The historic El Cortez casino in Downtown Las Vegas announced that beginning with reservations for April 1 and later, the property will be an adults-only property. Eventually, the casino will require an ID to enter, verifying that all guests are 21 or older.
Cortez General Manager Adam Wiesberg called it a two-phase rollout as the family-owned-and-operated property completes a $25 million property remodel.
“It’s one of the easier decisions we made here,” Wiesberg said, according to CDC Gaming Reports. “The last thing we want to do is limit anybody from coming to the property, but El Cortez is like a gambling mecca within a gambling mecca that has built its entire business off liberal slots and liberal table games—a great gamble.
“Everything here is catered to and designed around gambling and adult activities, so there are no services here for kids,” Wiesberg added. “We’ve just managed around it up until now, but as we complete our $25 million-plus renovations and are talking about improving and streamlining all aspects of operations, it just seems like a natural to go 21 and over.
“There’s so many things for kids and families to do now in Las Vegas. It’s become a real hot spot for families. For us, the more families with kids that come here, the harder it is to keep track of the kids and make sure they’re not in a gaming area or not too close to a bar. Nowhere on the property, except in the hotel rooms, you’re not in the front line of gambling and drinking.”
The second phase of this new policy will include identification checks at every entrance. “It creates a bit of a challenge for us, because we have 12 exterior doors on four sides of a building,” Wiesberg said. “It will take some time and planning, and so we don’t have a date yet.”
While El Cortez has attracted families with prices that average $50 midweek and $150 on weekends, the new restriction follows fellow Downtown property Circa Resort & Casino, which has had a 21-and-over policy since it opened in 2020.
“The other side of that is when adults are coming to Vegas to drink, gamble, party, and let loose, kids in strollers in the elevator aren’t what they’re looking for,” Wiesberg told CDC. “I think it will appeal to the true Vegas connoisseur and appeal to the groups coming here to have a great time—a traditional Vegas trip. The net effect will be positive for the bottom line.”
