Circa Named Best Casino Resort in U.S. for Third Straight Time, Here’s Why

From Vital Vegas

https://www.casino.org/vitalvegas/circa-named-best-casino-resort-in-u-s-third-straight-time-heres-why/

 I find this "award" dubious, at best. Everything offered @ Circa I find to be way overpriced. Rooms, parking, table limits, poor video poker, food and drinks. If one did not know better, they would think they were on the gouging strip. The only things I see as being good are the banning of those under 21 and the comping of drinks while playing video poker at the longbar. Everything else has a large pricetag that will drain one's pockets. Even so, apparently there are enough people with more money than common sense that are willing to pay the prices. Since I am a low roller, I doubt if I will ever stay there because I refuse to pay thru the nose for what is available elsewhere for less money. For those whose money is not of a concern, I am sure that they will accept the gouging as the price one pays to enjoy what the Circa offers.

While I think they are attractive and all, they wouldn't be best in my books either.

"Poor" video poker?   They have a ton of 8/5 BP which is competitive with the most other properties downtown.   Add the relatively easy coin-in thresholds to get juicy mailers and Circa is definitely a play for the sharp VP player staying downtown.  

Now for the typical no-brain Vegas ploppie, then I definitely agree that Circa is overpriced in all aspects. 

      manny - True, they have 50 cent bonus poker but most of the other video poker games are higher denominations and not in my comfort zone. I enjoy having the opportunity to play the other video poker games, but not at the minimuns offered there. Like I said, Circa is geared for the strip mentality of gambling and would fit right in there on the strip. I personally have no use for the new games which require no expertise other than pushing a button and see what happens. Some like to call that "entertainment" while I consider it an exercise in expensive futility. But, to each their own. 

Clearly they dont use the same criteria I do.    They incorporate lots of non-casino attributes which is fair enough.   I still wouldnt put Circa in my top 10 even on that front.   But everything is relative.

Incidently - Hard Rock Northern Indiana finished as second runner up in their rankings which is hilarious.  That place royally sucks.

My primary objection to Circa is that it's really LOUD in there. And yes, everything is overpriced. I have more reason to visit a sewage plant 

Agree.  There's no reason to be blaring Calvin Harris at deafening levels at 9am on a Monday morning.  

 I have never understood why the music blares so loudly at the "D" and Circa. Maybe someone can make some sense of it...

As sports betting becomes ubiquitous, Circa's status will continue to rise vis-a-vis other properties. Currently, their futures odds and limits, and the focus they have on their race and sports book, places them arguably at the top of the LV food chain. And because the Westgate Superbook tends to see things the way I see them, Circa becomes my first stop for value and bargains betting sports because their numbers will be somewhat different in a way that's helpful to me.

Having said all that, they are doing some hyping of sports in a way that panders to the naive and wanna be sports betting in-crowd, so someone like Jimmy Vaccaro at South Point will likely roll his eyes at the bulk of the Circa betting population. 

Anyway, there's really nowhere to eat inside Circa that's non-touristy, and there's no what I call "community space" to take a break and have conversations. Undoubtedly that's by design. And yeah, it's too loud for my tastes. The D is also loud. The loudness is one way to insulate people from each other and isolate people in what Natasha Dow Schull would describe as "The Zone," where people are in their own little individual mental universes and casino environment manipulations have maximum effect.

It's intriguing to compare/contrast the Superbook and Circa sports book areas. The Superbook is more like the old Stardust in that social interation between people isn't actively hindered by the decibels.

Bottom line: Circa is a good and necessary place to visit for a sports bettor, but I wouldn't hang out (or eat) there.