Famous El Cortez Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas - LAS VEGAS - NEVADA
694671410

El Cortez

Las Vegas


Head to the unabashedly retro El Cortez, Vegas' oldest continuously operating casino, on the National Register of Historic Places. Going strong since 1941, it's one of the only carpet joints left where the slot machines are the real thing. If you hit the jackpot, you'll enjoy the clatter of actual coins – none of that newfangled paper ticket nonsense.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Las Vegas attractions

1. Emergency Arts

0.07 MILES

As you're strolling or bar-hopping the vibrant Fremont East District, be sure to pop your nose in to this hub for local artists to see who's in residence.

2. Container Park

0.12 MILES

An incubator for up-and-coming fashion designers and local artisans, the edgy Container Park, fronted by a giant metal grasshopper, stacks pop-up shops on…

3. Downtown Grand

0.22 MILES

Reborn from the shell of the Lady Luck casino, the slightly corporate Downtown Grand, just north of Fremont St, combines chandeliers with 'street dice'…

4. Mob Museum

0.29 MILES

The myth and mystique of mobsters from Bugsy Siegel to Al Capone get the museum treatment inside a hulking Downtown courthouse where real gangsters sat…

5. Fremont Street Experience

0.34 MILES

A five-block pedestrian mall, between Main St and N Las Vegas Blvd, topped by an arched steel canopy and filled with computer-controlled lights, the…

6. Binion's Gambling Hall

0.36 MILES

Binion's Gambling Hall was opened in 1951 (then known as Binion's Horseshoe), by notorious Texan gambler Benny Binion, who wore gold coins for buttons on…

7. Golden Nugget

0.37 MILES

Check out the polished brass and white leather seats in the casino: day or night, the Golden Nugget is downtown's poshest address (not that there's a…

8. Golden Gate

0.44 MILES

A gambling hall and hotel have stood on this corner since 1906, one year after the whistle-stop railway town of Las Vegas was founded. It didn't become…