Report: Phil Ruffin Looking To Sell Circus Circus For $5 Billion

Phil Ruffin is planning to sell Circus Circus for as much as $5 billion, according to a report from Forbes. This would be a package deal that would include a total of 102 acres of land and the historic Las Vegas casino. 

Billionaire Phil Ruffin purchased Circus Circus from MGM Resorts in 2019 for $825 million. He also owns Treasure Island but has no plans to divest the casino next to the future Hard Rock Las Vegas. 

Circus Circus wouldn’t be Ruffin’s first Las Vegas casino flip. In 1998 he purchased the Frontier for $167 million. In 2007, he flipped the property for more than $1.2 billion. If he’s able to flip Circus Circus, Ruffin tells Forbes he plans to buy another Vegas Strip property. 

Wynn Resorts now owns the land in front of Trump Hotel and next to Fashion Show Mall. Eventually the casino operator will develop the land with the working name of .

Circus Circus Offers Many Options 

Circus Circus isn’t the iconic Las Vegas casinos it was when it opened in 1968. Despite upgrades since Ruffin purchased the property, it’s still an old casino and hotel on the less trafficked north end of the Vegas Strip.

Ruffin has a more positive take on Circus Circus. He told Forbes:

“It’s the best piece of land on the West Coast. It's got the highway, it's got the Sahara, it's got 2,000 feet on the Strip, and it's the last Strip property. And 102 acres is just a massive amount of land — you can almost build a city on it.”

Both sides of the coin can be true. Whoever purchases will have plenty of options and even more work to draw visitors.

Ruffin’s History with Circus Circus

Ruffin has owned Circus Circus and its parts since 2019. In addition to the casino and hotel, Circus Circus includes the Adventuredome amusement park, a 10-acre RV park, and the 37-acre Las Vegas Festival Grounds. 

Since taking over Circus Circus Ruffin has made a slew of updates to the property to keep it as a value destination for families. The hotel room upgrades were modest as not to increase room rates, which start at $25 for rooms in the detached Manor Motor Lodge.

He also spent money improving and adding new rides to the Adventuredome amusement area. Ruffin also brought the Slots-A-Fun casino back to life with low limit table games, coin-operated slot machines, and $2 food and beer.

Is $5 Billion Realistic?

Selling Circus Circus for $5 billion is a lofty goal. That’s just the beginning for the potential new owner who would have to spend millions, if not billions to make changes to the existing property and land. 

A nearby casino sale could offer some insight to the possibility of reaching that $5 billion mark. However, the properties are apples and oranges. 

Even before the purchase, The Venetian was a full-fledge integrated resort with one of the largest hotels in the world. On top of the size, The Venetian is a luxury property compared to the family value-oriented Circus Circus. 

The Venetian has 7,700 hotel rooms, more than 20 restaurants and bars, a mall, conference center, theater, and sits atop 63 acres of land, according to the Nevada Independent.

In 2022, The Venetian was sold to Apollo Global Management, Inc. and VICI Properties Inc. for a combined total of $6.25 billion. VICI paid $4 billion for the real estate. Apollo paid $2.25 billion for operations. 

Based on VICI’s purchase price, the land value of The Venetian is nearly $64 million per acre. The Venetian itself adds to the value of the land. 

Apollo is currently in the middle of a billion dollar property upgrade of The Venetian that includes conference center upgrades, room renovations, shows, restaurants, casino changes and more. 

Ruffin says there’s interest in buying Circus Circus. Whether or not he reaches his $5 billion sale price will have to do with the buyer(s) plan for the property and its 100 acres of land. 

(Image: courtesy of Circus Circus on X)