The owner of several downtown Las Vegas casinos said that a dollar exchange promotion designed to appeal to Canadians attracted more than 120,000 visitors from the country in a few months.
Circa Resort and Casino owner Derek Stevens unveiled the ‘At Par’ initiative in January, wherein Canadian dollars were treated as if they were U.S. dollars across select gaming, hotel, and beverage offerings at his three Vegas casinos north of the Strip near Fremont Street:
- Circa Resort and Casino
- The D Las Vegas
- Golden Gate Hotel & Casino
In a video posted to X on Monday, Stevens said the promotion, which allowed Canadian guests at Circa and the other venues to get US$1 in value for every C$1 spent instead of the true exchange rate of 72 cents, was an emphatic success. The offer ended on Aug. 31.
“During this summer, we had 120,000 Canadians that came through our properties,” Stevens said. “… That’s up 80% from last year, so Canadians came through in a real big way.”
Hotel bookings doubled thanks to ‘At Par’
The slot element of the Circa promotion, which allowed Canadian guests to redeem a slot play voucher worth up to US$500 at the $1-for-$1 rate, resulted in US$20m worth of play.
Stevens added that more than 8,000 room bookings also came in as a result of the promotion, which is more than double the visitation the three hotels would usually see.
“There were many nights along Fremont Street where it felt completely taken over by Canadians, and we loved every minute of it,” he added. “… I’m here to say thank you to all the Canadians who came to Las Vegas and stayed at one of our properties. We really appreciate it.”
Vegas tries to entice Canadians amid U.S. tensions
Circa owner Stevens introduced the ‘At Par’ initiative at the start of this year amid widely reported declining Canadian visitation to Vegas.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimated late last year that there was a roughly 24% decline in visitors from Canada, historically Vegas’ largest international market, between January and November 2025. Major Canadian airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet reported steep drops in traffic from Canadian airports to Vegas, down 22% and 28% in 2025, respectively. Reported data suggests those declines have continued into 2026.
“Tourism has slowed down, some of it has to do with the cost of flights, the exchange rate,” Stevens told Canadian Gaming Business in January. “We miss Canadians. Even if we get a few people, we just want to make sure all Canadians know that we miss you and we want you back.”
LVCVA leaders visited Canada in 2025 to discuss ways to rectify relationships and entice Canadian tourists back to the resort city. In March of this year, the LVCVA board of directors approved a three-year marketing agreement and additional funding worth just short of US$3.5m that is aimed at boosting tourism to Nevada’s gaming hub, with a focus on Canada.
This all comes amid ongoing tensions between Canada and President Donald Trump’s administration, which Stevens referenced on Monday.
“Although our leaders of our countries are still going at it, that hasn’t changed, I did want to let everybody know that I really appreciate the Canadians that did come and visit with us, and tell you thank you, and tell you that you’re welcome here,” Stevens added in the Aug. 31 video.
