← Back to Newsroom

Steakhouse replacing classic café at El Cortez in downtown Las Vegas

Thursday, August 6, 2026 7:29 PM
Image aggregated from Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  • Johnathan L. Wright, Las Vegas Review-Journal

El Cortez, the downtown hotel-casino that plays a classic part in Las Vegas history, is opening a steakhouse — another sort of Vegas classic — this fall.

Alex Prime, a New York-style steakhouse, continues the renewal of the property under Kenny Epstein, who purchased El Cortez in 2008. Epstein is the latest in a long line of colorful owners that includes Bugsy Siegel in the 1940s and gaming legend Jackie Gaughan, who sold El Cortez to Epstein after 45 years of ownership.

Alex Prime is named for Epstein’s late daughter, Alexandra “Alex” Epstein-Gudai, an El Cortez executive who is credited with helping to transform El Cortez into a modern Vegas destination.