Korpa 
Elitist Casino
For over 135 years, Epiphone has made its reputation producing some of the greatest and most innovative musical instruments in popular music. While models such as the Broadway, Wilshire, Coronet, Emperor and Texan are some of Epiphone's most memorable models, the Casino is arguably our most famous due to its close association with The Beatles.
The Epiphone Elitist Casino is the ultimate Casino featuring the classic look, sound, and features that have made it the go-to guitar for two generations of rock artists including Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Keith Richards and Gary Clark, Jr.
The Casino Story
For the Epiphone Company of 1961, the Casino was a small breakthrough. After the merger with Gibson in 1957, Epiphone no longer made jazz archtops. A new era of music had arrived. The introduction of the Casino was a modern design that announced that Epiphone was ready to begin a new chapter in its long and unique history. Though from a distance the Casino had the look of an ES-335, the Casino was a true hollowbody that gave players a clear, ringing tone that could be pushed into overdrive when needed. The Casino was an ideal guitar for stage and studio and can be heard on many landmark recordings including The Beatles’ “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” and The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.”
Maybe it’s purely coincidental that at the same time the Casino was in its planning stages at Epiphone headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Beatles were starting out, too. By 1964, the Beatles were stars and when Paul McCartney went shopping for a new guitar that could give him the overdriven blues sound of artists like Otis Rush, he reached for a Casino. John Lennon and George Harrison soon bought their own and used their Casinos on stage and at Abbey Road throughout the band’s career. Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, Paul Weller of the Jam, and Noel Gallagher of Oasis are just a few of the players who made great records with Casinos. And now with the Elitist Casino, you can, too!
