The Venn diagram of two of our favorite Las Vegas things, Circa and the Silverton, now overlap.
Despite the overlap involving sports, we’re sharing it, anyway.
Circa Sports recently opened a permanent sportsbook at the Silverton, one of the first Las Vegas casinos you see when you’re driving here from California on the I-15.
To those who are not noted sports experts, it can be a little confusing that one casino could have a sportsbook with the same name as another (theoretically competing) casino, but that is why you have us. Well, that and the 69 jokes.
So, Circa Sports is a sports betting brand, like William Hill or BetMGM or WynnBet. Circa Sports was named that before there was even a Circa casino.
The first Circa Sportsbook was inside the Golden Gate, and it opened in 2019. Circa (the casino resort) opened December 28, 2020.
Circa, Golden Gate and The D have the same owners, Greg and Derek Stevens. Derek probably prefers to see his name first, but he already gets enough of the limelight, and Greg Stevens has a degree in civil engineering, so we’re hoping he can help repair our home’s failing air conditioning unit, so he gets top billing this time.
Golden Gate’s adorable sportsbook was a dry run for Circa’s sportsbook, and was always intended to be temporary due to the small footprint of the casino. That sportsbook location closed in April 2023. Circa Sports really came into its own when Circa opened, and the resort’s sportsbook is touted as being the biggest in Las Vegas.
Which would be cool on its own, but Circa Sports always had bigger asperations. Circa Sports is a brand, not a place, so the brand runs sportsbooks in casinos that don’t care to operate their own.
Why would a casino want to split sports betting revenue with an entity like Circa Sports? (Circa Sports pays rent and a percentage of profits to the host casino.) First, sportsbooks don’t make all that much money for casinos. They’re an amenity for guests, like spas and poker rooms and sex workers.
Second, sportsbooks are a pain in the ass. They involve a lot of math, which is no longer as popular as it once was. Sportsbooks have some upside, but there’s also a significant amount of potential downside. Like when Las Vegas sportsbooks lost their collective butts during the Super Bowls in 1995 and 2008.
Yes, we knew that off the top of our head. Again, we are a noted sports expert. Your chortling is duly noted, but when was the last time you appeared in a Sports Illustrated story? It’s also worth mentioning we personally have a 100% win rate for all our sports bets made in 2024 (at Circa Sports, by the way). The secret of our success? Making no more wagers after those first two—one winning bet was for Taylor Swift’s team in the Super Bowl and another was for the Vegas Golden Knights, which we’re pretty sure is a hockey team of some sort.
Here’s the pitch for Circa Sports, from the news release about the opening of Silverton’s new sportsbook: “Circa Sports is led by a team of the country’s top betting and oddsmakers and has become known for its competitive wagering options and odds. Limits are the same for every player, whether the bettor is a novice or a sharp.”
A “sharp” is someone who knows what they’re doing. If you’ve been saying “card shark,” shame on you. It’s “card sharp.”
Anyway, Circa Sports is a growing concern, and the sportsbook at Silverton is the brand’s fifth satellite location in southern Nevada. The others are at Circa, The D, Tuscany and The Pass Casino (Henderson).
If we don’t mention the Circa Sports at Silverton was designed by Tre Builders, we’ll never hear the end of it at Megabar. Fun fact: The field operations manager for Tre Builders, Rob Baker, is also co-owner of Project BBQ, the food truck attached to Circa. We will also never hear the end of it if we don’t mention the other partners, Mo Pierce and Steve Hamlin, along with Project BBQ’s convivial chef, Rex Bernales.
If you’re a Las Vegas obsessive, you’ll recognize the name Mo Pierce as the namesake of a very public gaffe when Circa was installing its window panels, the legend that became known as the Mo Dot.
The Silverton’s sportsbook covers 1,600-square-feet, and is located next to Silverton’s parking garage.
The Silverton’s sportsbook looks cozy. It boasts a Daktronics screen that can be configured to show games from all major sports leagues and other streaming services, three betting windows, three self-service betting kiosks, odds boards and betting sheet racks, 12 lounge chairs, six four-person tables, four six-person booths, three French hens and 24 bar top games.
Food at Silverton’s sportsbook comes from Johnny Rockets and WuHu Noodle. Those two brands should join forces to bring the world Johnny’s WuHu Noodle Rockets, if you get our drift.
Silverton’s new sportsbook is part of a $45 million refresh of the resort. All the rooms have been overhauled (“cowboy-glam,” whatever that might be), the restaurant menus were refreshed, slot and video poker machines were upgraded, the carpeting was replaced last year and the hotel’s iconic mermaids all had pelvic fin rejuvenation procedures. Consensually, of course.
Up next is a renovation of Silverton’s pool deck, dubbed The Swimmin’ Hole.
Silverton is a fun casino with sort of a rustic vibe, a departure from The Strip with its focus on friendly service. We find the slots to be loose as damn. That’s not a common colloquialism yet, but give it a minute. Those Silverton dealers are knowledgeable as damn! That free parking is appreciated as damn! That cocktail server was flirting with us to the damn!
Anyway, sports lovers have a new place to place their wagers at Silverton. You do you. We’ll be at the Silverton’s casino bar, hitting hand pays on Double Double Bonus video poker and betting denominations as uncomfortable as damn.
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