In 1972, Caesars Palace founder Jay Sarno built a two-story suite for himself in his second Las Vegas property, Circus Circus. It was located on the 14th floor of the property’s first hotel tower. And it’s still there.
Since MGM Resorts acquired Circus Circus from Mandalay Resorts Group in 2005 — and even after hotelier Phil Ruffin purchased it in December 2019 — the old suite has been rented out only as a meeting space or provided for free to high-rollers. But that has apparently changed.
YouTuber @Dani.702 was recently comped a stay in the suite, in exchange for providing the following tour — though she was unaware of the suite’s historical significance.
According @Dani.702, the suite is now bookable to the public — but only by phoning the reservation desk and requesting the “two-story presidential suite.” (A rep for Circus Circus did not immediately return Casino.org’s request to confirm her claim.)
The Ringmaster’s Hideaway
Originally featuring seven bedrooms designed in garish gold trim with crystal chandelier sconces and floor-to-ceiling mirrors throughout, Suite 1410 was built as Sarno’s bachelor pad — though he would still be married to his wife Joyce until 1974.
Sarno reportedly used the two curving staircases at either end, featuring gold balcony railings, to make dramatic entrances from the 15th floor, which housed two bedrooms and a study, to the guests populating his 14th floor living room. Sarno’s bedroom, on the opposite side of the living room and reportedly painted red, also occupied two stories.
The original décor and colors are long gone, but the stairways and main bedroom remain.
“With a suite in his own casino, Sarno would be living in a beautiful bubble,” wrote UNLV associate history professor David G. Schwartz in his 2013 Sarno biography, “Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas.” “He would rise when it suited him, make some phone calls from his office downstairs, then head over to the Las Vegas Country Club. After that, it would be dinner, some gambling, and back to Circus Circus with whatever conquest he had picked up along the way.
“Having the tower finished wouldn’t just improve his balance sheet, it would make his life just about perfect.”
Sarno lived in the suite until 1975, according to the Las Vegas Advisor. That’s when hoteliers Bill Bennett and William Pennington — to whom Sarno had leased the property the year before — built a second hotel tower.
Sarno, still their landlord, ditched Suite 1410 and claimed its penthouse as his new bachelor pad. (Sarno stayed at the new suite until Bennett and Pennington bought property for $72 million and evicted him in 1983.)
“Bill Bennett’s first act of business as undisputed owner of Circus Circus was to evict Jay Sarno from his gilded penthouse,” Schwartz wrote. “Seeing the last of his landlord plodding around the casino in his bathroom and slippers was almost worth $72 million.”
To find the suite, take the elevator closest to the steakhouse to the 14th floor and look for Suite 1410.
Secret X-Rated Theater
While you’re at Circus Circus seeking out its history, it’s hiding another secret room. This is one we’ve covered before — in our story on secret Vegas relics.
The Hippodrome was Circus Circus’ infamous adult showroom. When Sarno opened it in 1968, it hosted the “Nudes in the Night” show, then went on to host “Tom Jones,” “Naked But Nice,” French Love Connection,” Nudes Delight” and “Hot Pants Explosion.”
The theater was never demolished but merely walled off sometime between 1973-79. Dusty and creepy, it has been sitting there ever since.
Since our story ran last year, Las Vegas radio personality Heather Collins managed to find the entrance, located in a back-of-house corridor above the pizzeria on the casino level.
It is not exactly in the same shape that it was left. In fact, the pizzeria was built directly into the former entrance, and Collins had to walk on planks above its ceiling to give her Facebook fans this quick tour.
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