Tour Overview
📍 Start Location: Circus Circus (look for us in a black t-shirt that says Historic Vegas
🔻 End Location: Circus Circus
Circus Circus opened in 1968 as Vegas’ “family casino,” but behind the big top, the mob pulled the strings. This tour reveals the clowns, the cons, and the hidden history.
See it before it changes forever. Because in Vegas, nothing stays the same.
On the surface, there were clowns, midway games, and a circus tent where kids played. Behind the scenes, mobsters like Tony “The Ant” Spilotro operated out of gift shops, money moved in shadows, and Circus Circus became a symbol of Vegas’ split identity: wholesome by design, but mob-tied at its core.
This tour uncovers the true story of a casino caught between eras — the Rat Pack’s Vegas fading away, the megaresort age on the rise, and the mob still pulling strings in the middle.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance. Activate your refund easily through your booking email.
See It Before It Changes
✓ Flat ground
✓ Indoors
✓ 75 minutes
✓ Haunted Hotel
✓ Slots o Fun
✓ Collectible Memento
X Transportation
X Cocktails
1 - The Big Top Dream
Circus Circus opened in 1968 with the world’s largest permanent big top, promising wholesome family fun. But under the tent, the dream quickly showed cracks — kids baking in the desert sun and a casino struggling to turn a profit.
2 - Jay Sarno’s Double Vision
While clowns distracted families, Vegas’ real business still thrived: cash moving through cages, side deals, and underworld players making sure the circus kept spinning.
3 - Tony “the Ant” Spilotro’s Gift Shop
The midway games and gift shops weren’t just entertainment. Mobsters like Tony “The Ant” Spilotro used them as fronts for laundering cash and running operations behind the curtain.
4- Family-Friendly Facade
Circus Circus marked a turning point for Vegas — a push to become “family-friendly” while burlesque, mobsters, and late-night deals still dominated the Strip. This uneasy balance defined the city’s double life.
5- Ghosts of the Big Top
Circus Circus isn’t just known for mob ties and midway games — it’s also one of Vegas’ most haunted casinos. Guests have reported eerie voices in hotel rooms, laughter echoing in empty hallways, and shadows moving across the big top. Some say the spirits of Circus Circus’ past — from mobsters to tragic guests — still linger under the neon lights. And we just may visit room 123
6- Circus on the Midway
Watch a circus performance on the Midway just like they used to be. Today, rumors of a sale and sweeping changes hang over Circus Circus. With Old Vegas icons fading fast, this may be your last chance to see the casino in its raw, historic form.
7 - Room with a Past
We step inside one of Circus Circus’ original hotel rooms — a space that has seen decades of Vegas history unfold. From visiting families in the 1960s to whispered mob business and rumored hauntings, these walls hold stories the casino floor could never tell. Here, you’ll get an intimate glimpse of the real Circus Circus, away from the midway noise and neon distractions.
8- The Legendary Steakhouse
Our tour ends with an invitation to step inside one of Vegas’ longest-running icons — the Circus Circus Steakhouse. Since the early 1980s, it’s been a favorite for locals, high-rollers, and visitors who want old-school Vegas flavor.
For those who want to linger, join us here for a drink or dinner. Food and beverages are not included in the tour price, but the atmosphere — wood-fired grills, vintage décor, and decades of Vegas lore — makes it the perfect place to toast the end of the night.