Will Somebody Please Think Of The Children?!?

I went to Circus Circus last night. It was infested with children. This casino could be razed and I would not miss it; not one bit.

The evening started innocently enough, I wanted to go to Wynn/Encore and get some points on by red card. Before I could do that I needed to hit the Chase ATM so I looked in the Google Maps for a Chase ATM and there was one not far from Encore to the North. I get to where the GPS told me to go and there's nothing there. That's okay, I just wanted to avoid paying the ATM fee, no biggie.

Then inspiration struck! Instead of going to Wynn/Encore, I'll just pop into the Riviera. The Riviera was empty on a Saturday night and I played Texas Hold'em Bonus for an hour and change. The dealers were a little surly but otherwise my experience there was quite pleasant. The Riviera is clean and uncluttered, a little labyrinthine but that was my first time there so my unfamiliarity shouldn't be held against it. After winning a little at Texas Hold'em Bonus and then giving it back breaking in my new player's club card, it was time to walk across the street.

This post is really about Circus Circus. Oh My God! I walked in through the front and went right over to sign up for the Circus Circus player's club card. There seems to be no ventilation in the place. My voice immediately dropped to irritated rasp from all the smoke. I can only imagine what those poor trapeze artists must go through. At the club card sign up desk, a nice lady ( there was only one working ) signed me up and presented an offer where if you buy $35 in chips, you get something like $50 in special chips that you can use for Blackjack, Craps or Roulette. That sounded like a good deal, so I did it. Once I got the special chips, I went to the roulette table and placed some bets, I was not lucky but that's okay. That's gambling. They really need to work on the ventilation. It was hazy with smoke and the place is cluttered. It has levels, you can walk up down around and there's even a moving circular platform cluttered with slot machines if you really want to get disoriented. I did like the red Camaro convertible 2SS/RS that they have in the 'Win This Car' section. There was also a Corvette in another area but at that point, I was so turned off by Circus Circus that I had lost all curiosity and didn't bother to check it out.

I was feeling little peckish so I went to the food court area. There's a pizza place there and I ordered a calzone. The calzone was large and yummy. No complaints there. What is with Circus Circus and the children though? There were people, smoking up clouds and dragging their kids all around the casino area at 11pm. It was loud ( as kids tend to be when overly stimulated ) and smokey and weird. I kept thinking, I would not see this at the Encore. Who takes their kids to a smoke filled casino at 11pm? I feel sorry for the people who work there. I guess my objections are less about the Casino itself than it is about its patrons. Still, if they knocked the place down and started over, only then will I ever visit again.

Go to the Riviera across the street, it's so much a better experience.

Did you notice all the signs around the perimeter of the casino area that explains where children can and cannot be? Then did you notice that they are written very clearly, both in Spanish and in English?

My feeling is, and I could be wrong, that Circus Circus is going after a rare breed of clientele; the Hispanic community who happens to like having gambling options on the side. It's no surprise that MGM has distanced this property as far as they can from their own resorts. They have their own players club, their own website and the only connection to the rest of the properties is found at the bottom in small print.

On my trip to Vegas, I found all the same things to be very disturbing. There are kids in Vegas, and you kind of get used to seeing them. But Circus Circus is even worse about it.

Quote: s2dbaker

I was feeling little peckish so I went to the food court area. There's a pizza place there and I ordered a calzone. The calzone was large and yummy. No complaints there. What is with Circus Circus and the children though? There were people, smoking up clouds and dragging their kids all around the casino area at 11pm. It was loud ( as kids tend to be when overly stimulated ) and smokey and weird. I kept thinking, I would not see this at the Encore. Who takes their kids to a smoke filled casino at 11pm? I feel sorry for the people who work there. I guess my objections are less about the Casino itself than it is about its patrons. Still, if they knocked the place down and started over, only then will I ever visit again.

Go to the Riviera across the street, it's so much a better experience.

In the book "Super Casino" they state that CC was once known as "Vegas' Largest Babysitter." People would let the kids play the midway, alone sometimes, while they gambled downstairs. This was after Sarno lost the place and the new owners took over, changing the midway from a sort of adult circus atmosphere and evicting the Tony Stuart, Ltd jewelry store and making it the first "family friendly" casino.

I *hate* when kids are at a casino or bar, running around as if it was Romper Room. What goes thru people's heads?

Word was a few years back CC was to be imploded but replaced with a new CC, updated but same theme. With the end of the "theme casino" I think it will be here to stay. Construction costs were paid off decades ago, positive cash flow, why fool around? I like the old-vegas feel of the place, though rarely stay for long. Never been to Rivera, never had time. Plan to go there next trip, though.

I don't know what you are angry about:
Circus Circus, kids or smoking.

Circus Circus has long been a Family Friendly place in that they cater to young couples who have kids. Its a market niche. Originally it worked well for them. So did their humungous buffets and their eighteen dollar rooms.

Smoke? The parents don't think they are polluting their air though some might admit they are polluting your air. Ain't no big deal to them. Kids have learned to deal with it too.

Raze Circus Circus? Bean counters been talking about that for fifteen years. Just remember though... if you don't have the kids at Circus Circus then they will be stretched out all over town at other casinos. We don't want that.

A review is planned for Circus Circus later this month. I'm looking forward to what the reviewer has to say for this ... one of a kind ... casino.

Last time I was in Vegas for the APA pool tornament at the Riviera in August, I thought the Riviera was awfully smokey compared to about everywhere but the downtown casinos. Glad I didn't go to CC.

Quote: FleaStiff

I don't know what you are angry about:
Circus Circus, kids or smoking.

Yes!

My memory may not be correct about this, but when I lived in Vegas I went to CC a couple of times to play what I believe was a full-pay Aces and Eights game that had a progressive jackpot for a sequential royal. Different denominations had their own jackpot, of course. What I don't remember is whether the lower denominations had the same paytable as the higher ones, but I think they were all full-pay (8/5), which returns 99.78% before considering the added value of the Sequential Royal, and just over 100% if the jackpot starts at 50,000 coins. It certainly seemed out of place; CC strikes me as a place that you would expect to be full of those quarter-bulldozer machines.

Circus used to be pretty good for video poker. They had NSUD at the $5 denom until about 2008. It was evidently positive when considering slot club points.

As far as I know they are still running the 2 to 1 on blackjacks promotion, for about 5 minutes every hour, up to $500 max bet.

Quote: JB

It certainly seemed out of place; CC strikes me as a place that you would expect to be full of those quarter-bulldozer machines.

Wikipedia says that those 2 episodes of Roseanne were filmed at LVH, twenty years ago.

Circus Circus Las Vegas has an operating income of $6.343 million for the first 9 months of 2011 on revenue of $149.694 million, compared to an operating loss of $2.529 million for the first 9 months of 2010 on revenue of $143.176 million. At least it is making some profit compared to the money pit called City Center. I guess catering too smokers is keeping them in business.