Even with sports betting, prediction markets nationwide, Circa CEO says March Madness in Vegas remains strong
The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament serves as the biggest sporting event of the year for many sports fans. Some fans will take time off work to watch their favorite team play in the annual event, whether they do it from home or travel to catch their school.
However, there’s still a segment of the fandom that will travel to another destination – Las Vegas – to watch the first- and second-round action. Sports betting may be available now in 39 other states, but they still don’t match what Vegas can offer fans.
That’s what Circa CEO Derek Stevens told Gambling Insider last week. His flagship resort in Downtown Vegas was already sold out in advance of the pairings, which were released on Selection Sunday.
Gambling Insider caught up with Stevens to talk about what March Madness means to Vegas as well as Circa Sports’ online betting business across the country, including Missouri.
Stevens’ remarks have been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Gambling Insider: Las Vegas has always been a destination for people who, if they don’t go to games, they may go out with buddies and watch the opening round of the NCAA tournament out there. Is it still as big as it has been, even as sports betting has grown nationwide?
Derek Stevens: “It absolutely is. March Madness is the biggest week of the year in Las Vegas, and, yeah, the demand is still through the roof. We’re going to be completely sold out (this) week for the first round of the tournament.
“I think the culture has shifted a bit inasmuch as people love getting together with their friends and coming together watching these games, and I don’t see that slowing down at all. The fact that sports betting is legal now in so many other states is great, but even if sports betting is legal in many other states, there’s still something special about coming to the mecca of Las Vegas with all your friends and family and buddies to be able to watch March Madness games.
“Who makes the tournament, and who doesn’t, frankly, doesn’t make any difference. People are coming here for the event. That’s just the reality of it. The first week of March Madness is what sets Las Vegas apart.”
GI: Looking back, what was probably the most successful March Madness for Circa?
DS: “I would say last year, because every year it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The March Madness crowd that we’ve had now, starting at the D back in 2012, it’s been 13 straight years that March Madness has grown. So I can always give the answer that the best one we ever had was last year, because it just keeps growing. It’ll be the same thing here this year. I expect this year to be the best we’ve ever seen.”
GI: You have a pick to win for this year?
DS: “I’m a pretty big fan of the University of Michigan, so I like Michigan here this year.”
GI: Missouri sports betting has launched since we last talked. How have things gone there for Circa?
DS: “Missouri is moving along the way we wanted it to. We didn’t go after all of the big money spending in the first couple months, and we think we’re going to continue to grow our share.
“We were profitable the first couple months. We paid tax the first couple of months, unlike most others. We’re going to continue, continue moving forward. So I’m happy. It’s just a different approach that we’re taking as a low as a low hold business model, sports book.”
GI: Regarding promotions, Circa had a $250,000 “Win Derek’s Wallet” promo in Missouri. How has that helped attract new customers?
DS: “We really liked what we did. We started in Iowa, and we utilized that as a springboard to do ‘Win my wallet’ in Missouri. In Iowa, we did $100,000. It’s pretty exciting to see all these new sign-ups come in. So it’s a next step I feel very good about.”
GI: Any plans on trying this in Circa’s other states?
DS: “It’s definitely something we want to utilize in other states as we launch our new software. We like what we’ve seen so far, and we probably want to continue doing it.”
GI: There’s a lot of talk lately about prediction markets, with lawmakers in Washington talking about possible bills and several states taking those operators to court. I know where you stand on the issue, but how long of a fight do you expect this to be?
DS: “It’s interesting. I want to hand it to the prediction markets. They’ve come up with something. They found a great loophole, but I do think cooler heads will prevail.
“When you evaluate the competitiveness of the sports prediction markets, they’re really not that competitive. They just simply don’t pay state tax; they don’t pay federal excise tax; they don’t pay for official league data; they don’t pay league fees; they don’t pay into problem gaming.
“So they’ve just figured out a way to steal all the data, and I tend to believe that that’s not going to last long term. But we’ll see how the courts have it play out.”
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