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The Great Jackie Gaughan

By Chuckmonster on Wednesday, 12th March 2014 11:40am
  » filed under Las Vegas  comments: 6

   

The great Jackie Gaughan has passed.

Hero, idol, one of a kind, a king, a prince and an undeniable legend, Jackie Gaughan created the mold of Las Vegas casino moguls. Throughout his career, Jackie Gaughan owned - points or wholly - Flamingo, Las Vegas Club, Boulder Club, The Western, Gold Spike, Showboat, Union Plaza, Golden Nugget and his beloved El Cortez, where he lived for decades in a penthouse apartment.

Jackie Gaughan knew that a casino's most important asset is its employees, and worked tirelessly with them to make guests feel like they were royalty, a trait he passed along to a young Steve Wynn.

For more on Jackie, I'll refer you to Dr. Dave's great post on Two Way Hard Three on the occasion of Jackies 91st birthday.

Thank you Jackie.



Tagged: jackie gaughan   legend   





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Comments & Discussion:

 BigHoss posted on Wednesday, 12th March 2014 - 1:44 pm

Sad news. He left a indelible mark on the city he loved.

 ffeJinOKC posted on Wednesday, 12th March 2014 - 2:44 pm

I thought he was the coolest dude in Las Vegas. I will reread his bio in The Players every couple years, just to get reminded. One of the few people I have never read a negative word about. Ever.

I have about 15 El Cortez shirts and jackets that I wear at work. They are a good value for a durable product. We were in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago and I was joking with my wife about getting a tattoo. She said "You gonna get an El Cortez logo above your left nipple? That's usually what you've got written on your body."

When Jackie Gaughan died, Chuck Norris cried.

 detroit1051 posted on Wednesday, 12th March 2014 - 5:53 pm

What nice tributes by Chuck and Dr. Dave.

 vespajet posted on Thursday, 13th March 2014 - 3:56 pm

Even the Fremont Street Experience honored him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80xR_1dCLIc#t=17

 anawas posted on Thursday, 13th March 2014 - 11:19 pm

I wish I had met him. I spent a few nights at the El Cortez a couple years ago (secretly hoping I'd bump into him) and the whole place oozed old-time charm. Now I know why. RIP.

 NeverJustJ posted on Friday, 14th March 2014 - 2:20 am

I first heard his name when I would listen to KDWN on the "skip-signal" late at night on vacation in the mountains of northern California..."Live, from Jackie Gaughan's Plaza hotel..."
Hope he's already got a lunch date with Bill Harrah at the afterlife's finest 24 hour coffee shop.



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