El Cortez: An Evening with the Spirit of Old Las Vegas

THE PACIFIC44 JOURNAL · THE JOURNEY TO 60 AND BEYOND

By Allen S. Robinson · Photography by Allen S. Robinson

An installation project brought me to Siegel’s 1941 and Alex Prime Steakhouse. It also gave me another reason to keep exploring the city we call home.

I recently finished an InfoGenesis project at El Cortez Hotel & Casino, working with the team at Siegel’s 1941 and the new Alex Prime Steakhouse. I went there to complete an installation. Somewhere along the way, I found a story I wanted to bring back to Pacific44.

That happens more often than you might expect. My career has taken me into places I might otherwise have known only as a guest, or passed without giving them much thought. At 56, I still appreciate that part of the work. There are people to meet, things to learn and places that deserve a closer look.

El Cortez is one of them.

Las Vegas gives us plenty of reasons to look toward the next big opening. Living in Henderson, though, I also want to pay attention to the places that have been here long enough to have a few stories of their own. A familiar name can make you think you already know a place. This project reminded me to look again.

A downtown address with a long memory

El Cortez opened on November 7, 1941, with 59 rooms at its downtown address. In 1945, it was sold to a group associated with Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and Meyer Lansky. Jackie Gaughan bought the property in 1963 and owned it until 2008. El Cortez joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

That is a considerable stretch of Las Vegas history under one roof. As the property approaches its 85th anniversary this November, it is still finding ways to move forward.

The feeling of an old Vegas evening

The dining room I photographed tells part of that story. Green booths, dark wood, pale marble tables and framed photographs give the space a connection to an earlier Las Vegas. Looking back through my pictures, I keep coming to the same detail: the room has been renewed without losing its interest in the past.

There is another detail I want readers to know about: the televisions show old Las Vegas films, including the original Ocean’s 11 and Elvis movies. In a restaurant, a screen can easily become a distraction. Here, those choices help carry the room’s interest in an earlier era. The photographs on the walls and the films on the televisions are part of the same conversation.

Sinatra and the Rat Pack belong to the cultural picture many of us have of old Las Vegas: an evening with a little style, music with a full orchestra behind it, and dinner that feels like an occasion. I am describing the atmosphere the room brings to mind, rather than suggesting those entertainers performed in this particular restaurant. What appeals to me is the invitation to put some of that sense of occasion back into our own lives.

It does not require a milestone birthday or an anniversary. There is something to be said for deciding that an ordinary evening deserves a good table, some thought about what you wear and enough time to enjoy the person across from you. That is the kind of elegance I want Pacific44 to make room for: considered, welcoming and worth slowing down to appreciate.

Siegel’s 1941 serves breakfast and lunch, while Alex Prime brings the steakhouse experience to the same room in the evening. Two dining identities share a setting that feels appropriate for both.

Even the menu carries a thread of continuity. The Neon Museum traces prime rib at El Cortez to the early 1940s. It remains part of the Alex Prime offering today, alongside prime steaks, seafood and other steakhouse favorites under Executive Chef Joe Swan.

Joe is in one of my photographs, standing behind a presentation of dishes. I like having that image in this story. We can spend a lot of time talking about a restaurant’s design or the name on its door, but the people doing the work belong in the picture, too.

The name Alex Prime has a personal history of its own. It honors Alexandra “Alex” Epstein-Gudai, the late daughter of owner Kenny Epstein and an El Cortez executive who helped shape the property’s evolution. Knowing that changes how I think about the restaurant. It is a new chapter for a business, and it also carries a family’s connection to someone they loved.

My part in this chapter was the InfoGenesis project. I met members of the leadership team, including Bart Mahoney, and had the opportunity to work in the dining operation as it moved into this next stage. The installation is my professional connection to the property; the photographs and the interest in its story are what I am bringing to Pacific44.

A familiar face on screen

El Cortez has a screen history beyond the films playing in its restaurant. The property’s exterior is listed among the Las Vegas filming locations for The Hangover (2009). The RTC also identifies El Cortez as a filming location for the television series Hacks, in the episode “What Happens in Vegas.” Those appearances are another way a downtown landmark becomes familiar before a visitor has ever walked through its doors.

For me, the appeal is the connection between the real place and the Las Vegas we carry in our imaginations. Neon outside, photographs inside and the original Ocean’s 11 on a television make an evening feel connected to a larger story. The classic films are part of the room’s atmosphere; the documented screen appearances are part of the property’s own history.

Make downtown the destination

The city around El Cortez gives that dinner a larger setting. Las Vegas grew as a railroad town after the 1905 land auction. Fremont Street became its first paved street in 1925. The city records the name “Glitter Gulch” for Main to Third Streets in 1946; the Fremont Street Experience followed in 1995, replacing traffic with a pedestrian entertainment corridor. Fremont East’s entertainment district opened in 2007. Downtown has repeatedly changed how it welcomes people without starting from an empty page.

I like the idea of giving that history an afternoon before sitting down to dinner. There is more here than the casino floor. Buildings, signs and street names become more interesting when you know something about the people and decisions behind them. It is a different way to visit Las Vegas, whether you are coming from another state or driving in from Henderson.

The Mob Museum at 300 Stewart Avenue is a natural starting point. Its building opened in 1933 as a federal courthouse and post office. On November 15, 1950, its courtroom hosted a hearing led by Senator Estes Kefauver into organized crime’s involvement in the casino industry. That restored courtroom is now part of the museum experience. The museum adds context to names such as Siegel and Lansky, including the consequences of organized crime and the work of law enforcement.

Knowing more about the city gives those familiar names and photographs a context. I like the idea of arriving at dinner with a little of that history in mind, then enjoying the room for what it is today.

A visit could begin with the museum, leave time for a look at Fremont Street and finish at Alex Prime. That is a suggestion for an outing, rather than an itinerary I have already taken with Angie. I would choose the pace carefully. Downtown can be loud and lively; anyone who prefers a quieter evening can make the museum the main daytime stop and head directly to dinner. There is no prize for trying to fit every attraction into one day.

A table for the next chapter

For Angie and me, the Journey to 60 and Beyond includes making time to discover what is around us. We have trips we want to take and interests we want to follow, but I do not want all of our curiosity to be reserved for somewhere far away.

There is value in exploring the city we live in. Choosing a different place for dinner. Learning a little about the building before walking through its doors. Taking Angie somewhere that gives us something new to talk about.

That is where El Cortez fits for me. The project gave me a closer look at an old downtown address and a reason to consider it again as a place to spend an evening together.

I am still working, still learning and still coming home with ideas. Pacific44 gives me a place to share some of them.

This one started with an installation. It left me thinking about a table for two.

Photography by Allen S. Robinson; opening photograph enhanced with AI assistance. Allen worked on the InfoGenesis installation at the property. This feature combines that firsthand connection with documented property history.

An evening with Sinatra

Frank Sinatra’s “The Best Is Yet to Come” feels like the right companion to this story. It belongs to the musical world reflected in the dining-room photographs, and its title is an optimistic thought to take into our own next chapter. The performance in the accompanying music card is from Sinatra’s official YouTube channel.

Watch Frank Sinatra — The Best Is Yet to Come

Plan a downtown evening

El Cortez is at 600 East Fremont Street; the Mob Museum is at 300 Stewart Avenue. Confirm restaurant reservations, current menus, museum admission and hours directly before visiting. Leave time between stops and choose transportation around your comfort with walking, heat and downtown crowds.

Sources & further reading

The Hangover’s listed filming locations · RTC’s television-location guide · YESCO’s 2025 exterior and signage renovation

El Cortez history · City of Las Vegas timeline · Fremont Street history · The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom · The Neon Museum’s culinary history · Siegel’s 1941 announcement · Alex Prime’s namesake and culinary team · Opening announcement