The Last Casino Mogul

DEREK STEVENS, owner of Circa, Golden Gate and The D, took a big gamble on remaking Downtown Las Vegas. He now has a portfolio of properties worth more than $1 billion- including the world's largest sportsbook and Sin City's most outrageous pool.

- Will Yakowicz

Mr. Downtown "Those guys are big guys," Circa owner Derek Stevens (with Vegas Vickie) says of Las Vegas moguls like Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn. "I'm just a guy selling beer at the end of the bar."

At six o'clock on a Tuesday night in late December, about 500 gamblers are lined up at the Golden Gate casino on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas to pick up a ticket for a free open bar with Derek Stevens, its billionaire owner. The dancing bartenders, as they are known, dressed in bralettes, panties and go-go boots, shake their hips to the Black Eyed Peas' “I Gotta Feeling” as two guests make their way over to shake Stevens' hand.

“Every casino needs its own attraction, and people are attracted to an open bar,” says Stevens, who in 2006 bought this property, the oldest hotel and casino in Las Vegas, as well as The D, which is just down the street, five years later. Across Fremont Street is his crown jewel: Circa, which he opened in 2020 at a cost of $1 billion.

“I’ve always thought that there is nothing better in Vegas than if you can get a couple of drinks in you and maybe hit a jackpot,” he says to the crowd. “That’s how the night starts. And I appreciate you wanting to have your night start here.”