I am currently staying here, july 31 08, I made a BIG mistake and booked a 10 day stay. The first two nights i stayed in the older section in which the doors open to the outside. This is noise central, or cell block 5. The first night and second night both I was kept awake by fighting etc in the hall and security had to come. I was moved to the tower (as a free upgrade) my third night and the people next door were in and out all night. (Drunk and LOUD and more) who knows. You can hear every noise from 4four doors down, the doors slamming, loud drunk people coming in all hours of the night. In contacting the front desk when there is a problem they are NOT CONCERNED, They pass you on to security and security passes you back to the front desk. DO NOT STAY HERE. In vegas look around, there are so many places that are nice and quiet. THIS IS NOT IT. Stay here if you want a noisy environment, and if you like thinking you are in a old folks home for the homeless. it is digusting and stinks. good luck

I have stayed at El Cortez before, with no problems whatsoever - and gave them a favorable review at the time; BUT my stay last week will be my last.

First, the good things: the room was clean again; the staff were courteous; the bellstaff and valets were particularly helpful when my shuttle back to the airport failed to show up, having booked me for "a.m." instead of "p.m." pick up.

The bad things: There was not enough water pressure in the shower to wash shampoo out of my hair - all week, despite having reported it on Monday. The icemaker was out for the last 3 days of my stay - despite the malfunction being reported promptly and temperatures each day being over 100 degrees; I had to go to the casino bar to request ice. Most of the electrical outlets in the room were shorted out, and I required one for a CPAP machine nightly.

The WORST thing, and the reason why I will not return: I do not drive, so my passport is my primary (and only government-issued) form of identification. Although I was registered with no incident on my prior stay, this time I had to deal with 3 people before the hotel would honor my reservation because the hotel has a policy of NOT ACCEPTING A U.S. PASSPORT OR MILITARY ID for identification purposes. But, my hotel slot club player's card was accepted to permit me to register!! Something's wrong with this picture.

There are people staying here from countries all around the world - who, obviously, do NOT have U.S. state-issued photo identification - and their passports are accepted but a U.S. Passport or MILITARY ID is NOT!!!! Additionally, we're being told to "green up" our way of living, but we have to have a driver's license to stay at this hotel! I don't think so.

In my opinion, El Cortez's policy of refusing to accept a U.S. Passport of Military ID is unpatriotic, un-American, biased, discriminatory, and just plain assinine! I'll spend my money at locations where the American Military and our Country are respected more than a company slot card of foreign passport.

Readers, I spent four nights at the "ElCo", from 22-25 June 2008. I used the "Buy 1 night, get one night free" coupon from the American Casino Guide, for a Sunday arrival. I reserved a Vintage room for these four nights, because the telephone clerk told me that I could add Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the "Casino Rate" ($22 per night). FOUR nights, $74 total, before taxes. Wow!! To make it even better, at check-in, I received a voucher for two FREE nights in September!

I arrived at 1PM on Sunday afternoon. I was delayed THREE times at the front desk, before I was given a room at nearly 3 PM. This delay was the only problem I had at the ElCo. I did not use the $20 bill trick, because I did not think there would be any advantage among the Vintage rooms.

I moved into a room on the top(5th) floor of the Pavilion rooms. This room was VERY large! It was extremely clean, and the bed&bathroom were massive. YES, the Pavilion rooms are in a combination tower and parking garage, but I was very impressed at how well this worked for me! Since I drove to Las Vegas this time, I parked my car on the 4th floor, and my room was just upstairs, a few steps away! The elevators directly into the casino were fast and convenient, opening about 30 feet away from the restaurant.

The casino is clean and innovative, with excellent table games, new slots machines, and even vintage coin-in slot machines! The blackjack games are the VERY BEST that I have seen in Las Vegas...single-deck pitch game, with 3:2 blackjack, and a $5 minimum! The Sports&Race book is clean, large, and fully-equipped; I watched five baseball games at the same time!

There is Texas Hold-Em around the clock, sometimes with $20 buy-in! It's always easy to get into a game, with a wide variety of player quality.

The food is very good. Careful Kitty's is a 24-hour diner, and there is also a breakfast buffet/Chinese food buffet. If you prefer, there is also a Subway. My favorite food, though, was at the small Pizza/Lasagna restaurant diagonally across Fremont Street. Two large slices of pizza and a Diet Coke for exactly $5.

The location is convenient. Two blocks from the highway interchange, two blocks down Fremont Street from the Fremont Street Experience canopy, and adjacent to the neon relics of the new Fremont East zone. If you prefer a serious slice of low-rollers, you can look two blocks east to the Western Hotel&Casino.

The shortcomings of the ElCo need to be noted. There are no stage shows, but there is a piano bar. There is no swimming pool, and the customer base is very old. This casino is definitely running exactly as it did in the 1960s, only with upgraded air quality. This is an adult establishment, for gamblers. If you need to stay in a hotel filled with "hot bodies", fire up the credit card to the tune of $200 per night and stay at the Rio, Palms, or Hard Rock. I'll prefer the Rat Pack-style casino at the ElCo.

I will return to the ElCo. If readers need to ask questions, contact me at

DrGPadgett@ms.metrocast.net

with "Las Vegas" in the e-mail title.

Gene Padgett!
Starkville, MS

We stayed at the El Cortez from June19 thru 22. We had a tower room, upon check in I had asked for a corner room,but they had none available. We requested a roll away bed because my daughter had a slight mishap and sparined her ankle, so the bed was free of charge, they also provided a wheelchair , but in the casino and cafe only.
We were in room 509, very clean 2 beds, a sofa, we needed a fridge , that was brought up right away. the Bathroom ( a little small for 4 women ) but adaquate!.
The TV was not a flat screen, but it was big, there was a desk also, which we used for a vanity table.
The Air was EXTREMELY COLD, but after walking in the sun, it was refreshing to come into the room.
The only complaint we had was on check out day, there was very little HOT water.... other than that, our stay was excellent.
The ElCortez Staff was professional and friendly, everyone was courteous and asked us if everything was fine. My sister was given a free enrty for the slot tournament and she ended up winning $100.00.
We played on the Roulette tables for a long time and we even learned how to play craps there and we won! It was great!
We did eat at Kitty's cafe, the portions were huge and we used a coupon from the fun book.
We also drank at the bar in the back by Kitty's, the Batender was from Brooklyn..... He made my sister a drink for her Birthday, and he was very amusing and friendly, we sat there for at least an hour.
Overall, We will back to the El Cortez., the location and the price and just the overall freindliness of the staff is remarkable.