Siegel’s 1941 to Close at Downtown’s El Cortez Casino

By Scott Roeben, on November 08 2025
2 min read 3 comments
Downtown Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Restaurants

An El Cortez official has confirmed Siegel’s 1941 restaurant is set to close at downtown’s El Cortez Hotel & Casino.

The closure is expected to happen in April 2026, subject to change, like everything in life except the popularity of bosoms.

A 90-day renovation will take place, then Siegel’s will be replaced by a new concept, a New York-style steakhouse, and we couldn’t be happier. Because meat.

The fewer venues glamorizing murderers, the better. All due respect.

That’s pretty much the whole scoop, but we’ll add some additional words for the search engines.

El Cortez is in the middle of some massive changes, including the launch of a casino expansion.

Most recently, ElCo unveiled a $20 million expansion of its casino floor (an additional 10,000 square feet), including two new bars, Roulette Bar and Show Bar. Wanting to maintain a positive tone precludes us from talking about the video poker pay tables at those bars.

Another new addition is a new restaurant, Hot Noods.

Hot Noods isn’t your grandpa’s El Cortez restaurant.

El Cortez Hotel & Casino, opened on November 7, 1941, is the longest continuously operating casino‑hotel in Las Vegas.

It sits in the Fremont East Entertainment District, but was around long before that was even a thing.

Everyone whining about missing “old Vegas” needs to visit El Cortez while there’s still some left.

El Cortez has managed to bring in a young, new crowd without sacrificing its die-hard fans, the grinders. Station Casinos tried that balancing act at Palms and failed, miserably, resulting in the sale of Palms to the San Manuel tribe.

We couldn’t get the name of the new El Cortez steakhouse, but we don’t have to ruin all their surprises.

A steakhouse will be a welcome addition, as our experiences at Siegel’s 1941 haven’t been great.

For the old-timers, the new steakhouse will serve breakfast and lunch. The restaurant will close for an hour to prep for dinner service. Who the hell gets up early enough to eat breakfast in Vegas, though. They’re doing it wrong!

Bottom line: Some will bemoan the demise of Siegel’s 1941, but everything in Las Vegas has its season. We’re looking forward to the change, and we’ll keep you in the loop as further details become available.