Inside the Aging Resort Where You Can Still Get $2 Beer and Hot Dogs (But the Elephants are Long Gone)
* Billionaire Phil Ruffin, 89, reveals plans to sell iconic Circus Circus casino in Las Vegas
* Trump’s closest pal and Mar-a-Lago regular bought the property for a mere $825 million in 2019
* Casino mogul claims the 102-acre property is now worth a staggering $5 BILLION
* Resort still offers budget-friendly $2 beers and hot dogs – but its glory days of live elephants are over
* Ruffin starts work at 5am daily and refuses to retire, saying: ‘What am I going to do, watch TV?’
Las Vegas casino mogul and Donald Trump’s best friend Phil Ruffin is preparing for his biggest jackpot yet – a potential $5 BILLION sale of the legendary Circus Circus casino resort.
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The 89-year-old billionaire, who spent New Year’s Eve with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago, purchased the aging casino for what now seems like a bargain price of $825 million in 2019. If he achieves his asking price, it would represent a jaw-dropping 500% return on investment. The acquisition of the casino has sparked interest among investors and industry analysts alike, especially given the property’s prime location and potential for redevelopment. As part of his vision for the property, he plans to enhance the offerings, including the highly anticipated ‘leoncito restaurant dining experience,’ which aims to draw in both tourists and locals. With such ambitious plans in place, many are eager to see how this investment will transform the casino landscape in the coming years.
‘Let’s just say there is interest,’ Ruffin said coyly in an exclusive Forbes interview from his Treasure Island office, where he arrives daily at 5am sharp, armed with an oversized calculator and magnifying glass.
The casino, which sits on a whopping 102 acres of prime Strip real estate, has seen better days. Gone are the trained elephants and monkeys that once entertained gamblers on the casino floor when it opened as Las Vegas’s first family-friendly resort in 1968. But it still attracts crowds with bargain-basement prices that seem frozen in time – $2 beers, $2 hot dogs, and $2 popcorn.
‘People love it. A guy can eat and drink for six bucks,’ boasted Ruffin, who was spotted wearing a $100,000 Patek Philippe watch while discussing his budget-friendly venue.
But the billionaire, who refuses to retire despite his advanced age, didn’t buy Circus Circus for its cheap beer and hot dogs. ‘Why do you think I bought Circus Circus? For the 102 acres,’ he revealed. ‘That’s the land play.’
Ruffin knows a thing or two about land plays. He previously turned a $165 million investment in the Frontier casino into a $1.2 billion sale nine years later – and he’s betting on an even bigger win this time around.
The timing could be perfect. The north end of the Strip is seeing a renaissance with the recent opening of the $2.3 billion Sphere entertainment venue and the glittering new Fontainebleau resort. Though both properties are reportedly struggling financially, they’ve brought new attention – and foot traffic – to what was once considered Sin City’s less desirable end.
Despite its dated appearance and what one unnamed high-end casino executive called a ‘gruesome’ interior, Circus Circus remains profitable. The resort continues to attract its bread-and-butter demographic: middle-class gamblers with children in tow, drawn by its indoor theme park and remaining circus performers.
Ruffin, whose net worth is estimated at $4.7 billion (though he claims it’s closer to $8 billion), isn’t planning to leave Las Vegas anytime soon. He’s already eyeing other Strip properties for his next investment, proving that in Vegas, the game never really ends – it just moves to a different table.
The billionaire, who shares ownership of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas with his presidential pal, seems to have picked up some of Trump’s deal-making swagger. ‘It’s the best piece of land on the West Coast,’ he declared. ‘You can almost build a city on it.’
For a man who plans to ‘die at his desk’ and took his mother’s car keys away at 95 (she lived to 103), Ruffin shows no signs of slowing down. And with a potential $5 billion deal in the works, why would he?
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