Operator News
US – Circa approved to unveil ‘world’s biggest sports book’ in October
By Phil - 25 September 2020
The Nevada Gaming Control Board have green-lit an October 28 ‘soft opening’ for the Circa Resort Casino, the first all-new hotel-casino to open in downtown Las Vegas for 40 years.
Gaming Commission Chairman John Moran Jr. said he was happy to lend his support to the opening the casino, which will debut around two months before the rest of the hotel, as it would provide a boost to Las Vegas and to Nevada.
Gaming Commissioner Deborah J. Fuetsch added: “In a crazy year like 2020, this is a positive. Something new and exciting is what we need down in Las Vegas.”
Circa CEO Derek Stevens said: “Circa is about moments and we’re going to create moments. Sometimes life throws you curveballs, and 2020 has been an unpredictable year for the entire world. However, thanks to the creativity and ingenuity from our partners at McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and Tré Builders, we can move forward on this accelerated path and have an opening unlike Las Vegas has experienced. We are excited to see what the future holds and to give visitors and locals something to celebrate.”
Previously slated for a December 2020 launch, the 1.25m sq ft integrated casino-resort will open with its first five floors of amenities and state-of-the-art parking hub – Garage Mahal – ahead of schedule. Upon completion, the resort will have approximately 1,000 employees.
Circa, is located on Freemont Street, on the site of the old Las Vegas Club, and will have a luck-filled 777-rooms, a 35-story hotel tower and a casino that includes a three-story sports book. It’s show stopping attraction is the world’s largest sportsbook with a three-story, stadium-style sportsbook, boasting a 78m pixel high-definition screen that will be viewable throughout Circa’s two-story casino with a capacity to host up to 1,000 guests. This fifth-floor pool deck, which will operate year-round with six temperature-controlled pools and two spas. Circa’s two-story casino will feature 1,350 slot machines and 49 table games, while the three-story, stadium-style sportsbook will have a 78-million-pixel high-definition screen, viewable throughout the casino, with the capacity to host up to 1,000 guests.
The sportsbook, operated by Steven’s sports betting venture Circa Sports, will have a dedicated broadcast studio for the sports betting network, VSiN.
Speaking to GamingToday, Josh Swissman, founding partner of the consulting firm The Strategy Organization, said: “Circa in every way redefines the downtown experience. This is an amazingly architecturally-forward, big amenity-rich new property. I think it will drive a bunch of incremental traffic to downtown. It certainly raises the bar for competition downtown, but it’s so spectacular that it will draw folks from the Strip back to downtown as well.”
Whilst Circa is preparing to open Downtown, Resorts World Las Vegas is currently under construction on the north end of the Strip, and should open next summer.
It expects to employ 6,000 workers to go with the 1,000 positions created by Circa.
Virginia Valentine, President and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said: “The large number of jobs both companies are providing will make a tremendous difference in Las Vegas’ economic recovery. The unveiling of these two world-class resorts, which are milestones in the evolution of downtown and the north end of the Strip, are certain to drive increased visitation to Las Vegas, which is good for everyone.”
