It was a little after 9 p.m. on a late summer Thursday, warm and mostly quiet outside on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. A few taxicabs zipped by, a few wobbly pedestrians lingered in front of the neon-lit Riviera across the street, and a couple posed for photos with the nearby clown statue.
And then I walked inside Circus Circus and the place was absolutely packed. Every imaginable type of human strolled up, down and around the still-very-obviously-themed casino, making Hunter S. Thompson’s psychedelic Vegas carousel seem suddenly believable. Giraffe necks extended three-dimensionally from a painting as I walked up a ramp to the massive midway, a nonstop family carnival with old-school games and prizes. It’s a rare scene on the Strip and anywhere else, unless you frequent small-town state fairs. Inconceivably, I bumped into a local family I knew, just some normal, everyday Vegas people who routinely bring the kids to party here.
Today’s Vegas is about non-gaming activities, about building fun spots that attract diverse audiences who might not care about slot machines. Circus Circus is the original.
Opened in 1968 by Jay Sarno (his next move after Caesars Palace in ’66), it was the first Vegas casino to focus on being kid-friendly, and though the Disney-ish theme builds of the ’90s didn’t last, Circus Circus has persevered—thrived, actually.
“There is a strong family market segment that as a business model has stood the test of time, through all the ups and downs of the economy going all the way back to the mid-’70s,” says Don Thrasher, Circus Circus president and CEO. “It wasn’t really a family resort when Bill Bennett purchased it [in 1974], but one of his marketing moves was to take it to the family market segment, which is only so large. But Circus Circus has had that dominant position.”
Indeed, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority statistics show that only 10-12 percent of Vegas visitors bring children under the age of 17. Those who do seem like they all go to Circus Circus, especially now that the El Loco roller coaster has updated the ever-popular, five-acre indoor Adventuredome theme park.
Another advantage: It’s huge. Multiple expansions have left the pink behemoth with 3,767 hotel rooms spread over multiple buildings, including the newest 1,000-room West Tower built in 1996 and the motel-style Circus Circus Manor with 810 rooms. Thrasher says the occupancy percentage hovers around the low 80s, stronger on weekends and when California kids are out of school. “What we have that others on the Strip probably don’t is very strong same-day business,” he says. “It’s not unusual for us to fill 500 or 600 rooms the day of.”
No big renovation plans are in the works for Circus Circus, another distinguishing characteristic. SLS just opened up the street, the Riv is said to be eyeing improvements, and MGM Resorts’ Rock in Rio festival grounds at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue are already impacting Circus Circus. The property recently ended its relationship with KOA Campgrounds, which managed Circus Circus’ adjacent RV park. The park will be substantially reduced to accommodate one of Rock in Rio’s festival fields.
When Metallica, Taylor Swift and No Doubt come to Vegas for the first fest next May, many fans will no doubt find refuge in Circus Circus’ affordable rooms.
It’s one of the Strip’s oldest properties, and yet Circus Circus has changed the least over time, growing larger but never deviating from how it was always supposed to look and feel. It doesn’t make sense to re-brand or re-strategize the place. This Vegas icon won’t be budged.
“The market segment this property has been catering to for the last 30 or 40 years has really shown its strength and longevity,” says Thrasher, who’s been at Circus Circus for 15 years. “You always look to the future and tweak the product to stay current, but we would have to give a lot of thought before making a major shift ...”
Because Circus Circus works, just the way it is.
