A new steakhouse opening this fall inside downtown Las Vegas's El Cortez Hotel & Casino carries a name with real weight behind it. Alex Prime Steakhouse will occupy the property's main dining room, and it is named for Alexandra “Alex” Epstein-Gudai, the daughter of El Cortez owner Kenny Epstein, who died at age 41 on February 1, 2026.
Epstein-Gudai spent roughly fifteen years in a senior leadership role at El Cortez, according to Forbes, and her obituary notes she served as an executive vice president and board member working to modernize the historic hotel-casino before her death. The new steakhouse is being framed less as a rebrand than as a tribute, with her father's vision for the space brought to life by restaurant consultant David Robins, who formerly worked for Wolfgang Puck's dining empire, per the same Forbes report.
A Dual-Concept Dining Room With a New Chef
Alex Prime is taking over the space formerly occupied by Siegel's 1941, which closed in April for renovations. Rather than eliminating that budget-friendly cafe outright, El Cortez plans to run a dual-concept operation: Siegel's 1941 will continue serving breakfast and lunch before the room converts into Alex Prime at 5 p.m. for dinner service, according to Casino.org. Joe Swan has been named executive chef of the new steakhouse, and the menu leans into an authentic New York steakhouse concept with East Coast culinary influence, the Forbes report states.
That menu includes classic steaks and slow-roasted prime rib alongside dishes like shrimp de jonghe — grilled butter shrimp with parsley and lemon served with toasted baguette — plus a jumbo lump crab cake with classic remoulade and traditional French escargot with garlic herb butter, lemon, and toasted bread. Per Forbes, the restaurant aims to blend 1940s-era glamour with modern upscale steakhouse features, backed by a curated wine program. Bart Mahoney serves as vice president of hospitality for the concept.
A Cocktail Named for Alex, and a Dish Named for Diane
The tribute extends beyond the restaurant's name. Epstein-Gudai preferred a dirty martini, and Alex Prime's cocktail menu now features the Alex Martini in her honor, alongside a classic martini, the Brandy Alexander, and the Grasshopper, according to the same Forbes report. Kenny Epstein, who is married to Diane Epstein, has said Steak Diane holds personal significance for him, and he has praised the restaurant's lobster bisque.
Fitting Into a Bigger, $20 Million Makeover
Alex Prime's arrival builds on a larger modernization push at El Cortez, which has occupied the same downtown location for 85 years, per Forbes. In May 2025, the property completed an 18,000-square-foot, $20 million expansion and renovation that raised casino floor ceilings, added 10,000 square feet of gaming space, and introduced a high-limit gaming lounge and new bars, according to McCarthy Building Companies, which handled the work while the casino stayed open around the clock.
El Cortez holds a rare distinction among Las Vegas casinos: it is the only continuously operating casino-hotel in the city listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation it received on February 13, 2013. The building first opened on November 7, 1941, as the first resort-style hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Its past ownership includes a notorious chapter — mobsters Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, Meyer Lansky, and Moe Sedway bought the property in March 1945 for $600,000 before selling it back a year later to pursue the Flamingo on the Las Vegas Strip, a history that inspired the name of the outgoing Siegel's 1941 concept.
Family Roots Run Three Generations Deep
Kenny Epstein's ties to El Cortez date to 1975, when he bought into the property alongside legendary casino operator Jackie Gaughan, who later lived in the hotel's penthouse until his death in 2014. Epstein acquired majority ownership in 2008. The casino operates under the corporate name Ike Gaming, honoring Epstein's father, Ike Epstein, a former Chicago bookmaker who moved to Las Vegas in 1959 to help open the Stardust — a lineage also memorialized in the casino's Ike's Bar.
El Cortez has leaned into its old-school reputation before making this pivot upscale. In 2022, the property became just the second downtown Las Vegas venue after Circa to go strictly 21-and-over across its entire hotel and casino floor, part of a broader push to refocus the property as an adult gambling destination. And El Cortez's famous prime rib sign — the “Prime Rib $19.95” neon that hung on its parking garage since 1974 — was donated to The Neon Museum in September 2024 to preserve that culinary heritage during the property's upgrades. Alex Prime, opening this fall, now carries that legacy of prime rib and family history into its next chapter.
