Circus Circus Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the northern Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Phil Ruffin. Circus Circus includes the largest permanent circus in the world. It features circus and trapeze acts, as well as carnival games, at its Carnival Midway. The resort also includes the Adventuredome, an indoor amusement park.
Circus Circus was originally owned by Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin. It opened without a hotel on October 18, 1968. It included a casino on its first floor, while a second floor contained carnival games for children. Circus Circus was among the first family-oriented casinos in Las Vegas. It struggled financially during its early years, in part because of its lack of a hotel. A 15-story tower, with 409 rooms, was added in 1972. Sarno and Mallin were subsequently investigated for tax code violations and alleged connections with organized crime.
In 1974, the casino was leased to Bill Bennett and William Pennington, taking over operations from Sarno and Mallin. The property thrived under its new management. Another 15-story tower was added in 1975, followed by an RV park in 1979. A year later, Circus Circus added a series of motel structures, increasing the total room count to 1,610. Bennett and Pennington eventually purchased Circus Circus in 1983 and added a 29-story tower in 1986. The amusement park was added in 1993, and a 35-story tower was completed three years later. The casino contains , while the hotel has 3,767 rooms. The Circus Circus property also includes the small Slots-A-Fun Casino, which Sarno opened in 1971.
The resort was owned through Circus Circus Enterprises, which was renamed Mandalay Resort Group in 1999. The resort was sold to MGM Mirage (later MGM Resorts International) in 2005. MGM intended to renovate and expand Circus Circus, but canceled such plans amid the Great Recession. Fifty years after its opening, Circus Circus remained popular among families. In 2019, MGM sold Circus Circus to Las Vegas casino owner Phil Ruffin. At the time, the resort included the only RV park on the Las Vegas Strip.
History Circus Circus was originally owned by Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin. Explaining the casino's double name, Sarno said, "At first I planned a Roman circus motif, but changed my mind and decided to build a circus like we are all familiar with – instead of a Roman circus, it's a circus circus." A circus-themed casino was a departure from Sarno's previous Las Vegas resort, the luxurious Caesars Palace. Sarno called Circus Circus "the most exciting project of my life".
Planning for Circus Circus was underway at the end of 1967, and the opening was initially planned for August 1, 1968. The Nevada Gaming Control Board gave preliminary approval for Circus Circus, but this was overturned by the Nevada Gaming Commission, which noted that Sarno's group had only 70 percent of the necessary funds to finance the project. Approval was granted after a $1.1 million loan was provided by relatives of Kirk Kerkorian.
Circus Circus was designed by the California firm of Rissman and Rissman Associates. The general contractor was R. C. Johnson and Associates, of Las Vegas. Circus Circus was built on the Las Vegas Strip, across from the Riviera resort, on property next to the Westward Ho motel. The opening was eventually delayed to October 1, 1968. The Circus Circus owners had $4.2 million to cover the construction costs, and R. C. Johnson estimated the project to cost $3.9 million. However, work was sped up during the final month to get the casino opened sooner, resulting in a higher construction cost. The casino included a circus tent structure, made of steel and concrete. The tent-shaped roof reached 90 feet in the air, and was made of a plexiglass material which was painted white and hot pink.
Opening and financial problems The $15 million Circus Circus ultimately opened on the night of October 18, 1968. An invitational costume party preceded the public opening. The opening was attended by numerous government officials and film stars, as well as media from across the United States. Nevada governor Paul Laxalt declared a "Circus Circus Premiere Week" to mark the opening.
Circus Circus had 1,000 employees. Sarno served as the casino's president, and held a 25-percent interest, while Jud McIntosh held 22 percent. The two-story building included an indoor balcony that overlooked the casino floor. Various high wire and trapeze acts took place over the casino, but Sarno said that such acts would not distract the gamblers below. The property also featured female shoeshiners in skimpy clothing. Sarno had wanted the trapeze artists and shoeshiners to be topless, an idea that was vetoed by the gaming commission. Other attractions in the casino, however, were allowed to feature topless women. The second floor included a midway with various carnival games for children. Circus Circus was among the first family-oriented casinos in Las Vegas, along with the Hacienda.
The casino featured costumed table dealers and cocktail waitresses, as well as small, pink elephants that could be ridden. Several trained monkeys roamed the casino as well and interacted with guests, for instance by paying out jackpot winnings. In addition, an elephant named Tanya was trained to pull slot machine handles and toss dice with her trunk. According to some accounts, a short-lived publicity stunt involved baby elephants that were transported around the casino via an overhead tram, giving the illusion that they were flying. The property also included an all-you-can-eat dessert experience known as the Diet Buster.
Circus Circus attracted 26,000 people within its first eight hours of opening. However, it would struggle financially during its early years. It was mocked and criticized by skeptics, who doubted the idea of a circus-themed casino. Gamblers were put off by the many distractions, including the trapeze artists and other performers. Howard Hughes, who owned several Las Vegas casinos, believed that Circus Circus did not fit in with the upscale resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. Mallin later said Circus Circus was "ahead of its time" and acknowledged that it was not well received in its early years.
By the end of 1968, Circus Circus owed more than $1 million in construction debt, which led to rumors about its finances. Casino management stated that it was performing satisfactorily, and that the debt was the result of certain construction work being disputed, due to concerns about whether such work was ever authorized. Circus Circus alleged $271,000 in unauthorized construction work by R. C. Johnson. The Nevada Gaming Commission declined to issue a permanent gaming license to Circus Circus until its debt was paid off, giving the casino one month to do so. In addition, Circus Circus charged a $1 admission fee, and the gaming commission determined on short notice that the casino had to pay $30,000 in taxes on the fees. The casino filed a lawsuit against the state to oppose the tax. The admission fee was one reason that Circus Circus struggled, and it was eventually dropped.
The gaming commission granted several extensions, allowing the casino to continue operating on a temporary license. In April 1969, the gaming commission voted to let the Circus Circus gaming license expire at the end of the month, after the discovery of secret loans that were made to the casino but not reported to the state. Hours before the scheduled closure, the commission extended the license for another month. This came after Sarno resigned as president and put his ownership stake into a trust until it could be sold. Mallin was chosen to serve as the new president. A permanent gaming license was granted in May 1969, and planning was underway for more than $500,000 in improvements. In January 1970, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved Sarno to return as the operator of Circus Circus.
The casino was unable to attract high rollers, due to its lack of a hotel. In 1971, the Teamsters' Union pension fund provided a loan to Circus Circus to pay off debts and to add a hotel. A 15-story tower opened in July 1972. As part of the loan arrangement, the Chicago Outfit's enforcer, Anthony Spilotro (under the name of Tony Stuart), was granted a gift shop concession in the hotel. In addition to a government investigation into the organized-crime connections, Sarno and Mallin were also being investigated for tax code violations. The casino's financial problems also continued,Super Casino by Pete Earley; Bantam Books 2000 and Sarno began discussions to bring in a new casino operator.
Ownership changes and later years In April 1974, William Bennett and William Pennington were approved by the state as new operators of the casino. They leased Circus Circus from Sarno and Mallin, who remained as landlords for several years. Bennett and Pennington had been searching for a financially challenged Las Vegas casino that they could take over. They originally considered the Landmark, before settling on Circus Circus. Bennett was initially skeptical that a family friendly casino could succeed in Las Vegas. However, he and Pennington quickly turned Circus Circus into a profitable venture. Under their management, the casino contained mostly slot machines, and did not cater to big gamblers. Although the casino was mocked for its theme, it had wide appeal among the middle-class demographic. Various additions were made over the years, including an RV park in 1979, followed by motel structures the next year.
Bennett said in 1981, "I don't believe kids and gambling mix. If I had to start over, I would not use this concept. We end up being babysitters for the town, which is fine, but we have a lot of problems because of all the kids around. We have more security wandering the floors than most hotels." Bennett and Pennington operated the property through Circo Resorts, Inc, which would later become Circus Circus Enterprises. In their lease, they had an option to buy Circus Circus from Sarno, which they eventually did in 1983. By that point, Circus Circus was one of the most successful casinos in the state.
A 29-story hotel tower was added in 1986, followed by the Adventuredome amusement park in 1993. A 35-story tower was added during renovations in 1996, part of an effort to bring in new customers. Circus Circus officials also hoped to retain the resort's core demographic: young families and retirees searching for bargains.
Circus Circus Enterprises was renamed as Mandalay Resort Group in 1999. MGM Mirage (later MGM Resorts International) bought out Mandalay Resort Group in 2005, and acquired Circus Circus as a result. In 2007, the company planned to build a multibillion-dollar resort on newly acquired property north of Circus Circus, where the El Rancho Vegas once stood. The Circus Circus motel structures and RV park were to be demolished to accommodate the new project, and the remaining structures would be renovated and expanded. However, MGM's plans were canceled due to the financial impact of the Great Recession. The El Rancho land was later used as the site of MGM's Festival Grounds, which opened in 2015.
Out of 10 resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, Circus Circus was MGM's most popular property among Hispanic tourists. Fifty years after its opening, Circus Circus remained popular among families, although the aging facility was in need of renovations, including new carpeting and exterior paint. Circus Circus was the oldest Las Vegas property owned by MGM Resorts. Although 50 years is a long lifespan for Las Vegas casinos, the anniversary went uncelebrated.