It was 1988 when Derek Stevens, then a graduate student at the University of Michigan, rented a car and set out on a summer road trip with a buddy to Los Angeles.
- The new sportsbook at The D will open towards the end of June. Circa Sports HQ at the Golden Gate. Circa Sports opens for business the same day that a new sportsbook opens at the Golden Gate casino. The casino and sportsbook (shown in the rendering above) will be the home base for Circa Sports. Metcalf and his staff will be based at the Golden.
- The sports book at Circa is seen during a media tour of the property Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, as the $1 billion resort prepares to open Oct. By Case Keefer Thu, Oct 22, 2020 (2 a.m.).
Las Vegas was only supposed to be a one-night pit stop. It turned into much more.
They stayed at the Dunes, an iconic casino on the Las Vegas Strip that was well past its prime. Rooms were just 19 bucks.
Upon arrival, Stevens popped a quarter into a Sigma Derby machine, a mechanical horse racing game that was popular in casinos at the time. It was his first bet in Las Vegas.
— Circa Sports delivers for gamblers. Circa Sports is launching as a sportsbook operator for both. Circa Sportsbook Back in the day, your bookie knew your name, your favorite team, where the steam was, wrote your ticket by hand, and paid you with a smile when you won. The Circa Sports family is bringing that energy back, with competitive betting options for the games you love. DOWNLOAD THE CIRCA SPORTS APP.
Next, he headed to the roulette table, betting simply black or red.
'We were up 20 bucks,' Stevens recalled, 'and we pulled the money off the table and went right up the desk and bought a second night.'
It was the beginning of a love affair with Las Vegas for Stevens, who, 31 years later, is the owner of two casinos downtown. But it's what he is building next that has sports bettors and revelers on Fremont Street Experience intrigued.
For the uninitiated, Fremont Street Experience is a crowded, seven-block stretch of downtown Las Vegas that's a little raunchier than the glam of The Strip. Street performers -- some clothed, others not so much -- dance, frolic and pretend to sleep sprawled out in the center of the road. Above, a 1,500-by-90-foot, high-tech video screen is suspended, creating a laser-light show for a canopy. Music blares. Unabashed tourists do the Electric Slide, as thrill-seekers on the Slotzilla zip-line ride that begins on top of the world's largest slot machine fly by in front of vintage casinos such as Binion's and the Golden Nugget.
Early on the first Saturday morning in June, things aren't quite as wild. Fremont Street feels like New Orleans' French Quarter: It's difficult to determine who is up early and who just hasn't gone to bed yet.
Inside the Golden Gate, one of Stevens' properties and the oldest hotel in Downtown Las Vegas, TV cameras and a crowd of bettors and bookmakers are gathered in the corner of the casino. At 8 a.m., Stevens takes an oversize pair of scissors and cuts a blue ribbon, signifying the opening of his new bookmaking operation, Circa Sports. It will be the sports betting hub for what's coming next.
Outside the automatic sliding doors, people are peering through small, circular windows that have been cut out of a blue billboard lining the north side of Fremont Street, at the corner of Main Street.
On the other side of the billboard, construction is underway on Circa, the first ground-up resort being built downtown since 1980.
Circa will be ready by December 2020, according to Stevens. Once complete, it will be the tallest tower north of the Strip and home to a new state-of-the-art sportsbook.
'With a screen of this height, we've spent a lot of time on cherry pickers, on lifts evaluating angles,' Stevens said, while describing his vision of the Circa sportsbook during a June phone interview with ESPN. 'Obviously, we're trying to create the best viewing experience ever designed.'
Circa Sportsbook Colorado
Exact dimensions have not been finalized, but the video screen at the sportsbook at Circa will be three stories high and capable of showing a dozen or more games in high definition.
'It was very important to Derek that you walked into Circa from Fremont and you could see the sportsbook from anywhere in the casino,' said Rob Baker, field operations manager for Tre Builders, a construction company working on the new resort.
Stevens is consulting with Daktronics, the company that built the Atlanta Falcons' Halo Board, a 360-degree, 62,000-square-foot video display that hangs in the center of Mercedes Benz Stadium and cost more than $20 million. The videoboard Stevens is dreaming for Circa is said to be in that price range.
'We've got a high level of experience in the sports world,' said Josh Francois, director of western region of spectaculars for Daktronics. 'And as sportsbooks become more and more popular, we're trying to take that experience and feeling and put it inside a casinos and in the sportsbooks. Derek is out to build the coolest sportsbook ever.'
Circa will feature the longest outdoor bar on Fremont Street Experience, a parking garage designed for ride-sharing (dubbed 'Garage Mahal') and a multitiered swimming pool/amphitheater with another giant video screen. Its centerpiece, though, will be the sportsbook.
The sportsbook will have three floors, stadium seating, an overhanging bar and a two-story production studio for the Vegas Stats and Information Network, a Las Vegas-based media company that features legendary broadcaster and bettor Brent Musburger.
Stevens is an investor in VSiN.
'He is sparing no expense to build the world's biggest sportsbook,' Brian Musburger, CEO of VSiN, told ESPN.
From bettor to bookmaker
At 51, Stevens is stocky with blond hair and a toothy grin. He met his wife, Nicole, on the first day of first grade, and they have had two daughters and a son together.
Cocktail in hand, Stevens is affable and, unlike other casino owners and executives, readily approachable. He can be found on his regular seat at the end of the aptly named Long Bar at The D, his other property on Fremont Street and the second spot to open a Circa sportsbook.
He is a fun-loving man of the people in many ways, as well as a passionate sports bettor who sweats out big decisions and laments bad beats like the next guy.
• In January, Stevens bet $100,000 that either Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan or Kansas would win the college basketball national championship. It turned out to be a six-figure sting after Virginia won it all.
• In 2018, he was holding a ticket potentially worth $1 million if his beloved Wolverines won the NCAA tournament. Michigan reached the championship game -- allowing Stevens to hedge his bet along the way -- before eventually falling to Villanova.
'He's an everyday sports bettor,' said Mike Palm, vice president of operations at The D and Golden Gate. 'He might bet a $1,000 on a game; he might $5,000 on a game. He's actually more of an avid baseball bettor than anything. We talk baseball every morning.'
Now, Stevens is becoming a bookmaker, and his career on the other side of the counter began with a big loss.
Roughly three weeks before the new sportsbook at Golden Gate opened, Stevens met with members of his bookmaking staff in an upstairs conference room of the casino.
Some executives were nervous about the promotion planned for opening day of the new book: They weren't planning to charge any vig -- no juice, no bookmaker's commission on losing wagers.
Stevens, Palm, sportsbook director Matt Metcalf and sportsbook manager Chris Bennett were at the meeting. They went around the room, painting worst-case scenarios and asking questions like, 'How much could we possibly lose?'
'We didn't know, because we didn't know what type of volume to expect,' Palm said. 'I asked if we were really prepared to blow five, six, $700,000 on opening day.'
Sportsbook manager Chris Bennett finally interjected: 'You know, we could win, right?'
On June 1, the opening Saturday, the sportsbook at the Golden Gate went ahead with the promotion, offering no juice on the day's baseball games, the Champions League Final and Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. For example, bettors could take the favored Boston Bruins at -280 and the St. Louis Blues at +280, when, with normal vig, bookmakers would have offered around +240 on the underdog.
The previous night, Stevens held a dinner event to honor the town's bookmakers. Most of the bookies stayed overnight at the Golden Gate and were given the opportunity to make the first bets after the morning ribbon-cutting ceremony. While the bookmakers placed the initial wagers, a line of bettors formed and stretched out into the slot machines. There were sharp bettors with backpacks full of cash standing next to average Joes with looks of 'What the hell is going on?' on their faces.
The line had dissipated by 9:30 a.m., and by the time the final games wound down, the little sportsbook at the Golden Gate had taken more than $800,000 in bets and received a ton of publicity. The only problem? They lost more than $100,000 on the day.
Circa Sportsbook The Daily
'We couldn't buy a decision,' Metcalf said, looking back on opening day. 'I think we had six baseball decisions, and I think one of them went our way. We lost the soccer game, the hockey game. We couldn't win a game, but I'm not complaining. I think we got more than our money's worth.'
Sweating the future, honoring the past
It has now been a month since Circa Sports began taking bets as Nevada's newest bookmakers. Metcalf and Bennett are experienced bookmakers, used to dealing with the daily sweats that must be endured on that side of the counter. Stevens, on the other hand, is not.
'I've had a few different emotions in the last two weeks that I've never had in my life previously,' he joked during a recent appearance on VSiN. 'I've never sat on the back end of an eight-team parlay with one to go. That's happened a few times recently with a couple $100,000 payouts.'
As the new bookmaker in town, Circa Sports has generated interest by offering wagers and odds that aren't found at most Las Vegas books. For example, you can bet 'Yes/No' on every NFL team winning the Super Bowl; same for the odds to win next year's NBA championship. For example, you can take the Los Angeles Lakers at +300 or lay -405 that they won't win the 2020 title.
'Ultimately,' Metcalf said, 'we're here to take bets.'
'They're there to let the customer play,' said Richie Baccellieri, the founder of Stadium Tech, a prominent software provider to several Nevada sportsbooks, including Circa Sports. 'The book is servicing the player, and that is the way it should be. They're running what I'll call an old-style or traditional betting operation.'
The old-school approach is not by accident. Paying homage to Vegas' past is Stevens' style. In fact, the last operating Sigma Derby machine in Vegas -- the game that he made his first bet on -- now resides upstairs in Vintage Vegas section at The D.
On the Friday before the Circa book opened at Golden Gate, Stevens hosted a dinner for bookmakers at the renowned Joe Vicari's Andiamo Italian Steakhouse. Most of the longest-tenured bookmakers in Las Vegas were in attendance.
Menu choices included filet mignon, a bone-in ribeye, salmon and Paglio e Fielo, an Italian chicken dish. Table talk among the bookmakers centered on everything from the evolving American sports betting landscape to whether artificial intelligence might lead to the extinction of the bookmaking profession.
Stevens stood up early during the event and made a toast.
'We couldn't have started up this business without all of your help, and lot of our inspiration really came from things that you've built and things that you've made,' he said. 'We're just truly honored that all of you are willing to spend your Friday night with us tonight. Thank you.
'This is a tip of the cap to all the bookmakers in the city, who without them we wouldn't be where we are today.'
The massive new sportsbook at Circa Resort and Casino that opened this week is everything owner Derek Stevens promised and more. The initial plan for the sportsbook at the newest casino in Las Vegas was grand, but it's rare when the hype actually meets expectations.
When first introducing the concept of the sportsbook at Circa, Stevens said:
'We want to create something that people don't forget. For me, I'll never forget that moment I walked into the Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate) SuperBook. I looked around, and I thought to myself, ‘my god, this is the greatest place on Earth right here.''
Indeed, there is a wow factor when looking at the Circa sportsbook. The venue has an absolutely enormous sportsbook screen, clocking in at three-stories in height and 78 million pixels. It actually takes 10 people to operate the screens at the Circa sportsbook.
Check it out:
Slow video on @CircaSports from the middle level @CircaLasVegaspic.twitter.com/ocCCWRmUdl
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) October 27, 2020
Three levels of viewing
The Circa sportsbook has a capacity for 1,000 people with three levels.
There are video poker games that surround two levels of the casino that look down to the sportsbook. The Overhang bar behind the upper level of gaming machines only has seats that look out to the sportsbook, so there's always a clear view of the action.
Victory Burgers is above the VSiN studio on the upper level of the sportsbook. The restaurant has a limited number of seats where guests can watch the games while chowing down on burgers and/or cereal ice cream shakes.
Circa Sportsbook Football Contest
The first floor of the casino has another line of video poker machines looking into the sportsbook. This level doesn't have a bar, but cocktail servers will supply drinks if necessary.
Seating inside the sportsbook varies. There are traditional seats like someone would find at a sporting event to the right and left of the reserved seating in the center of the sportsbook.
Prices for reserved seating vary by days and events. The first row of seating features large lounge chairs found at many sportsbooks. Above this section are Circa branded recliners. The next level up has shared banquets for groups. The final level of stadium seating has large semi-circle banquets for larger groups.
Groups can order food from Victory Burger or Project BBQ to eat at their sections. Project BBQ will even deliver a whole pig with all the fixings if someone is looking for an 'Only in Vegas' experience.
Satellite Circa Sports location inside the casino
Satellite betting station and @CircaSports kiosks. Also @VSiNLive studio. pic.twitter.com/dlAHxK0xVF
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) October 27, 2020
Sports betting at Circa isn't limited to the massive sportsbook. Guests walking into the casino from the garage on the second level can place a wager without ever walking into the sportsbook. There's a Circa Sports satellite desk right near the entrance.
A bettor won't have to deal with a human if they choose. There are kiosks next to the satellite desk as well as the main sportsbook.
• In 2018, he was holding a ticket potentially worth $1 million if his beloved Wolverines won the NCAA tournament. Michigan reached the championship game -- allowing Stevens to hedge his bet along the way -- before eventually falling to Villanova.
'He's an everyday sports bettor,' said Mike Palm, vice president of operations at The D and Golden Gate. 'He might bet a $1,000 on a game; he might $5,000 on a game. He's actually more of an avid baseball bettor than anything. We talk baseball every morning.'
Now, Stevens is becoming a bookmaker, and his career on the other side of the counter began with a big loss.
Roughly three weeks before the new sportsbook at Golden Gate opened, Stevens met with members of his bookmaking staff in an upstairs conference room of the casino.
Some executives were nervous about the promotion planned for opening day of the new book: They weren't planning to charge any vig -- no juice, no bookmaker's commission on losing wagers.
Stevens, Palm, sportsbook director Matt Metcalf and sportsbook manager Chris Bennett were at the meeting. They went around the room, painting worst-case scenarios and asking questions like, 'How much could we possibly lose?'
'We didn't know, because we didn't know what type of volume to expect,' Palm said. 'I asked if we were really prepared to blow five, six, $700,000 on opening day.'
Sportsbook manager Chris Bennett finally interjected: 'You know, we could win, right?'
On June 1, the opening Saturday, the sportsbook at the Golden Gate went ahead with the promotion, offering no juice on the day's baseball games, the Champions League Final and Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. For example, bettors could take the favored Boston Bruins at -280 and the St. Louis Blues at +280, when, with normal vig, bookmakers would have offered around +240 on the underdog.
The previous night, Stevens held a dinner event to honor the town's bookmakers. Most of the bookies stayed overnight at the Golden Gate and were given the opportunity to make the first bets after the morning ribbon-cutting ceremony. While the bookmakers placed the initial wagers, a line of bettors formed and stretched out into the slot machines. There were sharp bettors with backpacks full of cash standing next to average Joes with looks of 'What the hell is going on?' on their faces.
The line had dissipated by 9:30 a.m., and by the time the final games wound down, the little sportsbook at the Golden Gate had taken more than $800,000 in bets and received a ton of publicity. The only problem? They lost more than $100,000 on the day.
Circa Sportsbook The Daily
'We couldn't buy a decision,' Metcalf said, looking back on opening day. 'I think we had six baseball decisions, and I think one of them went our way. We lost the soccer game, the hockey game. We couldn't win a game, but I'm not complaining. I think we got more than our money's worth.'
Sweating the future, honoring the past
It has now been a month since Circa Sports began taking bets as Nevada's newest bookmakers. Metcalf and Bennett are experienced bookmakers, used to dealing with the daily sweats that must be endured on that side of the counter. Stevens, on the other hand, is not.
'I've had a few different emotions in the last two weeks that I've never had in my life previously,' he joked during a recent appearance on VSiN. 'I've never sat on the back end of an eight-team parlay with one to go. That's happened a few times recently with a couple $100,000 payouts.'
As the new bookmaker in town, Circa Sports has generated interest by offering wagers and odds that aren't found at most Las Vegas books. For example, you can bet 'Yes/No' on every NFL team winning the Super Bowl; same for the odds to win next year's NBA championship. For example, you can take the Los Angeles Lakers at +300 or lay -405 that they won't win the 2020 title.
'Ultimately,' Metcalf said, 'we're here to take bets.'
'They're there to let the customer play,' said Richie Baccellieri, the founder of Stadium Tech, a prominent software provider to several Nevada sportsbooks, including Circa Sports. 'The book is servicing the player, and that is the way it should be. They're running what I'll call an old-style or traditional betting operation.'
The old-school approach is not by accident. Paying homage to Vegas' past is Stevens' style. In fact, the last operating Sigma Derby machine in Vegas -- the game that he made his first bet on -- now resides upstairs in Vintage Vegas section at The D.
On the Friday before the Circa book opened at Golden Gate, Stevens hosted a dinner for bookmakers at the renowned Joe Vicari's Andiamo Italian Steakhouse. Most of the longest-tenured bookmakers in Las Vegas were in attendance.
Menu choices included filet mignon, a bone-in ribeye, salmon and Paglio e Fielo, an Italian chicken dish. Table talk among the bookmakers centered on everything from the evolving American sports betting landscape to whether artificial intelligence might lead to the extinction of the bookmaking profession.
Stevens stood up early during the event and made a toast.
'We couldn't have started up this business without all of your help, and lot of our inspiration really came from things that you've built and things that you've made,' he said. 'We're just truly honored that all of you are willing to spend your Friday night with us tonight. Thank you.
'This is a tip of the cap to all the bookmakers in the city, who without them we wouldn't be where we are today.'
The massive new sportsbook at Circa Resort and Casino that opened this week is everything owner Derek Stevens promised and more. The initial plan for the sportsbook at the newest casino in Las Vegas was grand, but it's rare when the hype actually meets expectations.
When first introducing the concept of the sportsbook at Circa, Stevens said:
'We want to create something that people don't forget. For me, I'll never forget that moment I walked into the Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate) SuperBook. I looked around, and I thought to myself, ‘my god, this is the greatest place on Earth right here.''
Indeed, there is a wow factor when looking at the Circa sportsbook. The venue has an absolutely enormous sportsbook screen, clocking in at three-stories in height and 78 million pixels. It actually takes 10 people to operate the screens at the Circa sportsbook.
Check it out:
Slow video on @CircaSports from the middle level @CircaLasVegaspic.twitter.com/ocCCWRmUdl
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) October 27, 2020
Three levels of viewing
The Circa sportsbook has a capacity for 1,000 people with three levels.
There are video poker games that surround two levels of the casino that look down to the sportsbook. The Overhang bar behind the upper level of gaming machines only has seats that look out to the sportsbook, so there's always a clear view of the action.
Victory Burgers is above the VSiN studio on the upper level of the sportsbook. The restaurant has a limited number of seats where guests can watch the games while chowing down on burgers and/or cereal ice cream shakes.
Circa Sportsbook Football Contest
The first floor of the casino has another line of video poker machines looking into the sportsbook. This level doesn't have a bar, but cocktail servers will supply drinks if necessary.
Seating inside the sportsbook varies. There are traditional seats like someone would find at a sporting event to the right and left of the reserved seating in the center of the sportsbook.
Prices for reserved seating vary by days and events. The first row of seating features large lounge chairs found at many sportsbooks. Above this section are Circa branded recliners. The next level up has shared banquets for groups. The final level of stadium seating has large semi-circle banquets for larger groups.
Groups can order food from Victory Burger or Project BBQ to eat at their sections. Project BBQ will even deliver a whole pig with all the fixings if someone is looking for an 'Only in Vegas' experience.
Satellite Circa Sports location inside the casino
Satellite betting station and @CircaSports kiosks. Also @VSiNLive studio. pic.twitter.com/dlAHxK0xVF
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) October 27, 2020
Sports betting at Circa isn't limited to the massive sportsbook. Guests walking into the casino from the garage on the second level can place a wager without ever walking into the sportsbook. There's a Circa Sports satellite desk right near the entrance.
A bettor won't have to deal with a human if they choose. There are kiosks next to the satellite desk as well as the main sportsbook.
This casino is designed for sports fans and gamblers. Even the pool is designed for sports fans.
Stadium Swim
The sportsbook is a major feature inside of Circa. Stadium Swim, the multi-level rooftop pool complex might be a better option for sports fans and bettors. Stadium Swim has capacity for 4,000 people to enjoy a dip in one of the six pools or to watch the games.
Stadium Swim has a crystal clear 143-foot video screen (diagonally) with 14 million pixels. The huge outdoor screen faces north and away from the sun so there shouldn't be a problem with clarity.
Guests can reserve cabanas, daybeds, and lounge chairs to watch the games. Various restaurants have special menus just for pool guests. There are two swim-up bars, two walk-up bars and a small gaming area with blackjack tables. There is also a Circa Sports kiosk available to place wagers for anyone who doesn't have a mobile account.
Stadium Swim is open 365 days a year and will be open at nights for big games. This is legitimately a game-changer for March Madness viewing in Las Vegas. The first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament happens to fall during spring break for numerous colleges. This is the perfect time to be outdoors in Las Vegas.
Stadium Swim is truly a unique environment to watch sports in Las Vegas – or anywhere in the US.
Back inside the casino, MEGA BARhas 43 stacked TVs and 53 video poker games. The largest indoor bar in Las Vegas was created for sports fans and bettors. This offers a more traditional bar environment for anyone who prefers that kind of experience. It's also an option if the sportsbook is full.
World's largest sportsbook?
There's a friendly rivalry between the Westgate SuperBook and Circa's sportsbook for the title of 'world's largest sportsbook.'
The title is really in the eye of the beholder. Both are great books with some of the sharpest lines in Las Vegas. Both sportsbooks are huge, with brand new beautiful screens to watch the games. There are a few differences in the retail locations to think about that separate the experience.
The layout of each sportsbook is different. While the SuperBook is wide, the Circa sportsbook is tall. The better layout depends on the person. The Circa sportsbook is more of a pit environment with stadium seating while the SuperBook has mostly level seats spread out.
The SuperBook has a limited number of VIP booths that guests can reserve. The seating in the center of the Circa Sportsbook have to be reserved for big events. The free seating on the sides may also be reserved at a lower price point but will also be free for most games.
The better option is really based on personal preference. As for which one is the larges – feel free to bring a tape measure the next time you visit Vegas.
