Kenny Epstein has spent more than half his life connected to the El Cortez hotel-casino.

Coincidentally, both Epstein and the downtown Las Vegas property turn 85 this year; the former in July and the latter on Saturday. The connection is apt for an owner who describes the casino in unusually personal terms.

“It’s a family-owned business,” Epstein said during an interview at the recently opened Alex Prime steakhouse, named in honor of his late daughter, Alexandra Epstein-Gudai, who passed away in February. “It’s part of myself; it’s part of my psyche. The El Cortez is me. What can I say? It means everything to me.”

‘Shrewd’ operator of downtown carpet joint

El Cortez’s history is well established. John Kell “JK” Houssels Sr. opened the property at the corner of Fremont Street and 6th Street on Nov. 7, 1941. It briefly landed in the hands of a group of organized crime figures before returning to the Houssels family. Jackie Gaughan acquired it in 1963, and Epstein became a partner some years later.…