Vegas’ oldest casino is offering thrill seekers $5,000 to spend a night hunting ghosts among its gaming tables

The El Cortez, Sin City’s longest-running hotel casino, has seen its fair share of mobsters, high-rollers and deaths since opening in 1941, according to Casino.org, which shared details about the contest. The hotel opened in 1941 and is located off downtown Las Vegas.

Rumors have long churned about paranormal activity – spooky shadows, phantom footsteps and sudden chilly spots – inside the hotel.

“We’re sending you to investigate, fully equipped with ghost-hunting gear, to see if the stories are true!” the contest listing read.

“The chosen ghost hunter will check in to the El Cortez for a haunted weekend stay, where you’ll explore the casino’s oldest and eeriest corners, searching for signs of ghostly activity.”

The presence of the notorious Vegas gangster Bugsy Siegel looms over the El Cortez. The hotel was sold to a group that included Siegel in 1945, though they would go on to open The Flamingo hotel and casino on the Strip the following year, according to Ghost City Tours.

While the El Cortez has ties to the famous mobster, even naming its restaurant after him, Siegel’s ghost is not the one disturbing its guests.

Instead, Siegel’s former henchman, “Fat Irish” Green, has a haunting presence within the historic hotel, according to U.S. Ghost Adventures, which listed the El Cortez as one of the “most haunted” places in Vegas.

To make matters even more spooky, the basement of the El Cortez is believed to be full of the ashes and cremated remains of former employees who died without any family, including Green.

Several Vegas hotels sell guests on supernatural activity, though not all of them have the same mob connections as the El Cortez.

Over the years, employees at the El Cortez have seen transparent white disembodied hands reaching through the darkness inside their rooms. Others have reported hearing loud, repetitive knocks on their doors when no one else was staying on their floor, according to Ghost City Tours.

Despite the potential paranormal activity, the hotel remains a popular spot for tourists – regardless of whether they are prowling for apparitions.

Known for its vintage aesthetic and surplus of neon signage, many guests are drawn to the hotel to gamble in an environment reminiscent of old-time Vegas.

The hotel’s casino offers blackjack, roulette, poker tables and slot machines that are “proven to be 40 percent looser than any other casino,” according to Ghost City Tours.

The contest’s winner will get to explore the property, including any rumored-to-be-haunted areas, utilizing ghost-hunting equipment such as specialized flashlights and thermal sensors, according to the contest posting.

They will also have to capture evidence of the paranormal beings, either by photo or videos, and journal their findings. The trip is set to take place in early December.

The contest is running from October 6 through October 31. 

Isabel Keane in New York