Peek inside El Cortez’ expansion before its 2025 opening

What’s old is preparing to become new again at a downtown casino that prides itself on historic connections.

El Cortez officials are weeks away from completing a $20 million expansion of its casino — including two new bars, a new high-limit slot area, a noodle restaurant and hundreds of new games in the additional 10,000 square feet.

General Manager Adam Wiesberg said the space is expected to open to the public by the first week of February.

“It’s still El Cortez – upgraded,” Wiesberg said on a recent tour of the project. “I really don’t know that I would change anything. I think it’s a perfect design to accomplish that.”

Guests approaching the expansion from the current casino floor layout will first notice the Roulette Bar, complete with a replica roulette wheel on the ceiling of the circular bar. It replaces Ike’s. Behind the elaborate wheel leads to a new casino floor of about eight table games with 24-hour action and about 200 slot machines.

Along the building’s east wall will be Show Bar, where a stage can host acts or a 12 foot-by-10 foot screen can play sports, movies, music videos and vintage Vegas clips. Also along the new casino perimeter will be a high-limit slot area with 43 machines and Hot Noods, a 44-seat restaurant by the Chinglish creators.

Changing customer demographics

El Cortez’ owners were compelled to refresh the casino after changing customer demographics showed a mix between “old-school Vegas” lovers and young people who stop by the bars before visiting nightclubs in the Fremont East district. Additional entertainment and drinking spots could capture that crowd while giving more life to the area around the gambling pit.

“It’s a gamble house like any others, but it’s ours,” CEO Kenny Epstein said. “We care about it, we love it and we’re proud of this. I just hope the people accept it and like it.”

Epstein said the goal is to stick to the authenticity of old Vegas and the practices that he and his business partners learned from one notable Las Vegas businessman.

“We were all mentored by [former El Cortez owner] Jackie Gaughan, and we’re just carrying on what Jackie Gaughan taught us — what he put in place for us,” he said. “We’re just improving.”

Biggest challenge

The expansion replaces back-of-house areas, a decommissioned kitchen and a former event space called the Fiesta Room. Jon Serfilippi, senior project manager at McCarthy Building Cos., said the crews were cautious in their work because they were connecting buildings built decades apart.

“Our biggest challenge has been finding ways to investigate and demo and do all the things we can so we can build this new space, while keeping the property operational,” Serfilippi said. “We’ve been in constant contact with them. We don’t want to be shutting down the gaming floor. We don’t want to be shutting down any of those operations.”

Wiesberg said he wants guests to feel the expansion is a continuation of their favorite spaces at El Cortez.

“We have this die-hard following. We always have. They even like it a little gritty,” Wiesberg said. “There are some people that like it to be a little old, and they want the old carpet. They don’t want anything changed.”

But Wiesberg thinks the expansion is a happy medium. The new roulette bar, located where the former Ike’s Bar was, connects the original 1941 building to the expansion. Similar design elements connect the expanded casino floor, but with higher ceilings and windows letting in external light – or letting Fremont Street pedestrians peek into El Cortez.

“(The renovation is) going to open up the El Cortez to such a broader demographic of people that we’re getting more and more people that love it from all walks of life in all areas,” he said, “but now with some of the most beautiful real estate in the city, it’s going to open it up.”

The additions come a few years after the property spent $30 million to renovate its original 47 rooms along with renovations to its tower premium rooms, high limit room and casino floor bathrooms. El Cortez also added a Starbucks to its north lobby earlier this year.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.