The El Cortez Hotel & Casino, in conjunction with the Las Vegas Design Center, has launches a one-of-a-kind design competition in which local Las Vegas interior designers will remodel 10 of the hotel casino’s luxury suites. The “Design A Suite Downtown” competition closed its deadline for Call for Entries on Thursday, July 22  to all interior designers, architects and teams.

The purpose of the competition is for local interior designers to redesign a suite for the El Cortez Hotel tower. Several suites will undergo remodeling. The top four finalists will have the opportunity to make their design come to life with one winner selected from the final four. The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to remodel the remaining suites, which will be unveiled during the iconic hotel casino’s 70^th anniversary celebration in 2011.

Entries required a $150 entry fee that will be donated to Keep Memory Alive. Finalists will be given a $20,000 budget and all materials used in the design must come from the Las Vegas World Market Center. Particular attention will be paid to innovative ideas for materials and comfort. Judging will be focused around uniqueness of design, technique and execution and the use of items from World Market Center.

The El Cortez Hotel & Casino and Las Vegas Design Center will announce four semifinalists in the “Design A Suite Downtown” competition on Thursday, July 29th, as well as present Keep Memory Alive (KMA) with a check for all funds raised by the competition.

Complete contest details can be found at http://www.designasuitedowntown.com.

The El Cortez Hotel & Casino is celebrating May with Gift Cards! Throughout May,  Club Cortez players winning a jackpot of $200 or more on a slot machine, a $200 or more jackpot on a video poker five-cent or lower denomination machine, a $300 or more jackpot on a video poker ten-cent or higher denomination machine or a $200 or more jackpot on live keno will receive their choice of a gift certificate from either Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Smith’s, Shell or Chevron.

If you’re already a member of Club Cortez, all you have to do is insert your Club card into any machine and the rest is taken care of for you. Not already a member? All you need to do is sign-up in person, or click here and sign-up online.

The El Cortez is located in Downtown Las Vegas at the corner of Fremont Street and 6th. You can reach them at 1-800-634-6703 or online at www.ecvegas.com

‘Tis the season to be jolly and generous and we want to make your holidays even jollier. Every time you earn 1,500 points or more, you’ll earn a gift. This is our way of giving the gift of holiday cheer to our valued players we hold so dear.

Come on down to the El Cortez Hotel and Casino this month and every Friday your points will get you more. Earn 1,500 points on your Club Cortez card and you’ll receive a FREE box of See’s Candy. Earn an additional 8,500 points and you’ll get a reward of 25,000 bonus points! For 10,000 additional points earned, we’ll give you another 50,000 bonus points. So, if you earn 20,000 points, we’ll give you 75,000 bonus points AND a free box of See’s Candy. All of this, plus, you get to keep your points!!!

During the entire month of December, on any day of the week, if you win a jackpot of $200 or more on a slot machine, $200 or more jackpot on a video poker five-cent or lower denomination machine, a $300 or more jackpot on a video poker ten-cent or higher denomination machine or a $200 or more jackpot on live keno, you will receive your choice of a $10 gift certificate from either Wal-Mart, Smith’s, Shell or Chevron. 

AND, all jackpot winners will also receive an entry into the weekly Saturday night 42” LCD HDTV giveaway and $2,000 cash prize drawing.  The drawing takes place at 8 p.m.  Winners have two minutes to claim their prizes at the Club Cortez Booth from the time each winning ticket is drawn.  Please see Club Cortez for additional information and to redeem tickets.

The El Cortez is located in Downtown Las Vegas at the corner of Fremont Street and 6th. You can reach them at 1-800-634-6703 or online at www.ecvegas.com ~LMM

Jackie Gaughan, the legendary Las Vegas gaming pioneer, celebrates his 89^th birthday in style by sharing cake and champagne with friends and guests in the historic lounge of the El Cortez Hotel & Casino on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 1 to 7 p.m. Gaughan will celebrate in true Las Vegas fashion as he is joined by Las Vegas showgirls and an Elvis impersonator from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Players can also get their photo taken with Gaughan, the showgirls and Elvis impersonator. A large birthday card will be on hand for guests to sign.

Gaughan has owned/operated several hotels and casinos throughout his career including the Flamingo, Showboat Casino Union Plaza Hotel & Casino, Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas Club Hotel & Casino, Gold Spike Hotel & Casino, Western Casino and the El Cortez.

Gaughan’s influence over Las Vegas is still present today. He was one of the first to bring boxing to Las Vegas, and his knowledge of slot machines  made him one of the city’s top experts. Las Vegas visionary Steve Wynn credits Gaughan with having helped him get his start at the Golden Nugget.

For more information on the El Cortez visit www.ecvegas.com