{"id":12112,"date":"2021-02-23T12:47:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T19:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lasvegasbuffetclub.com\/blog\/?p=12112"},"modified":"2021-02-23T12:47:47","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T19:47:47","slug":"revamped-down-to-the-carpet-the-el-cortez-is-positioned-for-a-las-vegas-rebound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lasvegasbuffetclub.com\/blog\/?p=12112","title":{"rendered":"Revamped down to the carpet, the El Cortez is positioned for a Las Vegas rebound"},"content":{"rendered":"\"facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"google_plus\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>by <\/span>\"feather\"<\/a>

VegasInc.LasVegasSun.com<\/a><\/p>\n

By\u00a0Bryan Horwath<\/cite><\/a>\u00a0(contact<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"\"
Adam Wiesberg, El Cortez general manager, poses in the High Limit room at the El Cortez in downtown Las Vegas Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. The El Cortez is nearly finished with a multi-year, $25 million renovation project.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the El Cortez changed the carpet on its gaming floor January as part of ongoing renovations, officials sensed customers would be interested in having pieces of the matting pattern as memorabilia and made it for sale in the gift shop.<\/p>\n

In a testament to the pull the casino has with the vintage Las Vegas crowd, the strips almost immediately sold out, officials said. They sold 100 strips of rose-heavy floral pattern from the excess rolls in storage \u2014 so, not the grungy, stained carpet that was in place for 12 years \u2014 for $19 apiece.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were wondering what the big deal was with the carpet,\u201d general manager Adam Wiesberg joked. \u201cI sold 100 pieces, but we could have sold thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The worn carpet was equally popular. After workers placed the torn-out carpet in waste bins on the property, employees had to chase off dumpster-divers who wanted a piece of Las Vegas history, Wiesberg said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a cult following for that carpet,\u201d Wiesberg said. \u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe some people thought that was the original carpet from 80 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Workers are putting on the finishing touches of a two-year, $25 million renovation at the property, which Wiesberg said will retain its old-school Las Vegas feel but also have upgrades to appeal to its many millennial visitors.<\/p>\n

That starts with the new carpet.<\/p>\n

The carpet boasts leafy green waves over a gold and red leopard print design. The pattern is a nod to a Havana, Cuba, look from the 1950s, Wiesberg said, which is a time and place in history synonymous with gangsters and well-dressed socialites sipping on rum cocktails.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic, the property\u2019s 47 \u201cvintage\u201d rooms, holdovers from when it opened in 1941, were spruced up. Earlier this month, complete overhauls of the last few rooms in the El Cortez\u2019s 200-room hotel tower were completed.<\/p>\n

Other renovations include nearly 42,000 square feet of new carpet on its casino floor and the addition of a new high-limit table games pit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe customer base we have, you have all these loyal people who have been coming here forever,\u201d Wiesberg said. \u201cBut now you have this millennial following and the millennial really wants one particular thing \u2014 an authentic experience. They don\u2019t like phony.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one of the revamped tower’s premium suites \u2014 which go for about $1,000 per night \u2014 guests will find a \u201cSpanish Colonial Revival\u201d feel with modern touches and bathroom fixtures, along with a balcony view of the Strip.<\/p>\n

From its restaurant named after former owner Bugsy Siegel to an assortment of more than 100 coin slot machines, there\u2019s also no mistaking the property\u2019s overall vintage Las Vegas theme.<\/p>\n

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