El Cortez Gambling Update

A new El Cortez review here at the WoV has some very inaccurate ( I think) Gambling info included.

I was just there 4 weeks ago and have been a regular visitor for over 2 years.

Craps has been a $3 to $1000, 10 times odds table for the longest time. Have never seen $1 craps there.
Most evening both tables are open until shift change when they close one.
I sure hope they have not changed.

They also have 4 roulette tables with 25 cent minimum bets, right next to the $5 min mini-baccarat table.
1 $5 min 3 card poker,
1 $5 min pai-gow poker

I will be there next week to find out for sure.

Quote: 7winner

Craps has been a $3 to $1000, 10 times odds table for the longest time. Have never seen $1 craps there.
Most evening both tables are open until shift change when they close one.
I sure hope they have not changed.

Cortez usually opens both craps tables but only one is $3 minimum. And that is not a guarantee. But there is always a $5 minimum table.

Binion's used to open $1 craps tables but only in the middle of the night and only on the pit bosses decision. Perhaps it happens on rare occasions at El Cortez.

I was wondering if that was an older review.
Started playing there not long after Jackie sold the Plaza. First went there cause the barber at the Plaza had left.
Back then it was a very interesting crowd. However the entire area has changed quite a bit in the last 2 years.
The walk from the FSE at night can be a bit concerning however unless you are in that short predawn period after the bars close on the block between LVB and The ElC it is relatively safe.
My wife and I (34 and 40) used to stay at the GN but about 4 years ago changed to the ElC. Truthfully we get much better service.
We come from the east coast but still stay at the El C about 20 days a year. Now they just need to replace the pool.

The last time I was there over Halloween they had $3 craps all the time.

I also must say I like the fact that a person owns the casino not millions of share holders.

Unless it changed since '08 Kenny Epstein is the majority owner now.

EDIT: Just checked the El C's site and they have pretty much all the rules clearly posted and table limits. Wish more casinos did this.
They also have a list of all of the other venues in the area. Not just the indy bars but clubs and bars located in other casinos.

That was a mixture of old and new material from the writer. I'd be eager to get a verification of the current table counts and limits. Maybe I'll even go there myself today.

Quote: Wavy70

Just checked the El C's site and they have pretty much all the rules clearly posted and table limits. Wish more casinos did this. They also have a list of all of the other venues in the area. Not just the indy bars but clubs and bars located in other casinos.

The website may not be organized too well, but it is indeed nice to have that information presented. The list of 'The Neighborhood' probably saves them from repetitively answering questions all the time but just might be a decision-making item for some people who decide to stay at the "Hell Cortez" but also check out the nearby whatever.

I noted that "our slots are thirty percent looser than the County Average"... no comparison to any other casino. No comparison to Downtown casino averages.

Quote: FleaStiff

I noted that "our slots are thirty percent looser than the County Average"... no comparison to any other casino. No comparison to Downtown casino averages.

They can't compare to any other casino because Nevada doesn't release returns of individual casinos. They probably should have compared themselves to the downtown average, but it probably wasn't as impressive a "swing." Palms did the same advertising campaign recently, so they could have reverse-engineered the numbers and compared themselves to Palms. I would be confident in saying Palms and El Cortez are 1-2 in terms of slot payback in Clark County.

Quote: FleaStiff

The website may not be organized too well, but it is indeed nice to have that information presented. The list of 'The Neighborhood' probably saves them from repetitively answering questions all the time but just might be a decision-making item for some people who decide to stay at the "Hell Cortez" but also check out the nearby whatever.

I noted that "our slots are thirty percent looser than the County Average"... no comparison to any other casino. No comparison to Downtown casino averages.

You could compare the downtown average to the county average and see whether 30% is higher or lower...

Quote: Wizard

That was a mixture of old and new material from the writer. I'd be eager to get a verification of the current table counts and limits. Maybe I'll even go there myself today.

I'll do a quick walkthrough today. There was indeed a $1 craps table there last summer.

Slot and Video Poker Win Rates 2009
Slots/Video Poker...... Clark County......Strip......Boulder.....Downtown...NorthLV.
Total.............................6.27%..........7.01%.....5.07%.......6.50%.......5.82%
If these are win rates, does that mean that which was not won was paid out?

For slots, yes. Win is coin-in - coin-out, so the other way to look at that is the Strip had a 92.99% average RTP while Boulder had a 94.93% RTP. Not surprising.