Circus Circus owner floats potential $5bn sale

Phil Ruffin, the owner of the Circus Circus casino in Las Vegas, has said that he has been approached regarding a potential takeover of the famous venue.

Circus Circus owner floats potential $5bn sale

Circus Circus, which sits on 102 acres on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, was acquired by Ruffin from MGM for $825m (£668m/€792m) in 2019.

“Let’s just say there is interest,” Ruffin told Forbes. “It’s worth $5bn.”

Ruffin reportedly plans to use the proceeds from a potential sale to acquire another casino on the Strip.

“I have my eyes on some properties,” he added. “It could be in another town, if it’s good enough.”

New developments

Ruffin is already building The Golden Circle, a new casino in his hometown of Kansas, and he also owns the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, along with Circus Circus.

Jay Sarno, who opened Caesars Palace in 1966, built Circus Circus two years later, but the latter struggled financially until it was bought in the 1970s by Bill Bennett and William Pennington.

The venue originally featured live circus acts, such as elephants and monkeys on the casino floor. Nowadays, circus performers are still an attraction, along with affordable food and drink.

“We do well,” says Ruffin. “We sell $2 beer, $2 hot dogs, $2 popcorn. People love it. A guy can eat and drink for six bucks.”

Land value

Ruffin believes the land alone that the casino sits on will provide significant value. In 1998, he acquired the New Frontier hotel and casino for $165m and then sold the venue to real estate developers for $1.2bn nine years later.

He added: “Why do you think I bought Circus Circus? For the 102 acres. That’s the land play. Remember what I did at the Frontier, how the value of the land went crazy – here it’s going crazier.

“It’s the best piece of land on the West Coast. It’s got the highway, it’s got the Sahara, it’s got 2,000 feet on the Strip, and it’s the last Strip property – and 102 acres is just a massive amount of land.”

**GGBNews.com is part of the Clarion Events Group of companies (Clarion). We take your privacy seriously. By registering for this newsletter we wish to use your information on the basis of our legitimate interests to keep in contact with you about other relevant events, products and services which may be of interest to you. We will only ever use the information we collect or receive about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You may manage your preferences or unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails.