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Vegas4Visitors Museum: Circus Circus

Circus Circus opened in 1968 as just a casino – although to call the giant pink and white big top complete with circus acts "just a casino" probably isn’t doing it justice. Circus Circus capitalized on the success of the heavily themed Caesars Palace, which had opened two years before and figured a big-top theme was the next great thing to capture the imagination of the Las Vegas tourist crowd. The hotel opened in the early 1970s and is still in business today at the same location.
  • 70s Postcard - Aerial
  • Slot Machine Glass
  • 60s Postcard - Aerial
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    Circus Circus

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    70s Postcard - Aerial
    The hotel opened in 1972 with 400 rooms and this colorful postcard was probably from around that time. A second hotel tower opened a few years later and isn’t pictured here so we are guessing it to be from around 1973 or 1974.

    Today, Circus Circus has more than 3000 rooms and covers most of the neighboring properties seen on this postcard.

    The back of the postcard reads: "A picturesque photo of this multi-million dollar Hotel, Casino, and family fun center on the Las Vegas Strip. There are fabulous circus acts and varied entertainment for the whole family."

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    Slot Machine Glass
    Here’s a colorful piece of glass from a 25 cent Circus Circus slot machine. Although the hotel’s name doesn’t appear, the happy clowns and pink and white stripes indicate that it was from a Circus Circus branded slot.

    It was manufactured by slot machine giant International Game Technology and would have fit into the front of a quarter slot machine, probably at the bottom near the coin payout bin.

    There is no date on it, but it is probably from the mid 1980s.

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    60s Postcard - Aerial
    A rare shot of the Circus Circus casino, before the hotel tower was built in 1972. The motel style buildings to the left are the Westward Ho and the carousel sitting at the bottom left is where the Slots-a-Fun casino now stands. The buildings to the right are a mystery to me but are most likely residential apartment structures and not part of any hotel since there weren't any there that I know of. Those were torn down in the 1980s to make way for the expansion of Circus Circus and are now where the Skyrise Tower and the Manor buildings are located.

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