.  People came downtown not only to gamble but to shop.  From the beginning the El Cortez was a hit with not only the tourists but locals as well.

Jackie invented the Fun Book, filled with coupons for free drinks, free slot pulls and two for one dinners.  Like Benny Binion, he had a knack for understanding and treating his customers like kings.

Jackie had his ties in downtown real estate from the beginning.  With Kell Houssels, Sam Boyd and others, they opened the Union Plaza.  Throughout the 1970s and 1980s while the neighborhood around the El Cortez changed and the local businesses that catered to local shopping moved out to the suburbs, the El Cortez never waivered. 

Jackie sold the El Cortez to family members a few years ago but he still lives in the hotel and can still be seen walking through the casino.  The last few years, the hotel has undergone renovation and upgrades from a new air ventilation/filteration system to the Cabana Suites with its great mid-century modern flair, across the street.

As part of the 70 year celebration, the Flame Restaurant is offering Oysters Rockefeller and Hearts of Palms every Tuesday through Thursday for the rest of the year.

So go downtown and help the El Cortez celebrate 70 years of history and enjoy a taste of classic Las Vegas.

Just in time for Halloween, the Vegas Vampire will appear tonight, Saturday, Oct. 29th at the Skyline Casino in Henderson.

There will a costume contest, some reminiscing about the his days on Channnel 5 as the weekend late night horror film host and Mr. Parker wants all his fans to know that this a "tribute to them.  For forty years they have been there for me and I salute them."

He'll be signing autographs and encourages fans to bring cameras to take pictures.

I got a chance to spend a few minutes talking to Jim this morning and wanted to share with all of you.

Where did the idea of the Vegas Vampire come from?

"I always liked horror-comedy films and alliteration.  And Vegas Vampire sounds cool.  I had difficulty getting it on the air.  I was working at KORK (the NBC radio and broadcast affiliate for Las Vegas) and was told "you can't do that, you're a news man."  But Al Cohen was about to start managing Channel 5 (KVVU, an independent channel back then) and he offered me the opportunity.

"I had the idea from back when I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin.  I taught other kids acting on my back porch.  I was always into horror.  I love the old classic horror movies.  And Tarzan.  I would go to the movies on Saturday afternoons to see Tarzan."

"When I was doing the Vegas Vampire show, who was at Caesars Palace, Tarzan! (Johnny Weismuller, the actor who played Tarzan in a number of MGM movies was the official greeter at Caesars in the late 1960s.)  We became good friends and he would always hurry home to watch the show."

What are some of your memories of the show?

"When we first went on the air, it was all done live.  Entertainers would want to be on the show and we would tell them "drive out the Boulder Highway until your car smells like it's on fire, we're on the left." 

"Sammy loved the show but he was always so busy so he arranged for us to come to him for a remote shoot.  Mel Torme was another.  He had to do the show because he loved horror comedy.  Frank Sinatra, Jr. and Lee Greenwood were big fans."

"When it was live we never knew who would show up.  Strange people would show up in costume at the door to be part of the audience.  You never knew who was going to call in.  It was so much fun.  I miss that spirit of fun.

"Using a little political satire and pie-in-the-face slapstick comedy we had a large audience that ranged from kids to senior citizens.  We got temporarily cancelled because we insulted then President, Richard Nixon.  We did over  a 1,000 shows from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s..  We were on Channel 5 and then on Channel 13."

What do you miss of those days and Las Vegas?

"I miss the fun.  When they blew up the Sands, that should have been a museum."

He hopes to bring the Vegas Vampire character back to life.  He would like to do a documentary on comedy in Las Vegas during the classic days as well.  In the meantime, you can catch up with Jim tonight.

     “Hammargren Home of Nevada History”
 


Sandy & Lonnie Hammargren

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Jeff Altman is a film colorist who recently restored family home movies of a family trip to Las Vegas in 1962.

His grandfather captured the neon and marquees of both Fremont Street and the Strip as well as shots of the old train station and more.

For more on Altman, go here.

Las Vegas 1962 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

A fire broke out early Thursday morning at the Commercial Center on Sahara Avenue.  According to news reports, over $500,000 in damages was caused by the blaze.

Thanks to Dennis McBride for allowing us to use the photos!