Las Vegas has always sold itself on ghosts. Usually, it’s the kind that haunt blackjack tables and strip clubs, not the kind that whisper through empty hotel hallways. But this October, the city’s oldest hotel is blurring that line, offering one brave guest $5,000 to spend a weekend chasing the paranormal through its history-stained walls.
The El Cortez Hotel & Casino opened in 1941 on Fremont Street, back when Vegas was still run by mobsters and men with too much cash and too few rules. It’s one of the last remaining reminders of that era, the kind of place where time and cigarette smoke seem permanently trapped in the carpet. Ghost stories have followed it for decades—phantom footsteps, cold spots, even claims that the basement holds the ashes of old employees who had no one to claim them.
Now, Casino.org wants proof. The site launched a “Vegas Ghost Hunt” contest, inviting one (lucky?) person to spend a weekend in the El Cortez armed with EMF meters, EVP recorders, and thermal sensors. The mission is simple. All you need to do is find out if the hotel’s ghosts are real or just part of the show. The chosen guest will record everything with photos, videos, and notes on whatever strange things they find.
Vegas’ Oldest Hotel Wants to Pay You $5K to Spend the Weekend With Its Ghosts
The search runs from October 6 to 31, and the investigation itself is set for December—just in time for the holiday season, when a little existential dread pairs nicely with the neon glow. The winner will get the full ghost hunter setup and a shot at earning the $5,000 prize, which is probably enough to cover two nights in Vegas and a stiff drink afterward.
El Cortez, for its part, wants nothing to do with the contest. “El Cortez Hotel & Casino is aware of a recent online contest promotion related to a ‘Vegas Ghost Hunt’ and is not affiliated in any way with this contest or its organizers,” a spokesperson told The New York Post. Still, the property didn’t exactly deny the possibility of paranormal guests.
There’s a strange poetry to the offer. Las Vegas was built on luck, illusion, and risk; the same things that keep ghost stories alive. Whether the winner finds a spirit or just their own reflection at 3 a.m., they’ll walk away with a hefty paycheck. They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, just hope that ghostly ju-ju doesn’t follow you home.
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