Place Archive

Circus Circus Hotel and Casino

Photography from Circus Circus, the legendary Las Vegas Casino that originally opened in 1968.

9 photos

Photos

Illuminated neon clown sign for Circus Circus Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Circus Circus Hotel and Casino opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1968, built around a circus theme with a big-top-shaped casino and free trapeze and acrobatic acts once performed above the gaming floor. The neon clown atop the marquee has served as the property's calling card for decades, directing visitors toward its attached attractions. The Adventuredome, a five-acre indoor theme park under a pink glass dome, opened in 1993 and houses the Canyon Blaster, a double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster. The Midway, named on the sign, is the resort's carnival-style arcade on the casino's second floor, offering games and prizes in the tradition of a traveling circus.
Illuminated red and gold marquee of Circus Circus Hotel and Casino entrance at night in Las Vegas.
Circus Circus opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1968, developed by Jay Sarno, who also built Caesars Palace. Sarno originally conceived the property as a casino without hotel rooms, centered on a circus-themed gambling floor under a big top. It became one of the first Strip resorts to market itself to families rather than gamblers alone, a shift that shaped Las Vegas development through the 1980s and '90s. The property still runs a permanent indoor circus with free acts performing above the casino floor, a feature dating to its opening year. Circus Circus also appears as a setting in Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Splash Zone water slides at Circus Circus with the Stratosphere Tower rising in the background in Las Vegas.
Splash Zone is a water park on the grounds of Circus Circus, the casino resort that opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1968. Developer Jay Sarno built Circus Circus without hotel rooms at first, centering the property on a big-top-themed casino floor; he later applied similar showmanship to Caesars Palace. The resort was among the first on the Strip to market itself to families rather than gamblers alone, a strategy that shaped Las Vegas development through the 1980s and '90s. Circus Circus has run free circus acts above its casino floor since it opened. The nearby Stratosphere Tower rises 1,149 feet and includes an observation deck near its summit.
Parking lot with vehicles in front of the colonnaded Circus Circus Manor building, Las Vegas.
Circus Circus Manor is a motel property across from Circus Circus on the Las Vegas Strip, offering budget rooms near the larger resort. Circus Circus itself opened in 1968, developed by Jay Sarno, and was among the first Las Vegas casino resorts built around a family-friendly, circus-themed concept rather than gambling alone. Motels like the Manor grew up around such resorts to serve overflow guests and travelers looking for lower rates within walking distance of the Strip.
Colorful clown sign at Circus Circus hotel directs visitors to the Adventuredome indoor theme park in Las Vegas.
Circus Circus opened in 1968 as one of the first Las Vegas Strip casinos built around a family-friendly theme, with a permanent indoor circus staging free acts above the gaming floor since its debut. Developer Jay Sarno, who also built Caesars Palace, originally designed the property without hotel rooms at all — just a big top over the casino floor. The pink-and-white striped building facing the Strip is that original 1968 structure; the hotel towers were added afterward. Signage directing guests toward the Adventuredome points to the indoor theme park that opened alongside the resort in 1993. Circus Circus also figures prominently in Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Circus Circus hotel registration directional sign on the Las Vegas Strip.
Circus Circus opened in 1968 under developer Jay Sarno, who also built Caesars Palace and originally envisioned the property as a circus-themed casino without hotel rooms. The resort's pivot toward family tourism helped shape how the Las Vegas Strip developed through the following decades. Free circus acts still perform above the casino floor, a holdover from the property's opening year. The Adventuredome, an indoor theme park built onto the resort, opened in 1993. Hunter S. Thompson used Circus Circus as a setting in his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Circus Circus Hotel Exterior, Las Vegas
Circus Circus opened in 1968, making it one of the oldest casino resorts still operating on the Strip. It was the developed by Jay Sarno, the same developer behind Caesars Palace, and was originally conceived as a casino-only property with no hotel rooms, just a giant circus-themed gambling floor under a big top. It was one of the first casinos to actively court families rather than just gamblers, a strategy that was popular around with Las Vegas development in the 1980s and 90s. The property features a permanent indoor circus with free acts running continuously above the casino floor — a feature that's been there since the beginning. The pink-and-white striped big top structure at the front is the original 1968 building. The tower itself is the later hotel addition. The curved copper/bronze structure in the foreground is the Adventuredome, an indoor theme park that opened in 1993. Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was shot at Circus Circus.
Interior hallway of the Manor building at Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Manor building sits across Las Vegas Boulevard from Circus Circus's main casino tower, connected to the rest of the resort by a skybridge. Its rooms are reached by interior corridors, a layout typical of Strip-adjacent motel annexes built before high-rise towers became the standard lodging format on the Strip. Circus Circus opened in 1968 and has operated continuously as a casino-hotel since, now under the ownership of Phil Ruffin. The Manor rooms are priced and marketed as a budget-oriented alternative to the resort's taller, newer towers.
Circus Circus branded conditioning shampoo, lotion, and soap toiletries for hotel guests.
Circus Circus Las Vegas stocks its guest bathrooms with branded travel-size toiletries, including conditioning shampoo, lotion, and a 1-ounce bar of soap. The hotel opened in 1968 on the Las Vegas Strip, among the first in the city to pair casino gaming with a circus theme and a permanent big top for live acrobatic acts above the casino floor. Its Manor and West Casino Tower buildings add to the property's room count, making it one of the larger resorts on the Strip.

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