Question of the Day - 09 October 2019

As a local I avoid the strip as much as I can but last week I had company and we did the p.m. Big Bus tour that started at Circus Circus/Slots a Fun. We walked around both casinos before the tour started and reminisced about Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, especially at the merry-go-round bar. No circus acts were happening but the 2nd floor was busy with families playing at circus games & in the arcade. I think there's room in Vegas for a casino that offers something for kids & families, has free parking, has RV parking etc. It's an easy drive in an area where the sidewalks aren't swarming with tourists. I say keep the name & the theme but clean it up, do some remodel, maybe make the different parts work together better and DEFINITELY keep free parking :)

The hotel smells when we go there, not the usual smokey smell but like a fart!  It is always busy and I have to admit the midway is fun when nothing else to do!  I would never stay there as I am not a fan of children in Vegas but it does give people somewhere to stay with their kids if they feel the need to bring them.  Vegas seems to be turning into a giant Disneyland as we see more and more kids and out at all hours of the night with their parents wandering the streets, so I say keep it but clean it up.

The Strip could use another Walgreens or CVS. How about the worlds largest WalMart? Oh wait, how about a cheap housing development.
A factory to build electric cars maybe?
Coal fired power plant? If not coal maybe oil then.
A retention pond.
A 102 acre park of nothing but grass and trees that require millions of gallons of water daily to keep alive.

Sell it to Republic Services for a new dump or transfer station. Those people in N. Vegas around Cheyenne and Commerce have suffered long enough.

Best one yet. Build a smaller version of the Sands, Dunes, Sahara, Flamingo, DI and Trop and cal it Las Vegas, Las Vegas.
Require all visitors to wear suits and dresses no shorts allowed.

Tear the whole thing down, replace it with a beautiful resort-casino (your choice of theme), totally NON-SMOKING and NO CHILDREN under 16. Include a 5 year guarantee of no resort fee.  Listen for the giant sucking sound as gamblers flee other places for this oasis.  In fact, name it THE OASIS.
  

It's the only way to be sure.

I have a great idea that has less then zero chance of being implemented. Turn the whole goddamn thing into a city park. With trees, grass, water. Y'know, the things that Vegas doesn't have. Park benches and playgrounds. Little old Italian guys selling ice cream.

One reason why Vegas isn't yet a real city is that real cities have such green spaces among all the chaos and noise. In the last 50 years, all the expansion efforts have gone to more casinos more casinos more casinos. How about something that would make the Strip more pleasant and livable instead? One of the ugliest aspects of the Strip is that there's nowhere to go to just decompress (at least, not without dropping some dough). Why not create such a place (and, I shouldn't have to say it, with free admission for all).

Rebuild it as the Stardust in name and iconic sign at least.

a 15 story CVS is the logical answer

What should be done either Circus Circus? I bet you’ll have a lot of people who will say “implode it. And then burn it to the ground. And then throw gasoline on it to make sure the creepy clowns are gone.” Maybe. As a Vegas visitor and not a local, I have a different perspective. 

What a great opportunity! Assuming Phil Ruffin buys it, he will have a lot of work to do. But the first thing anyone who has control over the Circus should do is ... define your target market. 

Vegas tends to open casinos with the “if we build it they will come” mentality. That used to work, but now there’s too much competition. What is your niche? Who can you bring in the door? If upscale cool didn’t work for SLS, it won’t work for this property either. Lowbrow creepy clowns was a niche, but probably not the right one. 

Do some marketing research, find out what people want and why they would come to that area instead of the heart of the Strip or downtown, etc, then go from there. 

Say what you will about Circus Circus -- and I know you will -- the crowd there is always a lot happier looking and enjoying themselves a lot more than visitors to the up-scale casinos with their rip-off fees for everything short of breathing. Much of the joy and excitement one sees at Circus Circus must be due to parents deriving great pleasure from seeing their kids go wild-eyed at the clowns, circus acts, midway games, and general motif of everything being designed to thrill children. It always amazed me how the gambling areas and the family areas could co-exist in such close proximity to each other. I think that must have been one of the secrets to its economic success.

"Was" is the operative word, because it's hard to see how the place makes economic sense today. It's amazing how it has outlasted its neighbors. It would be nice, though, if they could fix it up and keep it as the only place on The Strip for families on a budget and still make a go of it financially.

The Rampart Casino had a terrific New York Deli buffet every Thursday night . After they remodeled the buffet , I haven't seen it listed. Are they bringing it back or not ??

go back to the 99 cent AYCE breakfast?  I seem to recall it was worth every penny.  and more likely to happen than the dollar single deck hand dealt BJ coming back, with the little open plastic box of free cigs on every table.

I think PARTS of Sheryl, Kevin (Can't believe I'm saying that)and Jeff are right.
OK - You've got 102 acres.  So make 3 areas.
A park (Kevin) with grass, trees, water where you can relax and decompress.
A separate building with the MidWay (Jeff)and all the things kids and families like to do.  Possibly include a small, inexpensive hotel for families with kids. (But be prepared to expand.  It WILL grow)
And last is a Casino/hotel Keep the towers and clean it up (Sheryl).  You'll need at least that number of rooms - or more.  Why?  Because they eliminated the resort and parking fees.  
The casino: Complete remodel into a first class gambling establishment.  With the 3:2 Blackjack, good Comp plans, and all the 'old' ways.
I think people will jump on this and Circus Circus will show the other casinos that the customer comes first and with it the profits as well.  (Doc)

Ruffin will turn it into another cowboy hotel. Not a bad thing when the NFR is in town, but I don't know how many cowboys gamble. It seems the one thing that does sell in Las Vegas these days is overpriced alcohol at clubs, so no matter what ruffin does it needs to attract young people who love to drink and party and will spend a lot of money doing it.

I TOTALLY agree with Mark Attasano's comments. Needs research ,a new hotel/casino marketing positioning, and then ACTION

I go to Circus Circus only for "The Steak House".  an island of class in an otherwise "skeevy" casino.  I get in and get out.  (I am NOT a snob, I stay at Four Queens and drink $1.00 Michelob at The Stage Door.)

Location and acreage is phenomenal, and the expansion of the LV Convention center should generate even more POSSIBLE traffic.   I think it needs some market research including the competition, and visitor feedback and then a plan on what it needs to "be",  After that a cost/benefit analysis on alternatives to get them where they want to be. 
Shooting from the hip, my guess is the pendulum may be swinging back-the market may be ripe for change to straightforward hotel/casino with 3/2 odds, no resort fee, good Video poker etc.  As Candy Wright said above "listen to the sucking sound" as players find a better strip option to MGM,Harrahs,etc.  

Turn it into a garbage dump to improve the smell.

I recall a few years ago they were going to build a London (UK) themed hotel. It would be nice for Vegas to return to themed hotels.