Out with the old and in with the new! The new year will bring plenty of new venues to eat, drink, and gamble in Las Vegas. This week we’ll look at some new hotels and casinos you should be looking forward to when you visit Las Vegas in 2020.
Non-Gaming Hotels
There are plenty of new hotels opening for 2020. Most of the construction is taking place away from the Vegas Strip and downtown Vegas. You can see the full list here. I’ll stick to the casino-hotels that most visitors are looking forward to.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
The Hard Rock will close after the Super Bowl in February. The new owners will renovate the entire property over the next eight to 10 months. When the property re-opens it will be known as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
The big deal here is that Virgin is famous for not charging resort fees at its hotels around the country. Virgin hasn’t said if there will be resort fees when it opens but folks are keeping their fingers crossed. The new property could become a chic new hotel to visit when it opens after the 2020 Presidential election.
Another thing to look forward to at Virgin is a new casino operator in Las Vegas. Mohegan Gaming will operate the casino. Mohegan offers fair odds and rules at its properties outside of Las Vegas. Over the years, the Hard Rock has become less of a destination for gamblers. We’re all looking forward to the potential of a new casino offering good gaming.
Circa Resort & Casino
Circa Resort & Casino
Circa Resort & Casino will be the first brand new casino built from the ground up in downtown Las Vegas since 1980 when it opens in December 2020. The property is owned by Derek Stevens, owner of The D and Golden Gate casinos in downtown Las Vegas.
This will be an amenity-rich resort with a massive pool deck with six pools and a capacity for 4,000 people, a spa, the largest sportsbook in the world, and more. Circa will also have more restaurants than most downtown Las Vegas casinos.
Gamblers can expect the same great gaming rules and odds as Stevens’ other properties. This means plenty of 3:2 blackjack, 10x odds for craps, and fair odds at the Circa Sportsbook.
Circus Circus
Circus Circus has already been sold and the new owner, Phil Ruffin, has big plans for a property not always a priority for gamblers. Ruffin is putting his stamp on the casino with ample 3:2 blackjack games. He also increased the craps odds from 2x to the traditional 3x-4x-5x odds at most Vegas Strip casinos. He also removed the dreaded 000 roulette game.
While the hotel rooms won’t see an upgrade next year, Circus Circus will renovate the casino floor and sportsbook. They also plan on building a new theater and pool complex.
MGM Resorts Casino Sales
MGM Grand
Look for MGM Resorts to sell more Las Vegas casinos. In addition to selling Circus Circus, MGM Resorts sold Bellagio in 2019. The casino operator has plans to sell MGM Grand and possibly Aria and Mandalay Bay.
There shouldn’t be many if any, changes at these properties. The deals should be similar to the Bellagio real estate transaction. MGM Resorts now leases the property. there shouldn’t be any major changes for guests visiting those properties.
