Question of the Day - 21 November 2022

A very good question.

And yes, the sports book takes up a lot of room at Circa. Circa claims that it's the largest in the world and it's certainly in the top two; it features three floors of stadium-style seats, every one of which has a bird's-eye view of the 120-by-40-foot screen. Surely, as you state, that space would be more profitably devoted to slot machines.

In addition, given that so many sports bettors around the country can sit at home, at work, or in a sports bar and make endless real-time bets on sporting events with a few twitches of their thumbs, that's some pretty tough competition for an experience in which sports bettors have to be physically present in a book and wait in line to place their bets. Plus, the apps tend to offer many more betting options than you generally find at a brick-and-mortar sports book. 

So what was Derek Stevens thinking?

It seems obvious to us that he wasn't thinking too hard about competing with the other big sports books, the apps, or the slots.

Rather, for one, he was responding more to his personal connection to sports betting. In many interviews over the years, Stevens has discussed what led him to his decision on Circa's sports book: the huge sports fan he's always been; winning his first $20 sports bet at the Dunes; the wow factor when he first saw the Las Vegas Hilton's Superbook; and his devotion to the Las Vegas pro-sports teams present and future.

Put it all together and it seems to us that Stevens has simply implemented the tried-and-true Las Vegas concept of providing one-of-a-kind attractions with which to lure a target market that has money to burn -- in and out of the book.

With all the sports teams in Las Vegas these days and more on the way, fans from all over the continent come here to combine a Vegas vacation with a chance to see their home teams play away games. Why not provide an inviting environment for sports aficionados to splash out with a major splurge, especially if they arrive with enough friends to buy a VIP booth and have a day-long game-viewing party? 

Certainly, also in the forefront of Stevens' feverish imagination was the idea that such an attraction would be great for his hotel rooms, restaurants and bars, pool, spa, etc., and not just at Circa, but also spilling over into his Golden Gate across the street and D up the block. Not to mention the prices he can charge for the biggest sporting events -- Super Bowl, March Madness, World Series, World Cup, prizefights -- when there's no party like a Las Vegas party.  

And with the number of sports bettors growing and growing around the country, Stevens no doubt figured that he couldn't go wrong by building the Disneyland of sports betting. We can't disagree.