He never had billions of dollars like Howard Hughes or Kirk Kerkorian. He didn’t have the vision thing like Steve Wynn. And he never ventured far from his Downtown Las Vegas haunts. But Jackie Gaughan was a legend, nonetheless, and his passing last week brought tributes from near and far.
Gaughan moved to Las Vegas in 1951 after a gambling tax hike made his bookmaking business unprofitable in his native Omaha, Nebraska. He bought a piece of the Flamingo hotel on the Strip, but soon turned his attention to the city’s Downtown, called “Glitter Gulch” in those days. He began buying pieces of properties and at one point was a part owner of many of the Downtown casinos, including the Plaza, Golden Nugget, the Western, Showboat, Boulder Club, Gold Spike and Las Vegas Club.
But it’s the El Cortez that took Gaughan’s heart. He lived in a penthouse suite at the hotel until the day he died—he sold it to one of his executives, Kenny Epstein, in 2008, but was allowed to continue to live there—and on most days in his later years could be found in the poker room playing cards with friends and customers. Gaughan still had a desk in the executive offices at El Cortez and was accompanied to lunch and dinner on most days by many of the executives at the hotel.
Built in 1941, one of the original owners of the El Cortez was Bugsy Siegel before he had the idea to build the Flamingo.
What Gaughan had that the big companies and the “visionaries” rarely did was an understanding of his customers and a connection to the community. The stories of Gaughan’s friendships with his customers are legendary, and his connection to Downtown Las Vegas was unbreakable, even when he had opportunities to move on.
Gaughan’s two sons were pillars of the community. Jackie Jr. was an executive at the El Cortez (he passed away in 2002), and Michael is the owner of the South Point casino hotel in Las Vegas and one of the most influential men in the state.
Gaughan takes no credit for his sons’ success, which began in the hard count room at the El Cortez.
“I never pushed my sons into the business,” he said. “I’ve always put in 12-hour days, seven days a week because I just love being around this business. They did it on their own, and they also worked hard.”
Gaughan was a partner with a young Steve Wynn at the Golden Nugget. Wynn said that Gaughan would be “impossible to replace” in a statement released last week.
“I believe it would take a month to name all of the friends that Jackie Gaughan had in the state of Nevada,” Wynn said. “It would take that long to list all of the people from Reno to Las Vegas, from Elko to Laughlin who respected Jackie for his warmth, his business integrity, his affection for his employees and above all, for his happy, positive personality. I am one of those people whose life was brightened by a friendship and association with that delightful man.”
