Circus Circus opened on October 18, 1968, as a casino and amusement center without a hotel. Jay Sarno developed it with Stanley Mallin and other investors; its first hotel tower followed in 1972. The big top came before the bedrooms.
Start with its historyIllustration of the Circus Circus roadside clown sign in daylight, adapted from a user-supplied photograph.
A brief history of Circus Circus Las Vegas
1972–1975: the casino becomes a resort. The first hotel tower opened in 1972; UNLV's corporate archive describes a fifteen-story building with about 400 rooms. In 1974, Sarno and his partners leased the operation to Bill Bennett and Bill Pennington. This was an operating handover, followed by an eventual sale, rather than a simple sale completed in 1974. A second tower opened in 1975. More rooms made the property something a visitor could use as a base, not only an attraction to drop into.
Read the full historyUNLV Jay Sarno Papers MS-00548, Biographical / Historical Note, paragraph 3
UNLV Dreaming the Skyline, Circus Circus, historical prose, paragraphs 1 and 4; the latter documents 1972 hotel addition
UNLV Jay Sarno Papers MS-00548, Abstract and Scope and Contents; Las Vegas site identification
Hotel reservations, casino and Midway Circus Shows navigation
Harold Hyman, $15 Million Circus Circus Opens Tonight, dated October 18, 1968; lead gives public opening at 10pm; paragraphs describing the 90-foot big top and aerial acts. Search-index text inspected October 17, 2026; direct request returned 403.
Biographical / Historical Note: Sarno and Mallin partnership; 1974 lease to Bennett and Pennington followed by eventual sale; checked October 17, 2026.
Biographical / Historical Note: 1972 first hotel tower, 1975 second tower and 2005 MGM merger. The 1974 purchase wording is qualified using the Sarno/Mallin finding aids; checked October 17, 2026.
Resort press release republished by Casino City Times; opening paragraph dates first guests to August 23, 1993; not evidence of current promotions. Checked October 17, 2026.
Opening paragraph: completed sale to an affiliate of Phil Ruffin, announced December 20, 2019. Checked October 17, 2026.
Free live circus acts at the center of the Midway; online check October 17, 2026. Consult the operator for current programme; no fixed hours copied.
Five-acre indoor park under a pink dome; Canyon Blaster and ticket links. Online check October 17, 2026; no current prices or hours asserted.
Date and Description: frontage and fountains before construction of first hotel tower. Research link only; Copyright Not Evaluated, no permission to republish inferred. Checked October 17, 2026.
Original history programme: Sarno initial casino/lounge/restaurant application, Rissman design and original no-hotel form; checked October 17, 2026.
Opening-date source discrepancy: UNLV's Circus Circus prose says 1968, its Property timeline says 1967, and the overall Skyline timeline lists 1969. The October 18, 1968 Las Vegas Sun opening-day report provides the exact date used here. The Sun search index supplied its text; a direct page request returned 403 on October 17, 2026.
The sources establish a casino-only beginning and a hotel addition in 1972; they do not establish a single definitive personal or financial reason why Sarno omitted hotel rooms at the outset.
The 1974 transaction is described as a lease in the Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin records. UNLV's Skyline prose compresses this to 'sold out'; the text distinguishes the operating handover from eventual sale.
No field visit was performed. Present-day attraction descriptions do not prove unchanged original fabric, today's performers, sign illumination, opening hours or a particular accessible approach. The 1968 archive photograph is a linked source, not newly selected media.
Stories connected to Circus Circus Las Vegas
Story image unavailable.
Jay Sarno's second resort
Jay Sarno followed Caesars Palace with Circus Circus, a casino that opened without a hotel and put the spectacle at the center of the property.
Two ways to explore Circus Circus Las Vegas
9 stops Audio narration
Themed tour 46 stops Audio narration
Free audio samples are available here. See each tour for current app and Pass options.
Individual stops at Circus Circus Las Vegas. Open a detail to see where it belongs.
An undated view of the Slots-A-Fun entrance and canopy; pictured promotions may be historical.
The full stop is part of the Vegas Retold Pass. See the tour for current access options.
Follow signs and staff directions; private areas require permission. Do not cross barriers.
Ask resort staff for a step-free public approach and a suitable viewing area.
Lucky the Clown on the illuminated Circus Circus roadside sign at night.
The full stop is part of the Vegas Retold Pass. See the tour for current access options.
Follow signs and staff directions; private areas require permission. Do not cross barriers.
Ask resort staff for a step-free public approach and a suitable viewing area.
Circus Circus’s tent-shaped entrance roof and illuminated porte-cochere at dusk.
The full stop is part of the Vegas Retold Pass. See the tour for current access options.
Follow signs and staff directions; private areas require permission. Do not cross barriers.
Ask resort staff for a step-free public approach and a suitable viewing area.
Circus Circus is on the Las Vegas Strip. Current attraction descriptions were checked online on October 17, 2026; they do not verify an entrance, step-free route, viewing position or the condition of individual historic features. Use the operator's current information and signed public routes.
Follow current signs and venue restrictions. Individual stops carry their own location and access notes.
See stop access informationSources, image credits and the limits of what we know.
UNLV Jay Sarno Papers MS-00548, Biographical / Historical Note, paragraph 3
UNLV Dreaming the Skyline, Circus Circus, historical prose, paragraphs 1 and 4; the latter documents 1972 hotel addition
UNLV Jay Sarno Papers MS-00548, Abstract and Scope and Contents; Las Vegas site identification
Hotel reservations, casino and Midway Circus Shows navigation
Harold Hyman, $15 Million Circus Circus Opens Tonight, dated October 18, 1968; lead gives public opening at 10pm; paragraphs describing the 90-foot big top and aerial acts. Search-index text inspected October 17, 2026; direct request returned 403.
Biographical / Historical Note: Sarno and Mallin partnership; 1974 lease to Bennett and Pennington followed by eventual sale; checked October 17, 2026.
Biographical / Historical Note: 1972 first hotel tower, 1975 second tower and 2005 MGM merger. The 1974 purchase wording is qualified using the Sarno/Mallin finding aids; checked October 17, 2026.
Resort press release republished by Casino City Times; opening paragraph dates first guests to August 23, 1993; not evidence of current promotions. Checked October 17, 2026.
Opening paragraph: completed sale to an affiliate of Phil Ruffin, announced December 20, 2019. Checked October 17, 2026.
Free live circus acts at the center of the Midway; online check October 17, 2026. Consult the operator for current programme; no fixed hours copied.
Five-acre indoor park under a pink dome; Canyon Blaster and ticket links. Online check October 17, 2026; no current prices or hours asserted.
Date and Description: frontage and fountains before construction of first hotel tower. Research link only; Copyright Not Evaluated, no permission to republish inferred. Checked October 17, 2026.
Original history programme: Sarno initial casino/lounge/restaurant application, Rissman design and original no-hotel form; checked October 17, 2026.
AI-generated illustration with OpenAI image generation, adapted from a user-supplied photograph; original photographer unknown.
Source reference: User-supplied portrait photograph; external source and date not supplied. URL identifies intended Property use, not original source.
AI-generated editorial adaptation; framing widened, postcard caption and scan border removed, advertising panels simplified.
User requested this illustration and publication. Original photograph rights status unknown; no independent clearance or public-domain status claimed.
Image source ↗AI-generated adaptation; source photograph Yelderberry / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Image source ↗AI-generated illustration / Vegas Retold; adapted from user-supplied reference, original photographer unknown
Image source ↗Photographer unknown
Public source link unavailable.
Photographer unknown
Public source link unavailable.
Photographer unknown
Public source link unavailable.
