LAS VEGAS - Casino owner Derek Stevens calls himself "a multitasker."
So a goodwill mission that the Circa Sports CEO took to Canada this summer with Las Vegas tourism officials also included a scouting mission of sorts to the Niagara region of Ontario.
It just so happens to be where the Ontario government would like to see some new casinos.
“I wanted to get a little lay of the land,” Stevens said in an interview with Covers on Thursday.
- Circa CEO Derek Stevens was checking out Niagara Falls this summer, as Ontario prepares to open the area for new casino operators.
- Stevens says there is interest in Niagara, but suggested that the regulations and geopolitical climate will be big deciding factors.
- Still, Stevens has strong ties to Canada, and Circa’s successful “At Par” promotion boosted Canadian visits to his Las Vegas casinos.
Canada’s most populous province announced in August that a deal had been struck to allow additional casino operators in the Niagara area.
That announcement followed the Ontario government launch of its "Destination Niagara Strategy" last December, a plan intended to "create new, world-class attractions, boost local arts and culture, and improve the region’s transportation network."
The Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority currently operates the region's casino gambling market, with its Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara. Now the provincial government wants to see some fresh faces.
While Mohegan will continue to run Fallsview and Casino Niagara on behalf of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (the province must technically "conduct and manage" casino gambling), the government-owned corporation is supposed to launch a procurement process this year to find possible new casino operators.
Summary of Canada AT PAR Summer in Vegas 2026 @CircaLasVegas @theDlasvegas @GoldenGateVegas
— Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) August 31, 2026
🇨🇦🟰🇺🇸
Canadians will always have Friends in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/FLArcNZLy2
Derek Stevens could be both a fresh and friendly face.
Over the noise of Browns-Steelers in Circa’s giant sportsbook, Stevens said Thursday that he went on something like a “sales mission” to Toronto this summer with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). And while in Ontario, Stevens took a trip to the Niagara region of the province.
That trip to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake this summer involved more than just good food and fine ice wine.
“I've had a lot of people call,” Stevens said. “I don't know what's going to come of it, but I certainly wanted to put myself in a position of being prepared to say I had been there.”
Stevens grew up in the Detroit area, right across the river from Windsor, Ontario. From January through August, Stevens’ three Las Vegas casinos - Circa, the D and the Golden Gate - ran an “At Par” promotion that helped bring more than 120,000 Canadians to Las Vegas, a group that had been visiting less frequently in recent years.
“I remember how often we would get asked to put on CFL football games (in the sportsbook), and the last couple of years it didn't happen that much until now,” Stevens said.
Strolling down memory lane
So Stevens said he spent some time walking around Niagara Falls and checking the place out, including its casinos.
“I wanted to refresh my memory,” he said.
Which brings us to the multibillion-dollar question (in Canadian currency): Is Stevens interested in a casino (and sportsbook, perhaps) on the Canadian side of the Niagara River?
“I think a lot of people could be interested,” he said. “But it all comes down to the regulations.”
There is also a lot of trade-related turbulence at the moment. Canada and the U.S. continue to butt heads over tariffs and market access, and that creates something potential investors like Stevens don’t like: uncertainty.
“We have to have a baseline,” Stevens said. “When there's this much uncertainty, nobody's investing anything in anything.”
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account
Why can't we be friends (again)?
That being said, Stevens believes that the U.S.-Canada trade spat will eventually end.
“I'm just of the belief that Canada's best friend is the United States, the United States' best friend is Canada, and we're better working together in trade, in culture, in everything,” he said. “And I just think at some point cooler heads will prevail.”
Bit of non-prediction market news from G2E (OK, the story does still talk about prediction markets, but not as much): the new Circa app is now live in Iowa, coming soon to CO + MO.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 9, 2025
Circa Sports Begins Rolling Out New Tech, Bigger Betting Menu https://t.co/9w4e6RWrT9 @Covers
If they do, that could open the door to more American operators bidding on Ontario casinos.
“Niagara has long been one of Ontario’s premier tourism destinations, and we’re working to unlock its full potential and attract more visitors and investment for decades to come,” said Doug Downey, the interim gaming minister, in August's press release.
Stevens obviously has experience in creating casinos that people want to visit. He’s got the three in Vegas, including Circa, with its massive sportsbook, the Stadium Swim pool/sports bar, and its popular Survivor contest.
Circa also has physical and online sportsbooks on offer in several other states in the U.S., including Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri.
Moreover, Circa is well-known for its high-volume, low-hold approach to sports betting. It will take bigger bets from sharper customers, which makes it an outlier in today’s sports betting world.
Ontario has a competitive iGaming market too, which allows private-sector operators of online sportsbooks and internet casinos to come in, get licensed, and take bets with the province's blessing. Alberta and Ontario are the only two provinces in Canada with that sort of regulatory framework.
Excited to announce @SurvivorSweat as the Official Marketplace for @CircaSports Football Contests.
— Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) September 29, 2026
Our contests grew to over $38.7 million in 2026 and this partnership adds a whole new way for a customer and participant to manage their entries throughout the season.
Learn… pic.twitter.com/bVOL1yTU98
Canadian financial regulators have taken a harder line with prediction markets as well, and Stevens is no fan of the federally regulated exchanges that have disrupted the traditionally state-regulated gambling scene in the U.S.
That's all in addition to the experience Stevens has with Canadians, including those who took advantage of his “At Par” promotion. The promo treated one Canadian dollar as one U.S. dollar, and helped increase Canadian visitation to his three Vegas casinos by 80%.
It didn’t heal the current divide between Canada and the U.S. entirely, but it definitely didn’t hurt. Approximately 250,000 fewer Canadians visited Las Vegas in 2025, a 17.4% decline from 2024 and 19.2% lower than 2019, the LVCVA estimates.
Stevens is trying to do his part to reverse that trend. While it's still TBD on whether Canadians will ever get a Circa Niagara, Circa's doors in Las Vegas are wide-open for them.
“Growing up right across the river from Windsor, I had the ability to see how hotels and restaurants and bars had done ‘at par’ promotions when I was a kid,” Stevens said. “Some of it had to do with the economic benefit. Some of it had to do with just the hospitality, letting Canadians know that they're welcome. And I think that's kind of where it resonated with a lot of people, and they decided to take us up on the offer.”
