Stevens, in partnership with his brother Greg, owns the Golden Gate and the D Las Vegas. He has been active in downtown Las Vegas since 2006.

In true gambler’s style, he’s wagering that interest in Circa will be a welcome relief in the face of a global pandemic that has diminished visitation to Las Vegas and led many analysts to predict a lengthy financial recovery that could leave scars until 2024.Ĭirca is the first Las Vegas resort that requires guests to be age 21 and over, a move Stevens said will enhance the guest experience.Ī Detroit native, Stevens, 53, has been enamored with Las Vegas since the 1980s when he first visited the Rat Pack-era Dunes on the Strip while on a break from his studies as a University of Michigan student. He’s holding back on the initial 512 hotel rooms until late December. Stevens is opening the casino and its three-level sportsbook, restaurants, massive roof-top swimming pool attraction and other public portions just after midnight. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)Ĭirca encompasses a full city block – 2.78 acres – with a striking 44-story hotel structure that is second only to the Strat Tower in height among downtown buildings. Circa Resort & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. The project, the first all-new built-from-the-ground-up hotel-casino in downtown since 1980, will be unveiled more than two months ahead of schedule. On Wednesday, Stevens opens Circa Resort Casino at the corner of Main Street and the Fremont Street Experience. Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens gained a reputation for high-stakes sports wagers and a hands-on operating style that evokes memories of the Glitter Gulch gambling proprietors of a bygone era.īut Stevens credited his father, a retired architect from Michigan who is conservative by nature, with planting the seed for the biggest bet taken on downtown Las Vegas in 40 years.

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