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| - (FOREWORD: This is a strictly a review of the Casino, not the Hotel - the latter of which I did not stay in.)
Let's get straight to the point: per the December 2017 issue of Current Blackjack News, the El Cortez has what is arguably the best Blackjack game in all of Las Vegas - of their 16 tables, 11 offer a single deck game with a house edge of 0.18 ($5 minimum, $1000 maximum, dealer hits soft 17, 3:2 BJ payout).
(Note: if you count Henderson as part of Las Vegas, then M Resort technically offers a Blackjack game with a lower house edge of 0.14, but the minimum is $25/hand, and it's a double deck game).
I will also note from my own playing experience here that the cards are dealt face down in the single deck game (they are dealt face up at the double deck tables), and hitting after splitting is only allowed if not splitting aces (and if I recall correctly, you are not permitted to double down after splitting). From what a dealer told me, the $5 minimum increases to a $10 minimum on the weekends.
If you're not a fan of Blackjack but enjoy slots, the El Cortez does claim (per CDC Gaming Reports for the 12 months ending September 30, 2017) that their slots are over 43% looser than the Las Vegas Strip, and over 34% looser than the Clark County average.
This place seems pretty dark and shady *AF* when you walk in, but I consider this to be part of the casino's old-school charm. If you're not very tolerant of cigarette smoke, you may want to steer clear of here, as this place has quite a lot of it, and doesn't exactly seem to have the best air filtration system ever (personally, I otherwise really enjoyed my gaming experience here, so I would still return here and just deal with the smoke).
I've had no negative experiences with the security or other staff (dealers, pit bosses, etc.) here. I did get rebuked a few times by dealers and a pit boss for violating Blackjack etiquette/rules (mainly the faux pas of touching my face down cards with more than 1 hand), but it was it totally my fault in all cases. Some of the dealers provided better service than others (the dealers who put more effort into facilitating the game should be tipped appropriately).
Parking is not too hard to get on the curb across the street, and from what I remember, the meters are not enforced after 10pm. My understanding is that parking in the El Cortez parking structure is free if you're staying at the El Cortez hotel.
I'd consider any trip to Vegas to be incomplete without stopping here to get some gaming in.
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