When the El Cortez changed the carpet on its gaming floor January as part of ongoing renovations, officials sensed customers would be interested in having pieces of the matting pattern as memorabilia and made it for sale in the gift shop.

In a testament to the pull the casino has with the vintage Las Vegas crowd, the strips almost immediately sold out, officials said. They sold 100 strips of rose-heavy floral pattern from the excess rolls in storage — so, not the grungy, stained carpet that was in place for 12 years — for $19 apiece.

“We were wondering what the big deal was with the carpet,” general manager Adam Wiesberg joked. “I sold 100 pieces, but we could have sold thousands.”