Nevada: Circa Gets NGCB’s Approval and Recommendation

Stevens’ 3 Corners LLC, a holding company for the under-construction downtown Las Vegas resort Circa has been unanimously approved for a license from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) on Wednesday and is set for a final consideration by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

The owner of the company, Derek Stevens, explained during the 90-min hearing in front of the Control Board the roots of his passion for gaming and sports which date back to his first visit to Las Vegas in the 1980s. The owner of the Golden Gate and D Las Vegas also highlighted he took and incorporated into his new Circa project memories from his subsequent visits to Sin City.

Modern Casino-Type Resort Featuring a Circa Sports Book

The new downtown Las Vegas property will comprise of 1,350 slot machines, 49 table games, 777 hotel rooms with 60 suites, 6 restaurants and 5 bars, and a 5^th floor three-tiered Stadium Swim Aquatheater with 6 pools. A huge three-level sports book will feature 1,000 seats for viewers, VSiN sports betting television studio and radio booths for up to 3 broadcast teams at a time. The sports book will also have a Circa-branded football contest.

Live poker fans will be utterly disappointed as one amenity Circa will not feature is a poker room, and despite his reluctance to reveal that detail, Stevens had to when asked by regulators. Regarding financial details, though, Circa’s owner refrained from disclosing, labeling them as confidential, but the ownership of his two other properties, the Golden Gate and D Las Vegas, was enough of a collateral for the regulatory body to assume his company will endure financial pressures.

According to Circa’s owner, the low exposure of the casino property to ballroom and convention space will serve in its favor as these amenities have extremely low midweek occupancy rates and are liabilities for the other properties at the moment. Adding such amenities will be part of Circa Phase 2 improvement plans, Derek Stevens outlined.

Split Opening Schedule for the Casino and the Hotel

Circa’s owner Stevens had to seek permission for split opening schedule as the casino is scheduled to open by the end of October but the hotel tower will not be completed by then. Casinos require at least 200 open hotel rooms to operate but in this case split opening was justified as the casino space was a former site of the Las Vegas Club and the rules of operation under that property were allowed to be grandfathered into Circa.

The casino property will also feature the Garage Mahal, a transportation hub with 982 parking spaces and a bridge to the casino, as the company acquired the site in 2015 and converted it into a large-events outdoor center.

The licensing approval by the Control Board also included Circa’s plans for a satellite sports book at the Tuscany, the first of many for Circa Sports, Derek Stevens hopes. He will have to wait until September 24, though, when the final consideration for his company’s license by the Nevada Gaming Commission will take place.