My first March Madness memory was when I was a high school senior on spring break in 1985, and I got to watch the games in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The excitement levels while we were on spring break were unbelievable, and I have been a March Madness fan ever since. That was the year Villanova upset defending national champion Georgetown 66-64 in the championship game, and it was the first NCAA Tournament with a 64-team bracket—increased from the 53-team bracket that was used before. This was also before all the games were even on television, but the massive amount of excitement was beyond belief.
Circa casino owner Derek Stevens arrive for a panel with gaming executives at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in the Venetian Expo Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Photo by: Steve Marcus
That was when I fell in love with March Madness. The championship games really changed after 1985, and that was my first time really digging into it. In the early days of the tournament, it was impossible to catch all of the games. Some weren’t on TV, some were on different networks and some teams were too small to even get broadcast coverage.
I believe March Madness really took off because the games themselves are incredible. There’s an element where it’s just pure sport, and you get to see these student-athletes compete for pride. It’s a pride for their university, their teammates and the passion that goes into it.
March Madness is a perfect, made-for-television type of event. And I think no one really understood—even 25 years ago—how big March Madness could become. And now, we’ve seen it take over and effectively become the No. 1 sporting event of the calendar year.
As March Madness has grown, so has its presence and relevance in Las Vegas. One of my favorite memories of March Madness here was the first year we did a free watch party at the D Las Vegas. We did a little bit of marketing, and then we opened the doors, and honestly, we weren’t sure if anyone would show up. That first year, we had maybe 50 to 100 people come, but it was still such a blast.
Fast forward to now, where it has morphed into a huge event that will span the course of multiple weekends. We’ll most likely see tens of thousands of people at our parties and events across all of our Downtown Las Vegas properties, including Circa, the D and Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. Just being part of something that has grown—for us, at least—from effectively nothing, to now planning multiple events over multiple weekends for tens of thousands of people, is incredible. It’s great to be a part of that growth, and it’s fun for our team to plan, because we are all so excited about it.
March Madness is important to Las Vegas, because you get to appeal to a variety of demographics. You’ve got people who are fans or alumni of various schools, and each year you are going to have representation from at least 68 universities, no matter what.
Las Vegas also is one of the greatest cities in the country where people and old friends can get together. For example, when Princeton made it to the big stage one year, we had a couple of tables of guys who were best friends come together. They lived all over the country and decided to come to Vegas and watch Princeton play and be part of the March Madness action. It was awesome, because some of these buddies were in their 70s now and hadn’t seen each other in 20 to 30 years. To see the camaraderie of people watching their university play is a feeling I never get tired of.
And now, the culmination is we get to have Sweet 16 games right here in Vegas, and it’ll be the first time we get a Regional Final here. Vegas is the ultimate American destination—which is why March Madness and Las Vegas are the perfect combination.
Derek Stevens is the CEO of Circa Resort & Casino, Circa Sports, the D Las Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino and Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.