Circus Circus sold for $825M, MGM Resorts announces
Circus Circus Sold to TI owner Phil Ruffin - Video
A Walk Through Circus Circus
Updated October 15, 2019 - 7:46 pm

The Clown marquee at the entrance to MGM's Circus Circus hotel-resort in Las Vegas on Monday, June 18, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

A ring master is photographed at the Circus Circus in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

A tourist from Wiesbaden, Germany, pulls her pet poodle, Cindy from the water at the fountain outside Circus-Circus in 1981. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

The entrance of Circus Circus as seen on June 24, 1983 in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Circus Circus in the process of constructing one of its expansions on June 7, 1985 in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

A high flying act performs at Circus Circus on December 5, 1985 in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

The topping of the Circus Circus building as seen on Sept. 25, 1985 in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Fountain and waters at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

A marsupial boxes a person on March 7, 1985 at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

The Circus-Circus 29-story tower expansion on Jan. 21, 1985. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Carrie Maness, 9, of Forest Virginia, plants a kiss on Santa's nose on the midway at Circus Circus on Dec. 24, 1986 in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Thousands of tourists and local residents line up daily at the Circus Circus buffet, one of the major attractions in a city known for its inexpensive food. The buffet drew more than 4.2 million customers on July 3, 1989. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Blinko the Circus Circus Clown is retiring and gets hug from circus master on March 29, 1990 (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

The Grand Slam Canyon inside the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus holds its grand opening in August 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

A Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus alumni clown climbs into a 2001 Volkswagen Beetle as part of a stunt where 22 clowns stuffed themselves into the car during 2001: A Clown Odyssey at Circus Circus on Wednesday, January 24, 2001. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Interior view of the Adventure dome roller coaster at the Circus Circus on Tuesday, February 20, 2006. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Miss Motzi, from Midland, Texas, takes a photo of other clowns in front of Circus-CIrcus on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006. Miss Motzi is attending the Great Clown Adventure Convention at the hotel. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Students scream as they ride the inverter at Adventuredome Friday, April 22, 2011 at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. Spring break has packed The Adventure Dome at the hotel and casino, making April the busiest month of the year for the attraction. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Pierre Cooley, 18, and his niece, Jasmine Driver, 3, watch a magic show at the Adventuredome Theme Park inside Circus Circus Friday, Aug. 2, 2013 while visiting from Chicago. The theme park is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)

Hotel guests enjoy a water feature at the pool area at Circus Circus in Las Vegas on Friday, June 22, 2018. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Four-year-old Emil Borrego holds his tickets as his mother Leslie Daniel, left, and father Reuben Borrego look on at the carnival midway at Circus Circus in Las Vegas on Friday, June 22, 2018. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Game attendant Dulcesima gives directions to competitors at the carnival midway at Circus Circus in Las Vegas on Friday, June 22, 2018. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Hotel guests gamble on slot machines on a rotating surface at Circus Circus in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)@csstevensphoto

An aerial photo Circus Circus on Friday, October 4, 2019. (Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Vegas88s
TI owner Phil Ruffin is the new ringmaster of Circus Circus.
MGM Resorts International on Tuesday announced the sale of the family-friendly property to the owner of TI for $825 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, and includes the 5-acre Adventuredome amusement park, a 10-acre RV park and 37-acre festival grounds.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on the sale last month, after sources revealed that Ruffin and MGM had reached a handshake agreement on Sept. 12 for Ruffin to buy the hotel-casino, along with the Las Vegas Festival Grounds parcel. The multi-use entertainment venue sits on the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.
MGM CEO Jim Murren told the Review-Journal that Circus Circus was “not strategic to our long-term vision” and that Ruffin “has some ambitious plans” for the north Strip resort, though he did not specify what the new owner has in mind.
Asked what will happen to the resort’s employees, Murren said they “will become employees of Mr. Ruffin.”
According to the Tuesday statement, the sale is part of MGM’s “asset-light strategy” meant to maximize value for shareholders.
“MGM Resorts has engaged in an exhaustive process to evaluate its owned real estate,” Murren said in the release. “The Company expects to utilize the proceeds from this transaction to enhance its capital allocation strategy and complement its strategic and operational flexibility.”
This isn’t Ruffin’s first purchase from MGM. In December 2008, he made a deal to buy TI — then known as Treasure Island — from the company for $775 million. His purchase of Circus Circus is set to comprise $662.5 million paid in cash and a $162.5 million note due 2024, according to the statement.
“Circus Circus has anchored the north end of the Las Vegas Strip for over 50 years, and I am excited to add it to my casino portfolio,” Ruffin said in the statement. “I have tremendous respect for Jim Murren and the MGM team, and my relationship with them goes back to my friendship with Kirk Kerkorian and continues to this day.”
The property has been a gold mine for MGM over the years. Between 2015 and 2017, it posted the fastest percentage growth in average daily room rate and cash flow among MGM’s Strip resort properties. It made about $65.9 million in net revenue last quarter. According to the statement from MGM, Circus Circus reported a cash flow of $62 million for the 12 months ending June 30.
The 3,767-room property sits on a plot of about 60 acres near Sahara Avenue on the north side of the Strip, near ongoing projects including Resorts World, the Drew Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention Center. It’s known for its indoor Adventuredome amusement park and 10-acre RV lot, the only one of its kind on the Strip.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Eli Segall contributed to this report.
Circus Circus over the years
Oct. 18, 1968: Hotel developer Stanley Mallin and casino mogul Jay Sarno open the $15 million Circus Circus casino. A live pink elephant “flew” around the casino on a sort of overhead tram. Sarno himself would dress up as a ringmaster and walk through the casino.
1971: The Chicago mob sends Anthony Spilotro to Las Vegas. He was later granted a gift shop in the Circus Circus hotel, where he ran his Las Vegas rackets until authorities forced him out.
1972: The property open a 400-room, 15-story hotel tower.
1974: Business executives William Bennett and William Pennington acquire the property. They were credited with transforming the resort and ultimately Las Vegas into an entertainment center for all ages.
1975: Circus Circus completes another 15-story hotel tower.
1979: The property adds a 421-space RV park.
1979: Gaming executive Carl Thomas testified in a trial that he had skimmed Circus Circus profits.
1980: The property adds the motel-style, 810-room Circus Circus manor.
1986: The company debuts a 1,200-room high-rise addition.
1993: The Adventuredome opens with four attractions.
1996: The property adds another hotel tower.
2005: Bill Bennett sells the property to what is today MGM Resorts International.
2015-2017: Circus Circus posted the fastest percentage growth in average daily room rate and cash flow among MGM’s Strip resort properties.
Oct. 15, 2019: Phil Ruffin agrees to purchase the property from MGM Resorts International.
Sources: Review-Journal files, Online Nevada Encylopedia, UNLV Libraries
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