CIRCUS CIRCUS TO CHANGE NAME

Source: Circus Circus

April 7, 1999
Hotel and casino operator Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. announced Monday that it is going to change its name to reflect its newly upgraded image and the wider range of properties it now operates across the country. The new name will be unveiled at its shareholders meeting June 17, and company officials declined to offer any further information on what it might be.

"All that will be happening later this month," said spokeswoman Sarah Ralston. She also said that the name change will not affect any of the company's individual casino properties. Rather it is intended to provide a more accurate reflection of where the company is going. "When the company went public in 1982, it was two casinos, Circus Circus Las Vegas and Circus Circus Reno," Ralston said.

Recently, Circus Circus has been building higher-end properties such as Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, which opened last month on the south end of the Las Vegas strip. Mandalay Bay features luxury amenities and a separate hotel-within-a-hotel which is owned and managed by Four Seasons. Other properties on the strip owned by the company are the Circus Circus Hotel Casino, Excalibur, and Luxor, as well as several resorts in Laughlin, Nev. In an alliance with Mirage Resorts Inc., Circus Circus is part owner of the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino and a Detroit casino scheduled to open on Labor Day in a temporary facility.

According to Ralston, Circus Circus President Glenn Schaeffer has said the company plans to continue expanding with new resorts on its property south of Mandalay Bay once the current construction boom in Las Vegas wanes. Las Vegas hotel and casino operators will add nearly 20,000 hotel rooms in the next two years. Some industry experts expect the new construction to put price pressures on existing properties.