Derek Stevens Casino Owner

Don your flashiest Vegas-themed earbuds, it’s another rambly installment of the Vital Vegas Podcast.

In this episode, we badger casino owner Derek Stevens into sharing some amazing stories about his new downtown resort, Circa.

'The D' owner, Derek Stevens, reveals 'Circa' will be name of new downtown hotel, casino. A gambler at heart: Derek Stevens opening first all-new resort in four decades in downtown Las Vegas by Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent “ 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. Owner Derek Stevens has an exciting announcement about the latest addition to the D Las Vegas team. Derek Stevens is a famous businessman and he has a huge net worth. The exact figure of his net worth in 2020 may range in hundreds of millions but nobody has confirmed that accurately so far. He is a builder known for investing in hotels and resorts in DownTown Las Vegas.

This is easily the most in-depth interview Stevens has ever given about Circa Las Vegas, which opens Oct. 28, 2020.

Stevens, who also owns The D and Golden Gate, talks about challenges his team faced during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as some first-in-Vegas innovations coming to the new casino resort.

They were originally going to name this new resort “Badass,” but that’s already a nickname of a certain Las Vegas blog.

Fun fact: One of Circa’s restaurants (8 East) won’t open along with the others, because on Oct. 28, Stevens says there will still be a construction crane going through it.

We’ve also got our perfunctory round-up of Las Vegas news, including the latest about Cirque’s bankruptcy, how Vegas botched being an NHL hub city, what’s going on with the four Station Casinos that haven’t reopened yet and the official debut of Resort World’s 100,000-square-foot video screen.

You’ll also get the latest about the reopenings of Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Aria and Waldorf Astoria, a Las Vegas hotel with a fancy name but no casino, so meh.

We’ll also tease two new venues downtown, Discopussy and Lucky Day.

You know we’ve got a spectacularly slapped-together listicle, too, inspired by news Las Vegas could be the site of the first video game-themed Atari Hotel.

All that and less, so listen up and Vegas a little.

Derek Stevens, owner of The D, Golden Gate and the under-construction Circa Las Vegas, gave away 2,000 flights to Las Vegas to help kick-start visitation and support airline travel following the COVID-19 shutdown.

Las Vegas casinos have been closed since March 18, but many will reopen on June 4, 2020.

Stevens initially offered up 1,000 free flights on May 27, 2020, but those were snatched up within a couple of hours. Another 1,000 flights were made available later in the day. Travelers grabbed those almost immediately as well.

Derek Stevens made it clear those who took advantage of the free flights did not have to stay at his Las Vegas casinos, although many booked rooms at The D and Golden Gate.

Reservation lines were overwhelmed, and many folks on the company’s player development team (VIP hosts) took to the phones to assist reservations staff. They still couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Demand, of course, has been a big question of late. Casinos across the country have seen record revenue since they’ve reopening, but some have questioned how quickly Las Vegas visitation will recover, or if it will at all.

Given our own level of pent up demand, we suspect Vegas will see a healthy level of visitation right out of the gate. Hotels, casinos and restaurants will be limited to 50% capacity, however.

Derek Stevens Casino Owner Wife

Here’s one last look at an empty Longbar at The D. Let’s hope we never see this again.

The end of the sadness is near. Or “nigh,” if you’re fancy.

We did a complete walk-through of The D’s empty casino, so check it out.

While our usually reliable contacts at The D aren’t talking, we’re putting the over/under for the 2,000 one-way flights giveaway at $250,000.

As for the nearby Circa Las Vegas resort, it’s looking gorgeous.

Downtown’s oldest casino, Golden Gate, blends seamlessly with Circa, the newest. Bottom line: We should win far more awards for this blog.

Construction of Circa, set to cost in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion, has continued throughout the shutdown, so the new resort is on pace to open as planned in December 2020.

Circa’s floors are about two thirds built out, and it’s already the tallest structure in downtown Las Vegas.

It now appears the majority of casinos in downtown Las Vegas will open June 4, 2020.

Derek Stevens Casino Owner In Vegas

The D’s hotel will open June 3, with the casino opening one minute after they’re allowed to, per Derek Stevens.

Derek Stevens Casino Owner

We’ll see you at Longbar one minute after that.