New Circus Circus owner plans sandy pool complex, theater for Cirque show

An exterior view of Circus Circus Friday, June 1, 2018.

A billionaire Las Vegas Strip resort owner told Nevada regulators Thursday he plans to renovate and expand the aging Circus Circus Las Vegas hotel-casino, adding a swimming pool complex with a wave machine, sand beaches and lazy river water ride.

Phil Ruffin won final approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission to buy the 51-year-old property from MGM Resorts International for $825 million.

The Circus Circus property includes a nearly 4,000-room hotel, the indoor Adventuredome featuring rides and games, Slots-A-Fun Casino, a former recreational vehicle park and an open-air festival venue on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.

It is near the $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas project, with 3,500 planned hotel rooms, and a $1.2 billion Las Vegas Convention Center expansion fronting Las Vegas Boulevard. Both are expected to open in 2021.

Ruffin, 84, is a friend and business partner of President Donald Trump in the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, a 64-story non-casino condominium and timeshare property just off the Strip.

Ruffin told commissioners he plans a 2,000-seat theater at Circus Circus for a new Cirque du Soleil show, and a casino renovation similar to his Treasure Island resort, also dubbed TI. Ruffin acquired that property from MGM in 2009 for $775 million.

He said he plans to lease the Circus Circus sports book to sports betting operator William Hill US, which also operates the race book at Ruffin's Casino Miami.

Gaming

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