As he crosses No. 90, Jackie Gaughan is feeling lucky with a pair of 7’s

By John Katsilometes

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010 | 12:33 p.m.

Jackie Gaughan is holding a pair of 7s.

For him, it’s a winning hand.

The legendary Las Vegas resort-casino trailblazer, who turned 90 on Sunday, has seven grandchildren.

By the end of the week -- and maybe by the end of this writing -- he’ll have seven great-grandchildren.

“We had one last week, and we’ll have another this week,” Gaughan’s son Michael, owner of the South Point and himself a giant in nearly every facet of Las Vegas culture, said in a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon. “My dad still plays poker, not quite as well as he used to, but he knows what to do with two sevens.”

Hold ’em.

Gaughan is to be honored today at El Cortez, the hotel he purchased in 1963 from organized-crime casino entrepreneurs Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway, with a birthday dinner and a dedication of the walkway linking the hotel to Las Vegas Boulevard. Along with El Cortez, Gaughan, since arriving in Las Vegas in 1948, also has operated Flamingo, Showboat, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Club, Gold Spike and Western. The man is a walking player’s club card.

Gaughan’s landmark 90th birthday and hotel dedication falls during an event-filled week in the Gaughan clan. Jackie Gaughan’s sixth great-grandchild was born last week to his granddaughter Katie, a girl named Bella that the family is already calling Baby Bella. Next in line, due to be delivered Friday (or sooner, if Mom goes into contractions), is the son of the racing Gaughan, Brendan, and his wife Tatum.

As for the child’s name …

“We haven’t sold his naming rights yet,” Gaughan says, as a joke (we believe). But you never know. As a member of Rusty Wallace Racing on the NASCAR Nationwide Series tour (look for him in the No. 62 South Point Toyota), the 35-year-old Gaughan is always aware of sponsorship opportunities.

He also jokes that Katie’s daughter arrived more than a week before his son would be born. “I can’t win this race, either,” Gaughan says, laughing. Gaughan has been shut out of the winner’s circle since a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee in March 2009. “Even my sister is beating me.”

No matter. The Gaughan family is buzzing over the new additions.

“We’re all super-excited right now,” Brendan Gaughan says. “I can’t wait for us all to do Thanksgiving together, to get that picture of me, my son, my dad and grandpa, the four generations.”

Michael Gaughan says his father is still able to lead a fulfilling life, insisting on living in an El Cortez penthouse so he can be among familiar faces and the game he loves, poker.

“A bad day for him is losing $200,” Michael Gaughan says. “I’ve gotten calls saying, ‘You’re dad’s not doing well at the tables! He’s lost two!’ I say, ‘Two what? Two thousand?’ And they say, ‘No! Two hundred.’ Hell, that’s not bad. He could even lose 2,000 and still be OK!”

Wherever the chips fall, Jackie Gaughan will always be one of Las Vegas’ biggest winners.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.