| What makes it historical? |
The El Cortez was born in 1941 out of the cooperation among John Kell Houssels, John Grayson, and Marion Hicks! It was the first major resort in downtown Las Vegas! It did so well that it attracted the attention of the mob, and in 1945, mobsters Gus Greenbaum, Moe Sedway, Dave Berman, and Bugsy Siegel bought the El Cortez for $600,000!
The resort changed hands several more times, shifting from a Spanish to a pirate theme, when it featured the only female maître d’ in Las Vegas, Pat Gallagher! |
