Welcome, to El Cortez
In 1941, El Cortez was built by Meyer Lansky. A few years later he sold the El Cortez to a group including the notorious Ben “Bugsy” Seigel. Ben commisioned a friend from California, architect Charles McCalister, to remodel the El Cortez. In this remodel, 40 rooms were built inside the El Cortez so that people could play and stay. Bugsy then concentrated on the Flamingo and sold the hotel to J.K. Houssels.

Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Gaughan brought his family to Las Vegas in 1949. He was a bookie. He began working in sports books around town. Back then, Race and Sportsbooks were small clubs independent from the casinos. Jackie owned 3% of the Boulder Club. After several years of working in the gaming industry, Jackie bought the El Cortez in 1963.

Believe it or not, soon after Jackie had bought the El Cortez, he tried to give it back. Business was very tough. But when Jackie asked J.K. Houssels to take it back, Mr. Houssels refused and told Jackie, “I cried many tears there, and you will too.” Jackie had a long road ahead of him.

Something Extra
After the purchase of the El Cortez, Mr, Gaughan learned that he got more than a hotel for his money. A resident was living at The Cortez for free. Again, Jackie called Mr. Houssels inquiring about a hotel guest named Irish Green. He asked Houssels why this man was residing in the hotel and not paying. Mr. Houssels explained “He came with the hotel.” Jackie was confused. Mr. Houssels directed Jackie to speak to Bennie Binnion.

Jackie contacted his good friend Bennie Binion. He explained the situation regarding Irish Green. He asked Bennie if he would take him. Bennie told Mr. Gaughan that it was Bennie’s responsibility to feed him three times a day but it was Jackie’s job to board him.

Apparently, Irish Green was a bag man for Bugsy Seigel. Irish Green had picked up $150-300K when Bugsy was killed. Not knowing what to do, Irish Green went to Meyer Lansky to deliver the cash. Lansky showed his gratitude for Green’s honesty by promising him that he could live at El Cortez for the rest of his life. And that’s exactly what he did. Mr. Gaughan accommodated him until he passed on.

King of The Castle
From the day that Mr. Gaughan took on the El Cortez, he was involved 100%. He did all the hiring, he was the advertising department, and you could see him walking the casino floor like clockwork every single day.

Besides his experience with race & sportsbooks, Jackie knew slots better than anybody in town. All casinos were strictly card games. Jackie was the first to take a chance on slot machines. Other casinos started to take notice of the revenue that slot machines were bringing in. Jackie was always very cordial about sharing the stats. He felt that although it was good for his business, the big picture was that it was good for Vegas.

The Godfather of Slots
The El Cortez became the testing ground for slots. Manufacturers knew that if they wanted to get a machine into a casino, it had to get tested at The Cortez. When Caesar’s Palace first opened it was Jackie who brought in the first $1 slots.

Machines weren’t the only guinea pigs being tested at the Cortez. Most people in the hotel industry were being trained at there as well. Many head honcho’s in today’s Vegas had their start at The Cortez. Jackie was the type of person who did not believe in limiting you to one field. Since Jackie was the person who would be hiring you, he got to know you and would help you learn whatever you needed.

Leader and Teacher
We sat down with Mike Nolan, president and part owner of El Cortez. He said “I was working in hotel management on the strip, and I was offered a job to go work at the Hilton. But I wanted to learn more of the gaming aspect of the industry. A friend of mine told me that he started with Mr. Gaughan, and that he learned a lot from working at The Cortez because Jackie was so hands on.” That is the reason that Mike Nolan decided to go. “Jackie had hired me and I was working in the cage for a couple of weeks, Mr. Gaughan approached me and told me that he would like me to be a slots manager. I explained to him that I didn’t know anything about slots, and Mr. Gaughan said, That’s o.k., I will teach you.”
“Jackie’s philosophy on doing business was simple. We can do business if it’s good for you, and it’s good for me. It was always a fair shake with Jackie. Nobody ever said I did a deal with Jackie Gaughan and boy did I get screwed.” Keeping it honest and fair in a time when there was a lot of mob activity must not have been an easy task. But it’s obvious that there are many people loyal to Mr. Gaughan. A lot of employees have been there for 30-40 years.

Fun Promotions
Yet another specialty of Jackie’s was his ability to promote. Jackie Gaughan invented the fun book. In those days, the casino did not have restaurants. It had rooms, and a casino. So the fun book was the way that Jackie was able to drive foot traffic in from surrounding restaurants, sportsbooks, businesses. He was out there personally making the deliveries in his Ford Bronco. Jackie was never a flashy guy.

But his promotions didn’t stop with the fun book. Jackie Gaughan was the first licensed promoter in the state of Nevada. In fact, Jackie was the only person at that time who could promote fights. He brought all the big boxing matches to The Cortez. There are historic pictures all over El Cortez including a photo of him between Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson. Even when boxing had moved into a bigger arena at the Convention Center, Jackie was still the promoter.

His town
At one point he owned 30% of Downtown including The El Cortez, The Plaza, The Golden Nugget, The Nevada Hotel, and other casino properties outside of Vegas. In the meantime, Jackie’s own bloodline was getting involved in the hotel industry. His son Michael Gaughan was a partner in Coast Casinos. It was a family affair. Though Michael’s businesses were mainly on the strip, Jackie remained in downtown.

Although Mr. Gaughan was part owner of many different hotels at different times, his baby was the El Cortez. Through the years Jackie has upgraded the hotel in so many ways. Besides adding more rooms, restaurants, a sportsbook, and a parking garage, Jackie built the tower in the 1980’s and moved into the Penthouse.

Jackie bought The Ogden House for $750, 000 in 1974. It was bought for the sole purpose of extra lodging.  It is directly across from The Cortez. You may remember it from the scene in Casino where Sharon Stone overdoses. It acted as the overflow for Hotel Guests when the tower was occupied. The Ogden House was rundown and it was due for an upgrade.

Time for a change
Part of Oscar Goodman’s campaign was to revamp downtown. Slowly each part was getting a facelift. The art’s district, the casino district, and the entertainment district. It started to draw a younger crowd. The heads behind El Cortez decided to take this opportunity to cater to the new audience. They changed the Ogden House to The Cabana Suites. It was concepted to follow the trendy look of South Beach. We shot our fashion shoot there. Look at it here.

The Golden Years
In 2004, Jackie sold off all his properties besides the El Cortez, his home. Retired and about to turn 89 in October, Jackie still resides in the penthouse at the hotel. The people who have stayed with him for so many years are now partners in owning the Cortez. Jackie can still be found walking around the hotel and playing poker daily. Mr. Gaughan still wears a suit everyday and keeps the style of classic Vegas. Mr. Gaughan we envy your work ethic, your class, and your accomplishments. Thank you for being such a monumental part of our history.