Days into the Las Vegas tourism agency’s launching a $35 million campaign to boost lagging visitation, Derek Stevens, CEO of Circa Las Vegas, praised those efforts and that he’s doing more to counter the narrative that the city is no longer a value.
The campaign unveiled last week by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority calls for investing half of the total budget into premium TV placements, which started with the opening NFL Game on Thursday between Dallas and Philadelphia. The money is part of the approved budget for the LVCVA’s year-long marketing campaign.
Visitation is down 8% for the year and 12% in July. Hotel occupancy is also down. Some attribute it to Las Vegas no longer being a value, while others blame the economy and people’s financial situations.
Not everyone has been a fan of the campaign.
Stevens spoke to CDC Gaming Sunday night at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas on the final day of its blackjack-table Dancing Dealers.
“The whole focus is on bringing back value,” Stevens said before announcing a value deal at the Golden Gate to lure in customers on a nightly basis. “You can’t have more value than opening a bar and saying free drinks for everybody (for one hour on a nightly basis). I think things got a little too far away from what was acceptable for the tourists.”
Stevens wouldn’t call it price gouging by resorts, but admitted that prices became “a little too expensive.” Now, he suggests that visitors are seeing additional value.
“It’s a little of both,” Stevens said on whether to blame higher prices or the economy. “Tourism is down in any tourist city, San Francisco, Miami, Vegas. This has something to do with the economy for sure. Maybe in specific situations the prices are too high or flight costs are too high.”
Stevens said he’s done his part to bring back value to Las Vegas. Over the summer, he offered a $400 package of two nights with $200 of beverage credits at Circa. “Putting out value promotions is important.”
As to when tourism will pick up in Las Vegas, Stevens said the talk of recession has quieted down. The city is coming off its best year in history in 2024 and 2025 won’t be the same.
“From a historical perspective, this year, instead of being great, is going to be very good,” Stevens said.
The Golden Gate is reimagining its casino floor with electronic table games. The Dancing Dealers will continue their legacy at Stevens’s other downtown property, the D.
“We’re trying to create the speakeasy concept in a high-energy environment. We thought, we have an incredible venue here at the Golden Gate, so we’ll create something very special. We’re launching a new tagline – “Golden Gate is Where Vegas Started.” It’s One Fremont Street and had the very first phone number, number one.
“A lot of things started here and we’re start something new called “The Night Starts Here,” Stevens said. “From 6 until 7 p.m. 365 days a year, and we’ll have an open bar with free drinks for everyone and give away a lot of free play. This is where Vegas started and where every good night in Vegas should start going forward.”
In other matters, Stevens talked about winning a sports betting license untethered to a casino over FanDuel in Missouri, surprising most people, given FanDuel is the number-one operator in the country in terms of market share. DraftKings was the other operator to get a license.
“We were the long shot going in, but Circa Sports offers something a little different,” Stevens said. “That must have resonated. We’re an American company, which had something to do with it as well. We offer the best value, a 3% hold, not 16%. Circa Sports going to Missouri is good for Missouri citizens.”
Circa will launch in Missouri Dec. 1. It recently opened in Kentucky. Circa has been housed in a temporary sportsbook at Full House Resorts in Waukegan, Illinois, and is waiting for that construction to be completed.